Resolution from the Warsaw Council
As adopted by the Presidency on 15 November 2002
We meet in Warsaw on the eve of an historic enlargement of the European Union. The result will be a more united Europe. It will finally consign to history the division of our continent into East and West. The unity of Europe offers major gains to both existing and new member-states. To existing members of the EU it offers a larger, stronger European Union which can speak with even greater authority and global negotiations, and be a stronger force for progress in the world. For new members Enlargement offers the prospect of increased trade and investment and improving living standards. For both old and new members a united Europe will provide the basis for common action to tackle common problems such as protection of the environment, cross-border crime, and the guarantee of peace and stability in our continent.
For the first time in the history of the Union, European parliamentarians, national parliamentarians and representatives of the governments as well as representatives of parliaments and governments of the applicant countries are working together in the Convention, in order to draft a new constitutional Treaty that will be the basis for the future development of the Union. This represents a unique opportunity for the European Union to pursue its historic vocation for peace, stability and prosperity in the process of enlargement to the east and south. We want this Constitution to be founded on democratic legitimacy, to promote the European social model in a framework of sustainable development, full employment, innovation and social cohesion; to develop an area of freedom, security and justice; to strengthen the place of Europe in the world; to make the Union more democratic, transparent, effective and close to citizens.
Social Democrats have a major responsibility to ensure that enlargement is successfully completed. The great majority of the population in the candidate countries have elected governments with a Prime Minister from a party that belongs to our political family. This provides the PES with the opportunity to act as a bridge to Enlargement, but also places upon us an obligation to fulfil the expectations of the electors who placed their confidence in us.
Enlargement of the Union fits naturally with the commitment of Social Democrats to solidarity. We want to build a Europe in which no country is excluded from economic development and no citizen is confronted with poverty and prevented from realising their full potential. Therefore we consider it necessary that enlargement be brought to completion and that as European construction is deepened politically an economic and social governance of the Union is established with the objective of reinforcing its internal cohesion.
This gathering of the PES Council brings together delegates from our parties both within the Union and from the candidate countries. Together we have established our common ground on two key challenges.
A United Europe’s Global Responsibilities
One of the imperatives which compels Europe towards an enlarged Union is the challenge of globalisation. We believe that the European Union has a duty to contribute to the maintenance of peace and democracy and to the respect of human rights. It must also be able to face the global challenges of sustainable social and economic progress, environmental protection and the fight against poverty. As the principal trading partner of the developing countries, it must take care to ensure that world trade is made subject to solidarity. We want the Union to speak with one united voice in all international stages.
As internationalists we welcome the increased opportunities for partnership between countries that a managed globalisation will represent. As environmentalists we accept the new responsibility imposed upon us by globalisation to safeguard the planet’s resources and ecology. As Social Democrats we resolve to defeat those forces within the globalised economy that would promote injustice and we pledge to maximise the opportunities within globalisation for a fairer, freer world. We propose, moreover, to ensure that the EU intervenes -as a global power and taking as a reference the European social model- in an efficient manner in the process of globalisation in order to make it both more democratic and more social, presenting a project for world solidarity against neoliberal tendencies which still prevail in this process.
We therefore adopt the following principles to guide our approach to the challenges and opportunities of globalisation.
- Solidarity Between Peoples
- A Global Social Market
We commit ourselves to ensuring that the international rules of trade promote development and prevent exploitation. We believe that the priority of the new world trade round should be to open up fairer access to the markets of the rich countries for the exports of the poor countries, including agricultural products. The global institutions for economic governance such as the IMF, World Bank and WTO should work in close cooperation in the United Nations system and with the EU speaking with one united voice with these institutions. Economic governance institutions should pursue policies that are supportive of the Millennium goals for reducing poverty and ensure that the economic benefits of globalisation are fairly shared. The role of the ILO should be recognised in order to raise social rights and to promote workers’ interests. New initiatives and work also have to be done to democratise these institutions. In addition to aid and more open and fair trade there is a need to create new mechanisms of distributing wealth in the world. Particular focus should be placed on tackling the negative effects of unregulated currency flows, the arms trade and the exploitation of global natural resources. The EU must proceed with the reform of the CAP and avoid drafting new agricultural policies that have a negative impact on the chances of developing countries to develop their agricultural sector.
An Economic and Social Council must ensure the coherence and the direction of the institutions. This Council will promote a hierarchy of international norms which take into account the social and environmental effects of international exchange. The service and industrial sectors should be treated in such a manner as to allow European states to preserve their objectives of social and regional cohesion.
- Multilateral Decision-Making
We commit ourselves to building an international community with authoritative institutions to reach collective decisions in promoting peace and maintaining security on the basis of strict respect for international law. To this end we will work to uphold the legitimacy of the UN. We will continue to strengthen structures for civil conflict prevention and crisis management and to seek an operational European Security and Defence Force that can strengthen Europe’s contribution to keeping the peace.
- Transparent Global Institutions
We commit ourselves to ensuring that global institutions demonstrate the same transparency and openness that we expect from our domestic political institutions. We will pursue dialogue with the NGO community on our common concerns on globalisation and will press for international bodies to provide opportunities for NGOs to contribute to the development of policy. The international community must not only be a collective of governments but must also harness the energy and creativity of their civil societies.
- Sustainable Development
We commit ourselves to halting the degradation of the rich and diverse ecology of the planet and to stabilising the climate of the world. At the global level Europe must continue to provide leadership in bringing the Kyoto Protocol into legal force and in fulfilling the Johannesburg targets on clean water for every community. At the domestic level each European country must adopt strategies on energy, transport and agriculture which respect the principles of sustainable development. At European level we work for minimum standards to promote the long-term health of the continent and its citizens: from the safety of nuclear power plants to the quality of the food we eat. The preservation of our environment and the safety of our food require collective action across Europe for common good.
- European Union as a Good Neighbour
Enlargement will bring the European Union new members, and will bring it also new neighbours. In South East Europe the EU must offer ever closer integration to foster reconciliation, ethnic equality and sustainable development. In Eastern Europe the EU must strengthen respect for norms of democratic governance and individual freedom.
The PES will work to secure broad political consensus in support of these principles. We commend the report already prepared on sustainable development under Göran Persson and look forward to the report on globalisation to be prepared under Poul Nyrup Rasmussen. We instruct the Presidency in the year ahead to maintain these issues as a political priority and to continue dialogue on globalisation with NGOs. In taking forward this work the PES will work closely with our sister parties in the Socialist International which should be able to be present on the world scene with its own project for management of globalisation and for the construction of a new international order which is fair and democratic. We will also seek closer political co-operation with other progressive forces, for instance in North America, wherever it is possible to establish common ground for multilateral solutions.
Two decades ago the Brandt Report led by distinguished European Social Democrats, had a profound impact in stimulating debate on global responsibility and global governance. We are conscious that in the generation since then globalisation has accelerated to an even greater degree than was anticipated. The institutions for global decision-making have not developed at the same pace. Although the Brandt Report sought to narrow the gulf between rich and poor nations, some of the effects of extreme liberalisation and deregulation of globalisation have been to widen the gap between the developed nations and the poorest countries, especially in Africa.
In these new circumstances we believe there could be merit in an authoritative follow-up to the Brandt Report for the new century. We therefore invite all those who share our commitment to a just world to join us in establishing a new progressive consensus on the way forward.
The Future of Social Democracy
Europe is home to a social model based on partnership, to welfare provision based on solidarity, and to parliamentary government based on democracy and equal rights. The PES represents the Socialist and Social Democrat Parties of Europe who champion these values.
We congratulate our colleagues in Germany and Sweden on their recent electoral victories. We look forward to a similar success by Social Democrats in Austria later this month and in The Netherlands in the new year.
The collapse of the governments in The Netherlands and Austria demonstrate the inherent instability of reactionary populism, and the unreliability of such partners for responsible government. Nevertheless in a number of countries Social Democracy has experienced reverses over the past two years. It is vital that we learn the lessons of these reverses and ensure that we leave no place in the modern Europe where the extreme Right can gain a political foothold.
We therefore adopt the following priorities for our political programme.
- Social justice
Globalisation rewards workers with skills for which there is global competition, but penalises unskilled workers who must compete against cheaper labour. If we are to preserve the social cohesion of European communities then we must pursue more vigorously than ever policies of social justice. A key strength of Social Democrats is that our policies of social inclusion, opportunity and welfare can provide the citizen with security to face the rapid change of the modern economy.
- A Europe of Jobs
Unemployment provides a fertile recruiting ground for the extreme Right. Social Democrats must demonstrate that we offer the opportunity both for jobs and for better quality jobs. At national level we must emphasise our commitment to free education and access to skills for all. At European level we must re-assert full employment as the central goal of the Lisbon Process and insist that in the Stability and Growth Pact as much emphasis is given to growth and employment as to stability. Progress should be achieved in European economic governance by the strengthening of the Euro-group and lead to a better co-ordination of budgetary policy as well as an institutional dialogue with the ECB to enhance growth and employment.
- A Common European Asylum and Migration Policy
Global economic trends are accompanied by global migration. This has been exploited by the extreme Right to promote a politics of false identity based on fear and discrimination. Europe must offer a common approach. This must regulate legal migration and recognise that our economies gain from the skills and contribution of the legitimate migrant. It must also control illegal migration and to fight against human trafficking. Our common approach needs to include positive policies to tackle at their roots the problems of poverty and oppression which prompt outward migration.
- Equality for All
The most poisonous message of the Extreme Right is their racism and xenophobia. Social Democrats believe that all human life is of equal worth and every citizen should be of equal status irrespective of race or religion. We will only have strong and secure societies if we insist on the equal rights of every member including those who have most recently settled in our countries. Active policies should be pursued to guarantee the successful integration and participation of non-EU citizens in our societies. Immigrants are in a weaker position from the start and therefore need a lift to reach average national levels. Those nations who are most successful at home in pursuing policies of tolerance and pluralism are also likely to be the most successful abroad in building the foreign partnerships required by globalisation.
- Security against Crime
A common feature of modern societies is popular perception that crime has become a greater threat to individuals. To Social Democrats this must be an issue of concern as fear of crime breeds suspicion and hostility which corrode the cohesion of society. As the representatives of the weak it is also an immediate political issue as the incidence of crime is most frequent in poor, deprived neighbourhoods. At domestic level we must demonstrate that we attach high political priority to defeating crime. At European level we must intensify cross-border co-operation to match the cross-border networks of organised crime. We must also give equal priority to tackling the social roots of crime, particularly by eliminating youth unemployment and replacing nihilism with hope.
- A Popular Europe
The extreme Right opposes a united Europe and seeks to retreat into a past of narrow nationalism. We must expose their chauvinism as a dead end out of touch with an interdependent world. But we must also restore popular support for the European project. At European level the members of the PES on the Convention on the Future of Europe have developed proposals for a more transparent and more democratic European Union. At a national level PES parties must press the Council of Ministers for policies that meet the priorities of the public on the environment, human rights and economic opportunity. The aim is to create a Union closer to the people, which involve everyone who lives in the Union.
- Greater participation by citizens
This new century is marked by a disaffection amongst citizens towards democratic institutions which is continuously exploited by populists. Social democrats have a responsibility to rehabilitate these institutions amongst public opinion and to improve the value given to public service. Social democrats must find a balance between a culture of government, necessary for all reformist actions and a capacity for critical evaluation of the policies that have been put in place, so as to mobilise the public in a global project. Social democrats consider that the role of the state, even if it needs to improve its performance, is essential to ensure equality between citizens, notably by redistribution and public services.
- A Europe of solidarity
We call upon social democrats to consolidate economic, social and regional policy taking into account the effects of future enlargement, globalisation and progressive liberalisation. Cohesion has to be clearly recognised as one of the priority missions of the European Union in order to achieve the principles of solidarity, co-operation and redistribution. In moving towards greater integration we must show our real commitment in favour of integration between peoples and territories of the Union.
In eighteen months time we will confront with confidence the test of these political principles and priorities in the elections to the European Parliament. We will face those elections as a united PES working together across a united Europe. Our sister parties in the candidate countries will become full, equal members of the PES from the conclusion of their negotiations and in advance of accession. Our member parties within the present European Union pledge themselves to give full solidarity to our colleagues in the candidate countries both in preparing their countries for membership of the European Union and in contesting their first elections to the European Parliament. Our joint goal is to restore the PES as the largest single Group within the European Parliament. In order to achieve this the PES should lead a united campaign based on a common programme of all European socialists and social democrats.
The PES seeks a Europe built on the firm foundation of just values – democracy and freedom, social solidarity and equality of rights, sustainable development and common security and peace. We seek also a Europe that has the strength and legitimacy of public support because the peoples of Europe know that its institutions are accountable to them and its policies reflect their priorities. As delegates from many different European countries we commit our parties to work together for our common objective of that united Europe.
