Published Tuesday, December 2, 2008 at 11:19
by
Editor
in Debate (176 views and 1 comments)
A common manifesto
for the European left!
Yesterday in Madrid, at PES Council, the socialist, social
democrat and labour parties leaders adopted their common
manifesto for the European elections. This manifesto is the
ultimate step of an open consultation which lasted for almost a
year.
None was missing. First, 400 PES activists who arrived in Madrid
from every corner of Europe. They were there on the stage, just
behind their leaders, supporting them and asking their questions
about the most relevant themes of the manifesto.
Then the big moment came, Poul Nyrup Rasmussen invited all the
leaders to join him and one by one, each of them came to the
stage, gave their reasons for supporting the Manifesto and voted
for its official adoption.
Then was Poul Nyrup Rasmussen's moment: he spoke and you could
really feel the energy and the enthusiasm spreading into the
plenary and among all the activists attending the session. The
Prime Minister of Spain, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero closed this
adoption by a long speech.
Now it is time to jump in the campaign and take Europe
back. Yes, we definitely can.
Published Monday, December 1, 2008 at 18:51
by
desmondotoole 
in Debate (70 views and 0 comments)
An in-depth discussion of EU employment legislation and the
intricacies of European social policy is quite a challenge
immediately after a large lunch! These are the sort of topics
that might send a weaker socialist back to his hotel room for a
quick lie-down. However, the seminar led by the Spanish MEP,
Manuel Medina Ortega, brought together the right experts on
social policy and workers’ rights to do justice to these
immensely important issues.
The key theme of the seminar was outlined by the first speaker, and that is, that socialist and social democratic women and men share the same challenge across the whole of Europe: “… to earn the trust of the citizens”. Recent decisions on workers’ rights by the European Court of Justice and the history of initiatives coming from neo-liberal commissioners which seek to roll-back the social rights of Europe’s citizens have all contributed to a crisis of trust in European institutions. So, how can we, as socialists and social democratic activists and public representatives, take back the European public space? How can we put the social needs and aspirations of our people at the heart of the European Union?
read morePublished Thursday, November 27, 2008 at 18:59
by
Editor
in Debate (288 views and 0 comments)
On December 1st in Madrid Europe’s socialist, social democratic
and labour parties will adopt a common manifesto for the European
elections in 2009. It will be a joint political platform for 33
parties from 27 EU countries under the umbrella of the Party of
European Socialists (PES).
‘People first: A new direction for Europe’ won’t
be some lowest common denominator but a powerful document in
which the PES
• sets out a new, progressive direction for
Europe,
• offers a clear choice between the PES and its
conservative, liberal and populist opponents,
• puts forward a serious alternative to 5 years
of conservative majority in the European Union.
We created a common Manifesto thanks to all of you and the
contributions you sent us!
Do you want to continue participating, but you cannot come to
Madrid?
The PES set up several ways to allow everyone to get
involved:
Follow the public adoption of the PES manifesto via the live
streaming, available on PES website on Monday the 1st of December
from 12.30 to 14.00 (central European time)
Have your say. Ask your question to the PES leaders attending the
Plenary on Monday morning, by emailing it at
Published Sunday, November 23, 2008 at 01:19
by
Ari Rusila
in Debate (197 views and 0 comments)
I just took a glance at very interesting new report published on 21st November 2008 by the United States National Intelligence Council - Washington's main intelligence body. The report, Global Trends 2025: A World Transformed, is published every four years to give U.S. leaders insight into looming problems and opportunities. This agency of agencies, formed in 1979, brings together analysis from each of America's multiple intelligence organizations to develop mid- to long-term strategic thinking for the country's security community.
Highlights
Here only few highlights of this 120 pages analysis:
Published Saturday, November 15, 2008 at 02:47
by
Ari Rusila
in Debate (246 views and 0 comments)
Published Wednesday, November 5, 2008 at 11:35
by
mochinho
in Debate (358 views and 2 comments)
Change has come to
the United States of America and the world. Barack Obama’s
victory is historic. He is the first Afro-American ever to become
President and has therefore shown that the gap between claim and
reality of the American dream has been closed a little bit more.
According to that the election results for Mr Obama show that the
content of his policy was the deciding issue in this election and
not superficialities.
The new President faces a lot of challenges and expectations. Some sceptical people mind already that there is the risk of disappointment if Barack Obama cannot solve all the problems. This people can be replied many problems do not concern the United States alone but the whole world. Therefore there has to be a common approach, especially in the United Nations framework, the WTO, the G8, the OECD, and even the NATO. On 07/24/08 in his famous Berlin speech Mr Obama called for more cooperation, and as a citizen of the European Union I understand that the EU as a vital partner of the United States of America which is ready to intensify its cooperation and that others will join as well. Again some sceptical people argue that Barack Obama will demand more support from the allies of the United States. But again one can give an adequate reply: It matters how the demand is made. Mr Obama...
read morePublished Tuesday, October 7, 2008 at 14:48
by
Editor
in Debate (1254 views and 6 comments)
The deadline has been postponed until October the 27th.
Are you between 16 and 35 years old? Are you committed in
exploring new paths on future EU challenges? So join the debate
and give your contribution in building “The Young Socialist
Dream”, the motto for a series of conferences that the Socialist
Group in the European Parliament is going to hold in
Brussels.
This is the place where you can share your concerns and hopes on
EU policies with Socialist MEPs, and to point out your criticism
and ideas on how to bring EU politics closer to you and your
generation’s aspirations by braking away from political and
academic analysis and to give open, taboo-free direct
dialogue.
Four sessions will be hold between December 2008 and March 2009:
Intercultural Dialogue, Globalisation and climate change, Social
Europe, Peace in the World. Each of them will be followed by a
cultural event in the evening.
The first will take place on the afternoon of December the 10th
and the morning of December the 11th. Migration and
interculturality are the focus of the first conference, with
priority given to young people coming from Southern Europe, in
particular from all those regions which are directly affected by
integration problems.
Make your voice heard! Fill...
Tags: EU, Youth
File:
Debates_for_Europe_EN.pdf,
Registration_Form_EN.doc
Published Wednesday, September 24, 2008 at 10:22
by
elwira30
in Debate (712 views and 1 comments)
Marek Siwiec, Vice-President of the European Parliament and
member of the Socialist Group in the EP has initiated an action
"Good Bag".
Throughout his constituency in the Wielkopolska region Marek
Siwiec's assistants and members of local bodies of Democratic
Left Alliance (SLD) have been distributing eco bags of the PSE
Group in the EP with attached letters of the MEP and leaflets
with environmental tips.
Also, the inhabitants could take part in a survey and find out
about their Carbon Footprint.
The action, very much liked by the inhabitants, will be conducted
in 30 districts.
read more
Published Monday, September 15, 2008 at 15:25
by
Editor
in Debate (718 views and 2 comments)
The Erasmus
Generation, all those young Europeans who have been students
during these last 20 years and who have had the opportunity to
spend some months of their studies in one of the Member States of
the European Union. Many things have been said about them, they
are the first to have experienced the good opportunities created
by the European Union and they will be the real European citizens
of tomorrow.
So everyone assumes they should be the most enthusiastic European
supporters. False.
During “Mobilising for Democracy”, Alexander Trechsel,
Professor of Political Science at the European University
Institute in Florence, presented a report, by Eurobarometer, on the referendum in
Ireland on the Lisbon Treaty, rejected with 52.3% voting No.
The results of the study clearly show that young people, 18-24
years-old, were much less likely to participate than their older
counterparts. 58% of full-time students did not vote at all.
The picture does not change if we look at data regarding how they
voted. Two-third of the 18-24 years-old group voted against the
treaty, compared for example to 42% of those aged 55 and over.
Students were strong supporters...
Published Monday, September 8, 2008 at 01:26
by
Ari Rusila
in Debate (643 views and 4 comments)
During last conflicts in Caucasus and before in Balkans there has been discussion about EU's position between conflicting parties -between east and west. I can agree with those who advise that EU should not take sides but rather balance its criticism with conflicting parties. From my point of view this could mean an approach with keywords such as understanding, dialogue and multi-polar world.
The Balkans have been the focus of extensive public attention for a long time yet not many people can honestly claim to have a firm understanding of the region, its history or the complexity of the problems. The same one can say about Caucasus. I would like to claim that one factor has its share 1st creating problems and 2nd making difficult to manage them. This factor is lack of dialogue, which in both regions has created one-sided picture in western mainstream media and peoples mind.
In dialogue, one listens to the other side in order to understand, find meaning, and find agreement. In debate, one listens to the other side in order to find flaws and to counter its arguments. Dialogue assumes that many people have pieces of the answer and that together they can put them into a workable solution. Debate assumes that there is a right answer and that someone has it. Debate can have maybe better headlines in news but it is not for sustainable solutions.
Few days ago the Russian president, Dmitry Medvedev, outlined his country's national interests in a set of...
read morePublished Tuesday, August 26, 2008 at 14:40
by
carl0s
in Debate (777 views and 7 comments)
Politicians are now expected to use the internet as a matter of
course. This process has been led by the United States, where in
most elections, there is usually a "President of the Internet
Moment." This could refer to a politician who gains fleeting
popularity from using the internet in a possibly innovative
fashion, or enlisting a keen following of bloggers and posters to
evangelise online.
Professional usage of the internet and its capabilities does not
guarantee political success. Arguably, the more slick and managed
the presentation, the less impact is generated. The online world
seems to be attuned to phenomena rather than propaganda. In
Europe, internet traffic sits outside the world of mainstream
political culture, it's hard to find examples where
conventionally formulated political communication strategies have
been successfully translated onto the web.
To read more, click here
read more
Published Friday, July 11, 2008 at 17:46
by
Editor
in Debate (1165 views and 2 comments)
The last war on Iraq
showed until which extent Europeans may become divided when it
comes to external policy. Core theme of the manifesto, “Europe in
the World” was also one of the topics discussed in one of the
sessions during the Vienna Forum!
Jean Asselborn (LSAP, Luxembourg), key-note speaker, stressed the role played by the Balkan region to stabilize Europe. The region must be stabilized in the frame of a peaceful Europe. Moreover, the failure of the “Balkan project” will have as a consequence the failure of Europe as a peace project.
Asselborn defended that the EU must assume a role in the Middle East. On the one hand Israel has the very right to exist, but it must stop its settlement policy and the blockade of the West Bank. The key to world peace lies in this region of the globe.
Piero Fassino (DP, Italy), the second key-note speaker on this session, underlined that what is lacking in Europe is not transparency – the procedures are very clear – but democracy! Citizens feel that they do not participate in the construction process of the EU.
Additionally, immigration will increase in the...
read morePublished Monday, July 7, 2008 at 14:04
by
Editor
in In the spotlight (797 views and 0 comments)
Editor's note:
Aidan OSullivan, PES activists Dublin, sent us a live example of
good practices at European level, presented in Vienna during the
seminar on "Cross-border campaign exchanges".
In May 2007, we invited activists from all over Europe to come
help in the Irish General Election campaign.
The initiative was a fantastic success! We knocked on doors
together, we leafleted target areas together, we shared ideas and
stories and we formed new cross-European political
relationships!
This is how PES Activists works....activist to activist
co-operation, building the New Social Europe from the grassroots
level upward.
Check out the short presentation on our experience!
Tags: citizens, democracy, elections, EU, forum
File:
PESActivistsDublin.pps
Published Thursday, July 3, 2008 at 10:50
by
chourka
in European democracy & diversity (669 views and 0 comments)
Très rares sont les contributions qui pointent du doigt les discriminations dont souffre la communauté Rom. Une seule exception à cet oubli : la contribution de nos camarades du PSD. Faut-il y voir une spécificité locale ? Une chose est certaine : les Roms représentent une population estimée à 8 millions d'individus sur notre continent soit autant si ce n'est plus que bien des pays composant l'Union européenne.
A ce titre, on peut considérer que c'est la première minorité -si on peut encore parler de minorité avec une telle population- en Europe. Or, en raison de leur inorganisation, de leur dispersion, les Roms ne sont bien souvent pas reconnus. Ni dans leur histoire qui pourtant est faite de pas mal de souffrances (cf. la Seconde guerre mondiale), ni dans leur nature même.
Il y a là pour notre famille politique une question majeure à traiter. Pour être un peu provocateur, on peut d'ailleurs considérer que les premiers Européens sont les Roms, en cela, qu'ils ne sont pas attachés à un Etat-membre en particulier et qu'ils font preuve d'une mobilité peu commune à l'exception des cadres supérieurs.
La manière dont certains gouvernements sont tentés de faire des entorses aux Accords Schengen voire de remettre en cause la Liberté de circulation des personnes (une des...
read morePublished Tuesday, July 1, 2008 at 11:58
by
aidanosullivan
in In the spotlight (1022 views and 0 comments)
With attempts to
harmonize corporate tax rates being vetoed by states like the UK
and Ireland, the EU Commission wishes to address the tax obstacles
facing companies operating across the Internal Market by
implementing a Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base (CCCTB).
The CCCTB would mean reducing the cost of working with 27 different national tax systems as they would be able to compute their aggregate profits to a single set of tax rules. The total EU profit would be then apportioned among the countries where the firm is active.
It has established a Working Group to consider first its technical definition and later details of the profit apportioning mechanism. Commissioner Kovacs had plans to bring forward proposals before the end of 2008, but this is now postponed due to the Lisbon Treaty vote in Ireland. The CCCTB will be optional and the Commission will propose its adoption under the enhanced cooperation mechanism failing unanimous agreement.
The Case for CCCTB
The Commission believes that reform of EU corporate taxation is crucial for achieving the goals of the Lisbon agenda and that an efficient, transparent and simplified tax regime will improve the functioning of the Internal Market. It believes CCCTB will contribute to the international competitiveness...
read morePublished Saturday, June 28, 2008 at 22:28
by
Sortir de l'Impasse
in In the spotlight (683 views and 0 comments)
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 that to be efficient in the world, Europe should be able to speak one voice, whether it is for diplomacy or for environmental challenges. Let us take an example: the euro...
read morePublished Friday, June 27, 2008 at 10:45
by
negrescuvictor
in New Social Europe (899 views and 2 comments)
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 communities regarding the other European communities migrating and explaining the good effects that this brings on the economy
Economic delocalization
East: most of the Eastern European countries are in need of foreign investments to develop the national economy and to all that is needed to attract...
read morePublished Thursday, June 26, 2008 at 16:30
by
arktika
in European democracy & diversity (816 views and 7 comments)
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 equate European perspective and EU membership. Does Switzerland or Norway have less European perspective than member-states?
Some EU benefits can be applied without belonging to the Union. For instance it is possible to travel from Finland, Sweden and Norway much easier than between Hungary and Romania (both EU members).
Is there an alternative to the EU? I envisage the following options:
Published Wednesday, June 25, 2008 at 12:47
by
negrescuvictor
in In the spotlight (1002 views and 2 comments)
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: mutual help when you are facing a bad economic situation.
The current economic situation that is getting generally worst is...
read morePublished Wednesday, June 25, 2008 at 12:29
by
Editor
in In the spotlight (910 views and 0 comments)
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:
Published Wednesday, June 25, 2008 at 09:36
by
franciscopolo
in New Social Europe (845 views and 2 comments)
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:
read moreA 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 Europe. On the one hand, they receive positive messages (equality of 400...
Published Monday, June 23, 2008 at 09:11
by
Joel Cordier
in In the spotlight (884 views and 0 comments)
Je vous propose un texte rédigé par Antonio Carmelo Scifo et Renato Sallustio, militants PSE de Charleroi.
Par ailleurs, je vous invite à découvrir la contribution rédigée par leur groupe pour le manifeste.
La chute du mur de Berlin qui symbolisait la division de la planète en deux camps adverses a fait naitre un espoir de communication et de compréhension réciproque. Cet évènement pouvait même être perçu comme l'occasion de réaliser sur le plan économie et sociale ce que certains intellectuels nommaient une "troisième" voie qui serait en quelque sorte une synthèse, selon l'acception hégélienne du terme, dans laquelle se résoudrait la relation dialectique entretenue par les deux anciens systèmes. Cette synthèse aurait pu réunir les préoccupations relatives aux droits sociaux de l'un des systèmes et l'attention aux libertés individuelles propre à l'autre camp.
read morePublished Thursday, June 19, 2008 at 17:10
by
Rui Miguel
in EU in the world (1025 views and 0 comments)
The future of Europe is to become a country, not the United States of Europe but an European Union. Together we are the richest, the biggest democracy and the most powerful country in the world.
The 21st century is the globalization century and we are killing ourselves. With some influential powerful countries arising (Brazil, Russia, India and China) and the United States, Europe as it is today will die very fast. The EU way of act is still having good results in European economies, but in a globalized world we need to have a single voice and act as a single force.
As from the 15th century we conquered the world, we cannot allow others to conquer us. We are good but we need more. We need to act as a continental nation constructed by many others nations (Spain, UK…)!
We Are, In Varietate Concordi
read morePublished Tuesday, June 17, 2008 at 12:04
by
Editor
in New Social Europe (870 views and 0 comments)
Everyone is talking about the „New Social Europe“these days: it is one of the most important issues of the upcoming European elections, not only for European but also for German social democrats. On June 9 SPD chairman and manifesto2009 theme group leader Kurt Beck hosted an expert conference in Berlin. Together with Poul Nyrup Rasmussen (President of the PES), Walter Veltrony (chairman of the Democratic Party of Italy), Michael Sommer (head of the Confederation of German Trade Unions) and many others he discussed the challenges and future duties for the national states and the European Union in order to devise a European economic and social model for a globalized world.
SPD chairman declared the social Europe to be the central social-democratic future project for the European Union in the 21st century: “After the creation of the Single European Market, a common currency and the peaceful unification of the continent through enlargement, the work on a new social Europe must be the great integration project of the forthcoming years.”
In contrast to the European conservatives and the liberals, who are focusing solely on the liberalization of the market, social democrats also want to frame the forces of the market with common social and ecologic standards. Kurt Beck...
read morePublished Tuesday, June 17, 2008 at 09:28
by
Joel Cordier
in European democracy & diversity (899 views and 2 comments)
« The Lisbon Treaty
is now dead », voilà ce que déclarait vendredi Eamon Gilmore,
leader du Parti Travailliste irlandais. En effet, après les « NON »
néerlandais et français de 2005 sur le traité constitutionnel, les
citoyens irlandais ont décidé de rejeter, par 53,4%, le Traité de
Lisbonne.
Alors que « le cadavre est encore chaud », certains échafaudent déjà des stratégies pour contourner le choix démocratiquement exprimé par le peuple irlandais. Personnellement, je considère que ce choix doit être respecté. En effet, je veux croire que le « NON » exprimé jeudi dernier n’est pas un « NON » à l’Europe mais avant tout la manifestation du désir d’une autre Europe.
Comment peut-on espérer convaincre les citoyens européens du bien fondé d’avancées contenues dans des traités alors qu’ils sont confrontés chaque jour à plus de « flexiprécarité » au travail, à la difficulté de couvrir leurs besoins élémentaires (alimentation, logement, chauffage,…) et à des services qui...
read morePublished Monday, June 16, 2008 at 19:01
by
Editor
in In the spotlight (699 views and 0 comments)
Supporters of the
PES manifesto2009 of the French Parti Socialiste gathered for the
presentation of the contribution of the Strasbourg Federation.
During the meeting, held at the capital of the Alsace region,
Patrick Dollat, Europe Secretary-General of the Federation,
emphasized the transnational framework of next European elections
to be hold in June 2009.
“We should do a European campaign rather than a national or a campaign based in Brussels. Citizens should be our priority and we should be right next to them”, he said.
Philip Cordery, PES Secretary-General, and Mathieu Cahn, First Secretary of the Strasbourg Federation, also participated on the meeting.
According to Philip Cordery, the PES manifesto can be an
important step to fill the gap between Europe and its citizens as
it is offering grassroots the possibility to actively define a
common campaigning agenda.
In its contribution, the Strasbourg Federation outlines that the social Europe should be structured through the exercise of political rights by EU citizens outside the framework of national States. One of the solutions...
read morePublished Monday, June 16, 2008 at 08:47
by
mehmetsel
in European democracy & diversity (653 views and 0 comments)
Depuis l'origine de la construction européenne, les européens s'interrogent sur les moyens d'honorer le pacte politique liant les Etats membres. La politique d'unification de l'Europe a donné lieu à de nombreuses controverses sur la nature des institutions à créer pour rassembler les peuples européens. Lorsque le marché commun fut fondé en 1957 ses initiateurs ne pensaient qu'à une coopération purement économique. Si l'on tient compte des circonstances, on peut affirmer qu'ils ont atteint leur but.
Mais on en n'est pas rester là, l'Europe est devenu à...
read morePublished Friday, June 13, 2008 at 17:26
by
Editor
in In the spotlight (679 views and 2 comments)
Commenting on reports that there will be a ‘no’ vote in the Irish referendum on the Lisbon Treaty, PES President Poul Nyrup Rasmussen said
“A no to the Treaty is not a no to Europe. There is still so much we need to do together. Europe cannot afford to waste any more time in institutional crisis or pausing for reflection. If we want citizens to support Europe we need to create a Europe for citizens. We need to tackle the insecurities of ordinary people and families – we need to create more and better jobs, we need to tackle climate change and ensure a secure supply of affordable and sustainable energy, we need to manage globalization in a fairer way for all, we need to deal better with migration.”
“The Irish rejection of the Treaty means we will also have to find a solution to the most urgent institutional issues. This may take some thought and some time, but it must not deflect our attention from the real issues facing us.”
On Friday, the No won in the Irish referendum by 53.4 per cent.
read more
Published Friday, June 13, 2008 at 08:52
by
Desmond O'Toole
in European democracy & diversity (771 views and 1 comments)
Well the polls have closed and the ballot boxes are now safely stored away until they are opened at 09h00 (10h00 CET) on Friday morning. As I predicted, a lot of the discussion in the media this evening has been on how many people turned out to vote. If you remember I said that the general view is that a turnout below 40% would suggest a NO vote, while a turnout above 45% would indicate a YES vote. Well, the national broadcaster, RTÉ, is reporting turnout in the region 40-45%, so I'm afraid I cannot offer even an educated guess as to how the Irish people have voted in this referendum! I will be attending the count in Dublin and we are expecting initial results to be available by lunchtime and a formal announcement of the result by about 17h00 (18h00 CET).
One possible indicator of the result is the view of Irish bookmakers. They are offering better odds on the YES side winning and as everyone knows, bookmakers don't like to lose money. It would not be the first time that Irish bookmakers knew more than Irish politicians and journalists about how the people have voted. However, all of this is just idle speculation. We will know on Friday afternoon whether Lisbon will proceed smoothly to ratification across the EU or whether there will be a crisis for the French Presidency of the EU in Brussels.
... read morePublished Thursday, June 12, 2008 at 10:35
by
karinedaniel
in In the spotlight (634 views and 0 comments)
En tant que socialistes, nous nous félicitons de l'initiative du PSE en vue de créer un socle de programme entre tous les socialistes européens, à travers nos différences, et en mettant en commun les valeurs de solidarité sociale qui nous rassemblent.
Nous souhaitons que le manifeste exprime l’attachement profond des socialistes européens au développement harmonieux et équilibré de l’espace européen et leur volonté de voir amplifiée la politique de cohésion économique et sociale au bénéfice de l’ensemble des villes et régions européennes dans le respect de la diversité des territoires. Cette volonté, cet équilibre ne pourra se dégager que par une vision dynamique des évolutions des territoires, d'une volonté de projets et ce, avec un investissement majeur en formation et recherche. Pour ce faire, les différentes politiques publiques européennes doivent être réellement évaluées, coordonnées et s'appuyer sur un budget à la hauteur des ambitions de l’Union européenne. C'est en ce sens que l'Europe trouvera sa véritable légitimité auprès des citoyens...
read morePublished Thursday, June 12, 2008 at 09:49
by
Desmond O'Toole
in European democracy & diversity (647 views and 0 comments)
From 7h00 to 22h00 on
Thursday (8h00 to 23h00 CET) polling stations across Ireland will
be open and the great game of democracy will be played out with
pencil and ballot paper. Three million citizens across 43
constituencies will vote Tá (YES) or Níl (NO) to amend our
constitution and allow our government to ratify the Lisbon Treaty.
There are over three million citizens registered to vote in this
referendum, the largest number ever in the history of the State.
And the smart money says that voter turnout will be the key to the
final result.
The Irish people had to vote twice to ratify the Nice Treaty. In the first referendum in 2001 the Irish people voted NO by 529,000 votes to 453,000 on a turnout of 35%. At the second referendum a year later we voted YES to Nice by 906,000 votes to 535,000 on a much larger turnout of 49%. Almost all of the extra turnout was YES voters who had abstained in the previous referendum. The big question is whether the same pattern will repeat itself this time? If the NO side has so confused and alienated people from the EU that many decide not to vote and we have a low turnout, then we will lose the referendum and Ireland will fail to ratify the Lisbon Treaty. If, however, the Irish people refuse to be misled by the NO side and instead recognise that Lisbon is important for...
read morePublished Wednesday, June 11, 2008 at 12:11
by
Desmond O'Toole
in European democracy & diversity (750 views and 2 comments)
Three wise men
(yes, men, I'm afraid!), step forward, button up their jackets and
prepare to argue the case for Lisbon. In this photo are the leaders
of the three largest parties in Ireland. From left to right are
Eamon Gilmore of the Labour Party (PES/PSE), Taoiseach Brian Cowen
of Fianna Fáil (UEN) and Enda Kenny of Fine Gael (EPP-ED). They
appeared at a joint press conference yesterday to make a united
call for a YES vote and today, the last day before the
referendum, I'd like to inform everyone of the YES
campaign.
When I described the NO campaign yesterday I talked about the lessons that we need to learn about how disconnected a large minority of citizens are to the EU and the need to put the real benefits of EU membership to our citizens rather than spend so much time discussing institutions and processes. However, I noticed in the Irish Times this morning that Daniel Cohn-Bendit (G-EFA) has joined Bernard Kouchner in attacking Irish democracy. He is reported as calling the Irish ungrateful to Europe, our referendum a "folly" and that, "... if one says NO, one leaves Europe." It is precisely this sort of language and these sorts of threats that socialists and social democrats across Europe must avoid when addressing European citizens. It is precisely...
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