PES Newsletter n°34 - October 2009

The 8th PES Congress will take place in Prague, Czech Republic, on 7-8 December 2009. PES activists are welcome to attend. Detailed information about guest speakers, the programme and logistics will follow soon. Meanwhile, PES activists can already register on the PES website. Not a PES activist yet? Register here.

The Global Progressive Forum is spearheading a new pan-European campaign advocating comprehensive financial reform in Europe and across the globe. The campaign ‘Regulate Global Finance Now!’ was kick-started in Brussels by the Europeans for Financial Reform, a coalition of trade unions, NGOs, politicians and citizens. Find out more, stay updated and join the campaign at http://europeansforfinancialreform.org.

The European Parliament’s conservative majority, including eurosceptics, voted Barroso back in as Commission chief. The PES will continue to work on matters of real concern to citizens, while applying pressure on the new Commission to take on board the policies and insights of our manifesto.

The Lisbon Treaty gives us more democracy, more efficiency and a stronger basis to fight common challenges. The Irish Yes vote is a setback for all those anti Europeans who wanted to undermine progress for people across the EU, according to PES President Poul Nyrup Rasmussen.

The PES would like to congratulate Prime Ministers George Papandreou, José Sócrates, and Jens Stoltenberg, on their victories in the Greek (4 October), Portuguese (27 September), and Norwegian (14 September) national elections respectively.

Several hundred activists came together in the Irish capital on 11-13 September, where the PES held its second annual Activists’ Forum. A number of interactive workshops provided the platform for a rich exchange of views on the future of the Left in Europe. Blog posts and reports can be accessed here.

FEPS invites young researchers (PhD candidates and PhD academics) to contribute to an exciting Europe-wide debate on the future of Europe, by submitting papers on the trends, possible scenarios and changing context of the values guiding the future development of the continent. The deadline for submissions is 15 November.

For more information on the post of Political Adviser on economic and financial policy, click here. For more information on the post of Media Adviser, click here

8 October - Presidency meeting
13 October - PES Financial and Economic network
15 October - PES Social Europe Network
21 October - PES Environment ministers’ meeting
29 October - PES Prime Ministers’ meeting