Archives: juin 2008

  • Europe indépendante ? Égalité des citoyens ?

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    • Evaluation: 4.0000
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    Evaluation: 4/5 avec 1 votes

    Publié dimanche 29 juin 2008 à 15h09
    par stephane.veyret Devenir militant(e) du PSE (vu 584 fois et 1 commentaires)

    « Unis dans la diversité », tel est le slogan qui a été adopté pour l'Europe. Mais quelle diversité souhaitons-nous vraiment ? Une diversité absolue, où l'on ne pratique aucun échange entre les peuples, où chacun garde sa propre culture, sa propre langue et ne cherche pas à communiquer avec ses voisins ? Ou une diversité limitée, où l'on fait en sorte que toute l'Europe s'exprime dans une même langue et se reconnaisse dans des valeurs similaires ?

    Aujourd'hui, il semble que c'est ce second choix qui a été fait, avec l'anglais comme langue commune, et les valeurs des États-Unis comme base de notre culture, au détriment de nos propres coutumes.

    La France, pays réputé pour sa tolérance se dote de lois de plus en plus strictes, alors que les adolescents se reconnaissent de plus en plus dans les cow-boys qui, au nom d'une certaine idée de la justice, se permettent d'ôter la vie aux hors-la-loi… La France, pays réputé mondialement pour sa nourriture voit fleurir de plus en plus de « fast-food » au coin de ses... » Lire la suite ...

    Tags: discrimination, langues, multiculturalisme


  • For a European Fiscal Snake (“EFS”)

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    • Evaluation: 4.5000
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    Evaluation: 4,5/5 avec 2 votes

    Publié samedi 28 juin 2008 à 22h28
    par Sortir de l'Impasse Devenir militant(e) du PSE (vu 426 fois et 0 commentaires)

    From a French perspective, we always believe that Ireland has one of the lowest taxation systems in Europe, and that one the reasons for the Irish “no” was the protection of these low taxes.

    A couple of days ago (on 26th June), Eurostat published very interesting and useful analysis to draw some comparisons between the different taxations in Europe. Thanks to this survey, we discovered that Ireland had now the highest implicit tax rate on capital amongst the 27 European countries: 42.5% in 2006, compared to 27.1% in 1996. In France for instance, this implicit tax rate on capital is “only” 41.5%... This proved once again that we, French people, should sometimes be more open minded and work at revamping our “idées préconçues”.

    The survey also shows large spreads between taxation rates in Europe: on capital, the range of implicit taxation is between 8.4% in Estonia, and 42.5% in Ireland. On labour, it is between 21.5% in Malta and 44.2% in Sweden.

    We strongly believe... » Lire la suite ...

    Tags: finance, UE


  • Two Europes

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    • Evaluation: 3.6667
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    Evaluation: 3,7/5 avec 3 votes

    Publié vendredi 27 juin 2008 à 10h45
    par negrescuvictor Devenir militant(e) du PSE (vu 647 fois et 2 commentaires)

    The perspectives regarding Europe seems to illustrate unfortunately the existence of two different European visions, an Eastern and a Western point of view. These differences can be easily seen in issues like workers migration, economical delocalization, taxes, and the enlargement process.

    Workers migration

    East: for countries from this side of Europe the freedom of movement is what Europe is all about. The people who migrate from our countries do so to build themselves a better live but also to help there families back home.

    West: unfortunately the Eastern European migrants are presented as a problem and we as socialists have trouble fighting this point of view

    Solution: building up a common point of view regarding migration- informing our national... » Lire la suite ...

    Tags: blogueur de la semaine, citoyens, démocratie, diversité, UE


  • Is business as usual always the right way?

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    • Evaluation: 5.0000
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    Evaluation: 5/5 avec 5 votes

    Publié vendredi 27 juin 2008 à 10h34
    par rikkeindenmark Devenir militant(e) du PSE (vu 695 fois et 3 commentaires)

    “I don’t have anything against gays and lesbians, but I do think the only right thing for a child is to have a father and a mother”

    As you might already have guessed this post will be about adoption rights for same-sex couples. My original intention was to write about parental leave for fathers, but this topic has already been covered extensively on Yourspace! So to say something new and to touch upon another controversial topic I’ll blog about adoption rights.

    I know the Nordic countries are pretty far when it comes to LGBT rights, but still we’re not far enough. The quote above is not from me (oh no! :-)), but from a Danish politician who is very much against same-sex couples adopting. The statement is not really an intelligent argument against LGBT couples adopting - it’s more a claim that ‘the way things usually are done’ is always the right way. In other words it’s a (conservative) moral statement. Statements like this are typical for the debate on adoption rights in Denmark: there’s an assumption that same-sex couples are not fit to be parents, simply because they are not ‘business as usual’. In my opinion this is very weak... » Lire la suite ...

    Tags: blogueur de la semaine, discrimination, diversité, gay, LGBT


  • Un Europol social

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    • Evaluation: 4.8000
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    Evaluation: 4,8/5 avec 5 votes

    Publié vendredi 27 juin 2008 à 09h53
    par chourka Devenir militant(e) du PSE (vu 523 fois et 1 commentaires)

    voilà une idée originale portée par les camarades du SP.a qui mériterait d'être étudiée sérieusement et pourquoi pas reprise dans notre manifeste électoral.

    De quoi s'agit-il exactement ?

    On sait que les forces de police sont coordonnées au niveau européen par EUROPOL pour ce qui concerne les questions liées aux trafics en tout genre, le terrorisme. Bien que cette institution naissante aurait besoin de moyens pour fonctionner efficacement, elle a le mérite d'exister.

    Ce que propose nos camarades belges, c'est que dans le domaine social, une sorte d'inspection européenne du Travail soit mise en place et que celle-ci puisse contrôler le respect au sein des Etats-membres des droits sociaux dans le but d'éviter le dumping social.

    Dans de nombreuses contributions, revient également l'idée d'une harmonisation vers le haut des droits sociaux. Parfois avec des variations comme celle sur l'imposition d'un salaire minimum européen. Le SP.a ne précise pas comment il l'imagine son application quand la Fédération de Paris indique qu'il doit être... » Lire la suite ...

    Tags: blogueur de la semaine, emploi, justice, salaires, travailleurs


  • Western Balkans: which European perspective?

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    • Evaluation: 2.0000
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    Evaluation: 2/5 avec 5 votes

    Publié jeudi 26 juin 2008 à 16h30
    par arktika Devenir militant(e) du PSE (vu 578 fois et 7 commentaires)

    All non-EU states in the western Balkans have been said to have European perspectives. I can not avoid raising some questions:
    • Can EU absorb new members and simultaneously keep alive some of its ideas?
    • Are European perspectives and EU membership the same?
    • Is it better to belong to EU or to be outside of it?
    • Are there any alternative strategic alliances to EU?

    Today EU has a Parliament. MEPs sit and travel between Strasbourg and Brussels, with no power and no authority. Commission, their army of bureaucrats and lobbyists keep EU as their playground.

    One common custom is to... » Lire la suite ...

    Tags: Balkans, UE


  • If not we will keep having

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    • Evaluation: 4.0000
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    Evaluation: 4/5 avec 4 votes

    Publié jeudi 26 juin 2008 à 14h34
    par franciscopolo Devenir militant(e) du PSE (vu 461 fois et 0 commentaires)

    At the same time I start writing this article the ratification process for the Lisbon Treaty is starting at the Spanish Parliament. I can hear the Foreign Affairs Ministry starting his discourse...

    Probably (no to say “for sure”), tomorrow the Spanish newspapers will show on their front pages the results of the Spain vs. Russia soccer game at the Eurocup. The matter of the Treaty will also be shown in those newspapers but it will not be given so much importance.

    As you probably know, the Lisbon Treaty is important due to many things: The Fundamental Rights Chart becomes binding, the... » Lire la suite ...

    Tags: blogueur de la semaine, citoyens, démocratie, droits fondamentaux, partis politiques, traîté, transparence


  • Bringing youngsters to vote at the next European elections

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    • Evaluation: 5.0000
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    Evaluation: 5/5 avec 2 votes

    Publié jeudi 26 juin 2008 à 09h39
    par negrescuvictor Devenir militant(e) du PSE (vu 474 fois et 2 commentaires)

    Most of European countries confront themselves with the problem of bringing youngsters to vote at the different elections. Regarding European elections the stats are similar to the other elections even knowing Europe normally speaks more about the future of our societies.

    Involving youngsters in the European project and inside the socialist parties is becoming a more and more difficult task even know many of the PES member parties have chosen to promote younger leaders or building special information campaigns. The question is to find a way in interesting youngsters in politics and in the European project.

    PES activists Romania has participated at a debate in Bucharest on this issue and came to a general conclusion: the need of appealing and the necessity of offering new solutions to the next generation of social problems. It become clear to us that European themes have to been translated in a language understandable for everyone and this is a task that the PES has to assume.

    There are social groups excluded by European politics because of its high level of specialization or simply by the lack of time and this is a task socialists have to complete. On the other hand we have to create new topics for our societies and mainly... » Lire la suite ...

    Tags: blogueur de la semaine, citoyens, élections, partis politiques, PSE


  • Going to university: to pay or not to pay?

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    • Evaluation: 4.4000
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    Evaluation: 4,4/5 avec 5 votes

    Publié jeudi 26 juin 2008 à 09h33
    par rikkeindenmark Devenir militant(e) du PSE (vu 884 fois et 10 commentaires)

    And now for something completely different – as Monty Python would say! I’m moving away from gender issues and on to a completely different topic, namely education.

    I work in the university sector, where tuition fees are currently a burning hot topic for debate. In my home country we have a long tradition for free – or rather publicly funded – higher education. The argument is that when higher education is free everyone – regardless of social or economic background – has the opportunity to take a university degree. Basically, as Danes see it free education is a question of equality and equal access to education.

    However, in globalization the Danish higher education model is challenged: Denmark is one of very few countries in the world which does not have tuition fees (correct me if I’m wrong, but I think there are only 10 countries worldwide with free higher education!). University education is increasingly becoming ‘internationalized’: more and more universities cooperate across borders to offer joint degrees; more and more students go abroad on exchange or take a full degree abroad, etc. With more cooperation across borders it gets more difficult for Denmark to stick with the... » Lire la suite ...

    Tags: blogger of the week, education, equality, public services


  • ENAR: for a fair Europe!

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    • Evaluation: 4.5000
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    Evaluation: 4,5/5 avec 2 votes

    Publié mercredi 25 juin 2008 à 16h42
    par Editeur (vu 627 fois et 0 commentaires)

    European Network Against Racism (ENAR), representing over 600 anti-racism NGOs all over Europe, put forward its suggestions for the manifesto2009!

    Check them here with its director, Pascale Charhon.

    Read ENAR' full contribution here and leave us your comments to tackle minority problems across Europe!

    Tags: égalité, immigration, justice, migration, programme


  • Changing the world

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    Evaluation: 4,5/5 avec 4 votes

    Publié mercredi 25 juin 2008 à 12h47
    par negrescuvictor Devenir militant(e) du PSE (vu 701 fois et 2 commentaires)

    While reading the contributions submitted by several PES member parties or by different NGOs I have noticed something that I thought has disappeared. What is that exactly? The desire to change the world, to ask ourselves what is wrong and, thus, to think about improving the current situation.

    We are far away from living in a perfect world and sometimes it can be difficult to imagine that thousands or millions of people are starving, getting incurable diseases, people who don’t have access to the basic survival needs, not to talk about the lack of education.

    Europe is far from having resolved its own problems but the power of our political (social and economic) Union resides in the value of solidarity. Countries and regions have been reconstructed based on this solidarity, people have known prosperity and wealth, the living conditions have improved and no one can say otherwise. People from countries like Ireland, Greece, Spain, and Portugal know what I’m talking about… Solidarity is difficult when this means giving a bite of your wealth but you always have to remember that this is what EU is all about:... » Lire la suite ...

    Tags: blogueur de la semaine, élections, PSE, UE


  • Social Democratic Foundations (ENSoF) contribute to the Manifesto!

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    Evaluation: 4,7/5 avec 3 votes

    Publié mercredi 25 juin 2008 à 12h29
    par Editeur (vu 574 fois et 0 commentaires)

    The European Network of Social Democratic Foundations (ENSoF) became very involved in the PES Manifesto consultation, coordinating research with their 16 member organizations. They started in January 2008 with a preparatory workshop in Vienna and since then successively held four further workshops in Sofia, Athens, Paris and Rome – one on each of the core themes. Debating the draft papers with MEPs and other experts in Brussels on May 29, ENSoF finally delivered a very comprehensive booklet as their contribution to the PES Manifesto consultation.

    The scientific yet political approach of the foundations to the most important issues on the European agenda undoubtedly represents a unique enrichment to the consultation process. Having done extensive analytical research, ENSoF also presented a number of concrete proposals on “Europe in the world”, “European Democracy and Diversity”, “Save our Planet” and “New Social Europe”. Here is just a small selection:

    » Lire la suite ...

    Tags: programme, PSE, UE


  • Europe cannot be built behind the citizens’ backs

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    Evaluation: 4,5/5 avec 4 votes

    Publié mercredi 25 juin 2008 à 09h36
    par franciscopolo Devenir militant(e) du PSE (vu 565 fois et 2 commentaires)

    Last week we had a very good article at the Spanish PES Activists site that I would like to share with you. It was writen by one of our activists in Madrid, Nebulosa, who preferred to use a nickname for work related reasons. The article treats an important subject:

    A public debate has opened up again about the new way to govern Europe. Three countries held a referendum on the old treaty for a European constitution; and while it was approved in Spain, it was turned down both in Holland and France. The new Treaty of Lisbon is not being ratified via referendums but is subject to the approval by the different Parliaments of the member States. One exception should be noted: Ireland.

    Ireland was the only country where a referendum was called, and its citizens decided to reject the Treaty. Maybe Irish voters did not take into consideration all the benefits that they have obtained from Europe, which have made their remarkable development possible. But what is happening in such Europhile countries as France and Holland for them to turn their back on building this new European Union?

    Many citizens are having opposing feelings about how to build that... » Lire la suite ...

    Tags: blogueur de la semaine, citoyens, démocratie, UE


  • Support social tourism

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    • Evaluation: 4.0000
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    Evaluation: 4/5 avec 3 votes

    Publié mardi 24 juin 2008 à 11h56
    par Editeur (vu 539 fois et 1 commentaires)

    Have you ever imagined how many elderly can not afford to go on holidays and the consequences on their wellbeing?

    Taking this into account, several Socialist MEPs launched an initiative that intends to enhance senior’s quality of life. How? By giving them the opportunity to go on holidays!

    The program follows similar experiences in Spain, Portugal and Great-Britain. The idea is, through EU funds, to allow seniors to travel in different tourism structures across Europe. The investment would enable savings in many other areas such as unemployment compensations or the collection of taxes resulting from the touristic activity.

    The benefits would include:

    - New and better jobs over the whole year
    - Better... » Lire la suite ...

    Tags: droits de l'homme, programme, seniors


  • In your Dreams!

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    • Evaluation: 4.3333
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    Evaluation: 4,3/5 avec 6 votes

    Publié mardi 24 juin 2008 à 09h48
    par franciscopolo Devenir militant(e) du PSE (vu 732 fois et 1 commentaires)

    On 10 June the Labour Ministries of the European Union agreed the possibility of enlarging the work journey to 60 hour or, eventually, 65 hours if the company and the worker agree to do so.

    The reaction in Spain: this is a clear attack to the Social Europe we are trying to achieve and we are not going to assume it easily.

    Today in Europe, the maximum work journey is set at 48 hours per week. It was set this way by the International Labour Organisation in 1917. According to Lourdes Muñoz a recognised socialist blogger in Spain:

    This Directive will eliminate the right to rest during the continued working journeys, it attempts against the safety and health at the work place and difficult the conciliation of personal and working life.

    ... » Lire la suite ...

    Tags: blogueur de la semaine, emploi, travailleurs