PES Newsletter n°10 - June 2006
European, Socialist and proud of it - join the PES activists
Will you become a PES activist? It’s the new opportunity now open to all members of Europe’s socialist, social democratic and labour parties. Socialist values have always stood against nationalism, now we can build an international party with real grassroots.
Democratic Left gets top jobs in Prodi Government
The Italian Democratic Left – the PES’ largest Italian member party – has no fewer than 11 Ministerial posts in the new Prodi Government. Top jobs given to the Democratic Left include Foreign and Interior Ministers Massimo D’Alema and Giuliano Amato. New Italian President Giorgio Napolitano is also a member of the Democratic Left.
PES Balkan network
PES leaders pledged at a meeting in Sofia to increase cooperation between Balkan countries through closer links between social democratic parties in the regions and with the PES, including an annual leaders meeting.
Free Belarus political prisoners
Members of the PES presidency, including many leading members of the European social democratic family, called for the immediate release of all political prisoners in Belarus.
PES President Poul Nyrup Rasmussen answers questions from PES activists
PES Women Annual Conference
Over 100 women from 27 European countries met in Copenhagen to discuss the controversial topic of women, religion and culture.
Energy and Climate Change - discussion paper out for consultation
The PES has issued its initial discussion paper on Energy and Climate Change for consultation with its member parties and Ministers, and for input from PES activists.
FORTHCOMING EVENTS
Chat on the future of Europe
Participate in a live chat with Poul Nyrup Rasmussen on the future of Europe. The chat will take place on 20 June from 12. 15 p.m. to 1. 45 p.m. Post your questions from Monday 19.
PES Congress
The PES Congress will take place on 7 and 8 December 2006 in Porto, Portugal. Some 1,000 people, including 360 voting delegates, will be attending from 33 member parties in 28 European countries.
Leaders Meeting
Socialist Prime Ministers and Party Leaders will meet in Brussels on 15 June just before the EU Summit.
Lisbon Network
The relaunched PES Lisbon Network will have its first meeting on 6 July in Helsinki under the chairmanship of former German Finance Minister Hans Eichel. The Finnish and other EU Labour and Employment Ministers will be there to discuss flexicurity and a PES contribution to the EU social summit on flexicurity on 20 October.
New Social Europe
The next seminar on inclusive society will take place in Madrid on 23 June. The seminar on European dimension with Jacques Delors, Anna Diamantopoulou and PES President Poul Nyrup Rasmussen will be held in Brussels on 28 June. The closing conference of the PES New Social Europe initiative will take place in Paris on 21 September.
Turkey High Level Working Group
The PES Group on Turkey, led by Paavo Lipponen and George Papandreou, meets in Brussels on 15 June.
PES Women - gender equality conference in Finland
Socialist and social democratic women have been invited by the Finnish Equality Minister to meet around a conference on Gender Equality organized by the Finnish EU Presidency on 6 and 7 October.
Elections
PES wishes Slovak Social Democrat Leader Robert Fico success in elections on 17 June – and a swift end to the country’s flat rate tax disaster.
