PES Leaders pose ‘Europe Day’ question: What sort of Europe do you want?
9 May 2008
To mark Europe Day on 9 May, PES leaders Poul Nyrup Rasmussen and Zita Gurmai, issued a challenge for a more political debate on European Union policies and future direction.
“Whether you are for or against Europe” said PES President Poul Nyrup Rasmussen “is yesterday’s debate. No one can seriously doubt that the European Union has played a big role in establishing peace, democracy and prosperity in Europe. No one can seriously doubt that the European Union has a big future role in helping us to tackle challenges that individual nations cannot deal with alone, such as globalization and climate change.”
“The real debate is what sort of European Union do we want?” said Poul Nyrup Rasmussen. “For me the fundamental question is do we want a European Union where the market is king, or do we want a social Europe where the free market is combined with social justice and environmental sustainability? I do not believe that today’s European Union - with its conservative majority among EU member Governments, in the European Parliament and European Commission – pays enough attention to social justice or environmental sustainability. European citizens feel increasingly insecure about rising prices, about their jobs and their pensions, about their and their children’s future. European leaders need to do more to ensure that workers and their families benefit from globalization. European leaders need to do more to give workers and their families a sense of security and confidence.”
“There is a political fight going on. The European Union is a not a bureaucracy, it is not a set of buildings or institutions in Brussels, it is a political debate about how to contribute to the prosperity and well-being of our countries. It is not different in that sense from the Danish Folketing, the British Houses of Parliament or your local Town Hall. On Europe Day I give the pledge of the Party of European Socialists to make that political choice ever more clear in the run up to the European Parliamentary elections next year.”
“The Lisbon treaty will modernize the EU’s decision-making” said Zita Gurmai, President of PES Women “and provides the tools to enable us to improve social justice and environmental sustainability in the European Union. That is why European socialists and social democrats campaign for ratification of the Lisbon Treaty. But we need to go beyond the new Treaty because the Treaty does not tell us what decisions need to be taken now and in the future. Here there is a fundamental political choice.”
“We need to spell out new policies for Europe that recognise European citizens’ aspirations and concerns for the future” said Zita Gurmai. “We know that the European Union can and does improve people’s lives, as shown by the right to paid holiday and parental leave for workers across the EU, and the protection of public health by banning dangerous chemicals. The Party of European Socialists states, on Europe Day, its unequivocal commitment to develop a new people’s agenda for Europe for the next European elections in June 2009.”
The PES is conducting an open consultation on progressive priorities and policies for its manifesto for the next European elections. This consultation, which last until the end of June 2008, allows party members, trade unions and civil society to contribute to the PES’ orientations for the European elections of June 2009. The on-line consultation has received over 200,000 visits. The PES manifesto for the European elections will be adopted in November 2008 in Madrid at a meeting of all member parties. More on the manifesto consultation here.
