PES Newsletter n°33 - June 2009

PES President Poul Nyrup Rasmussen has made an appeal to all Europeans to vote in the European elections. A vote for the extremists is a wasted vote, and a wasted vote is a vote for the extremists he warns. Listen to his video appeal.

PES candidates for the European elections agreed seven demands for their first 100 days in the new Parliament.

The need for a new recovery plan for Europe has been a key PES message during this election campaign :

- Zapatero shows the way for new and strong recovery plan
- Brown opens debate on new recovery plan
 

The media say Barroso’s second term as Commission President is a ‘done deal’ but Poul Nyrup Rasmussen says a new majority in the European Parliament is possible and would mean a change of Commission President.

PES member parties campaigned on the same day on the same issue on four Saturdays in May! We started on May 9 with ‘New Social Europe’, continued on May 16 with 'Climate change', then on May 23 ‘Relaunching the economy’and finishing last Saturday with ‘People first: a new direction for Europe’.

Campaign meetings from Vilnius to Spain, Zita Gurmai has been campaigning on the internet, blogging on how the PES celebrates all families and not just one ideological view of what the family should be; on how the PES is THE party of gender equality; and why we need to step up efforts to find a vaccine for AIDS.
 

PES Development Ministers warned EU member states not to use tightening national budgets as a reason to get out of their commitment to increase development aid.

Commenting on the draft Directive on Alternative Investment Fund Managers, PES President Poul Nyrup Rasmussen said “This directive has more holes than a Swiss cheese.” 

The PES supported the ETUC fight the crisis demonstration in Brussels and took part in a very visible way.