Published Wednesday, July 2, 2008 at 10:01
by
rikkeindenmark 
in In the spotlight (990 views and 0 comments)
Not long ago I learned
about the PES Group in the Committee of the Regions. To be
honest I didn't know about the group's existence until a year ago
(ignorance is not always bliss), but it's a forum for local and
regional politicians to meet and discuss EU politics. It's an
interesting organization because many EU decisions impact greatly
on the local level - and the PES Group is a chance for local and
regional social democrats to meet and work together to influence EU
policies.
I admit that this was a digression from the topic that I actually wanted to address in this post! The reason why I brought up the PES Group in the Committee of the Regions is that the group has its own PES manifesto consultation - and in this consultation there's a fifth point of discussion, in addition to the four 'traditional' themes - namely the gender dimension.
I agree very much with the view-point of the PES Group - that there's a significant gender aspect to all four manifesto themes - and I hope the 'pervasiveness' of gender issues will be taken into consideration when the PES manifesto is drafted over the coming months....
read morePublished Monday, June 2, 2008 at 16:50
by
jose reis santos
in New Social Europe (734 views and 0 comments)
Today, the Portuguese Secretary of State Fernando Medina takes the floor to present some of his ideas on the “New Social Europe”!
In a time where all over Europe people are presenting proposals for the common European manifesto for the 2009 election, the work developed by the PES activists in Portugal should be praised. I believe that we will have the necessary ideas to build a political agenda that will reinforce the social dimension of the European project. For example, we need to insist in the battle for a European minimum wage, as a protection mechanism, and to appeal to people. Naturally, each country has the liberty to adjust their measures regarding this issue but they should do so respecting common criteria. If most European countries already have this kind of measures, why can’t we give them a political hype, with the necessary visibility attached? We can actually make the same with the struggle against poverty and exclusion, especially when concerning children and youth. This is a crucial dimension in the sustainability of our social and economical models because it reinforces the cohesion dimension of our citizenship; because it fights the spread of poverty and maximizes the human and labor potential of our societies. These themes show that the politics of equality of opportunities should go beyond the non-discrimination approach.
Another issue is active aging and...
read morePublished Thursday, February 14, 2008 at 21:20
by
Eric
in New Social Europe (1431 views and 1 comments)
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