Party
of European Socialists' Newsletter

21
October 2010

HOT TOPIC

PES
President calls for public debate with EPP President on how to
confront the far right in Europe

Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, the President of
the Party of European Socialists (PES) has called
for a public debate with the President of the European
Peoples Party (EPP), Wilfried Martens on how to confront the
extreme right in Europe.

Economy

FTT’
Legislation not Speculation’ campaign gains momentum
across Europe

The PES decision to
introduce national
legislative actions calling for a Financial
Transaction Tax (FTT) has begun to gain in
momentum. In the week when EU Finance Ministers
again resisted calls to introduce an FTT at
European level, the PES and Member Parties have
forged ahead with plans to introduce actions in
national parliaments.

Social
Europe

PES
to resist attempts to weaken public pensions as
Conservative attacks increase across Europe

Leading representatives of
socialist and social democratic parties warned
that the economic and financial crisis must not
lead to weaker pension systems in Europe.

The warning came as attacks
by Conservative Governments on Pensions increased
across the continent. In France, trade union
workers are heading into their 6th week of
demonstrations against proposals by President
Nicolas Sarkozy to raise the retirement age. This
week also saw the UK Conservative Government
announce plans to reduce public service pensions,
while in Hungary, Prime Minister Orban has frozen
state contributions to 2nd pillar pensions.

PES
Women

PES
reaction on European Parliament vote to extend Maternity
leave

The PES congratulates
Portuguese Socialist MEP Edite Estrela on her
successfully adopted report on the Maternity Leave
Directive. Today’s vote in the European Parliament
to extend maternity leave from 14 to 20 weeks,
plus the inclusion of two weeks of paternity
leave, received large support.

Social
Europe

PES
reaction to EU Commission statement on the Roma in
France : ‘Now we need to make sure procedures are put in
place to stop any repeat of this story’

Justice Commissioner
Viviane Reding has announced the European
Commission will not pursue infringement procedures
against France.

EDITORIAL

Confronting
the rise of the Extreme Right ‘Confront Yes, Co-operate
No’
Poul Nyrup
Rasmussen, PES President

Given recent statements on the issue of the
rise of the far right in Europe, I call on the EPP to
publically debate our contrasting positions on the
extreme right. ‘Confront
Yes, Co-operate No’. This is the encapsulation of
the PES attitude. I was very much emboldened by the
leadership shown by our Presidency members in adopting
the resolution ‘Confronting
the extreme right: Our Way’. This was not a document
that sets out some vague principles. No, it is a clear
and unambiguous call to action against the rise of these
parties and against the culture of fear that they
promote.

News from PES members

Sven
Mikser elected new leader of the Estonian Social
Democratic Party

Rasmussen
criticises Romanian Parliament Speaker Anastase for
allowing ‘Ghost MPs’ to pass Pension law

Democratic
Party of Moldova welcomed into PES Family

PES President Poul
Nyrup Rasmussen meets with Zlatko Lagumdžija, SDP
Bosnia-Herzegovina Leader

In
address to French Socialists Poul Nyrup Rasmussen calls
for new European orientation

PES
Member Parties ‘on the up’ in South East
Europe

Forthcoming events

22 October - PES Women statutory
meeting
26 October - Gender
ministerial
28 October - PES Prime
Ministers Meeting
1-7 November -
PES Delegation to Japan

Re:new

My
PES

Economy

Social
Europe

Environment

World

PES
Women

PES

More
news

Environment

EU
fails to improve commitments for reducing CO2 emissions

As EU environment ministers refuse to
set more ambitious emission reduction targets, the prospect of
a failure of the Climate Summit in Cancún (December 2010)
becomes more likely.

Social
Europe

PES
Secretary General demands more jobs and better jobs for young
people at ECOSY Youth Employment Conference

PES Secretary General Philip Cordery
opened the ECOSY Youth Employment Conference in Rome by
stating that it was not acceptable in today’s Europe that 1
young people out of 5 is unemployed. Youth unemployment rose
by 36% in the last two years, due to the crisis that the
conservatives and liberals fail to address and worsen by their
austerity measures.

You
are invited to the PES activists Forum at the PES Council in
Warsaw – December 2nd to 4th

The PES is holding its Council on 2-3
December 2010 in Warsaw followed by a PES activists Forum on
3-4 December.

World

Washington
top level progressive forum plans crisis recovery path

On 7 October, the Global Progressive
Forum (GPF) Geneva Group met at the AFL-CIO Headquarters in
Washington DC. Concerned with progressive strategies to
overcome the ongoing global crisis, the topics of discussion
included international financial market regulation; the global
promotion of green economies and sustainable development as
well as; ‘The Way out of the Crisis’, a catalogue of
progressive strategies aimed at a lasting global economic
recovery and to foster mechanisms for financial regulation,
future crisis prevention and a fair and green world.