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Party
of European Socialists' Newsletter

25
January 2011

HOT TOPIC

PES
announce Budapest Media transparency meeting for March as
Hungarian Prime Minister faces the European Parliament

The Party of European Socialists (PES)
has announced that it will hold a high level meeting on media
transparency in the Hungarian capital, Budapest. The meeting
will take place on 17-18 March. Participants will consist of
Senior Press spokespeople from EU Socialists and Social
Democratic member parties. The decision by the PES is a direct
response to the recent law passed by the Conservative
Hungarian Government which severely restricts the freedom of
the press.

Economy

Conservative
Finance Ministers ‘refusing to use EU rescue fund in the
way it was designed’

At their meeting in
Brussels on 18 January, the EU Economic and
Finance Ministers again failed to ‘get ahead’ of
the Eurozone crisis. In particular, Conservative
Finance Ministers, lead by Germany, refused to
adapt the European Financial Stability Facility
(EFSF) in the light of current pressures. The week
saw Portugal, Spain and Belgium come under
increased pressure from market speculation.

Social
Europe

Commission
Annual Growth Survey a ‘frontal assault on workers’

Despite the crisis that has
engulfed the Eurozone, and the massive job losses
that have resulted, the European Commission has
seen fit to publish a document which directly
attacks workers rights, unemployment benefits and
in broad terms, the already much weakened Social
Model in Europe.

World

The
PES calls for democratic election in Tunisia

After several weeks of
political and social instability, Tunisia is
witnessing crucial stages for the country’s
future. Following the departure of President Ben
Ali, who has left the country in response to the
crisis, the power vacuum provoked by the absence
of the country’s head of state requires immediate
action.

Environment

PES
call for 95% renewable energy target by 2050 as EU heads
set to outline major energy initiative on 4 February

One of the key challenges
facing the EU is assuring access to clean, secure
and affordable energy. For the first time this
issue will be debated at European level during the
next European Council, on 4 February.

EDITORIAL

The
European Union is in the wrong hands
PES
President, Poul Nyrup Rasmussen

The last seven days have seen some shocking
developments on the European level. Workers Rights,
Freedom of the Press and a sustainable economic recovery
have all come under attack. And still some people wonder
why the popularity of the European Union is at an all
time low?
The culprit for all these attacks is one
Political Party – the European Peoples Party (EPP). The
Commission under Jose Manuel Barroso, the EU Presidency
under Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orban, and the
self-styled holder of the European purse strings, German
Chancellor Angela Merkel, all hail from this political
party.
And yet there is next to no public awareness
that a cabal of politicians are pursuing extreme
policies, in a co-ordinated, and profoundly undemocratic
way.

News from PES members

Bulgarian
conservatives rely on extremists to pass controversial
confidence vote

PES
Secretary General meets PASOK representatives

PES
Secretary General in London : PES and Labour
together to bring forward fresh ideas

Forthcoming events

23-27 January - PES Delegation to
Turkey
4 February - European
Council
8-11 February - World Social
Forum

Re:new

My
PES

Economy

Social
Europe

Environment

World

PES
Women

PES

More
news

Re:new

A
Fundamental Programme for the PES! – Join the debate on Re:new

The last days have seen a new entry on
the Re:new
platform; we welcome Björn Hacker,
researcher from the German
Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES), the first expert to
join the PES consultation on the web. And what better to start
than their brand new paper "A
Fundamental Programme for the PES". Based on the
assumption that today’s challenges are mainly of an
international and cross-border nature and that only by acting
together would the progressives be able to affect
Europeanisation and globalisation, the study clearly states
the need for a new connecting European narrative to replace
the “3rd way discourse”, which has been so dominant during the
past ten years.

PES Women

At the
start of 2011…

A new year, a new set of challenges for
gender equality. What has 2010 brought the EU and its member
states in 2010, and what is ahead of us?

Looking back at 2010, there was plenty
to discuss on gender equality in the Council. The
European Protection Order, for instance. Although the
Spanish Presidency pushed for measures to protect victims of
violence- the majority of which are women victims of domestic
violence- regardless of where they move to in Europe, a number
of countries are now objecting to adapting their legislation.

World

PES
strongly condemns flawed elections in Belarus

The 19 December presidential elections,
which resulted in a landslide victory for incumbent President
Aleksandr Lukashenka, have been followed by several weeks of
violence, tension and uncertainty. The opposition accused
Lukashenka of massive fraud. As demonstrations were held on
the eve of the election as well as in its aftermath,
demonstrators clashed with the police, several presidential
candidates were detained and hundreds were arrested.

World

PES
expresses concern on social protests in Algeria

The Party of European Socialists voices
its concern on the ongoing demonstrations in Algeria. Riots,
which started on January 4th, were staged by hundreds of young
people in dozens of cities, including the capital, Alger.
Demonstrators denounced the rise of the price of some basic
commodities, such as sugar and oil, and also demanded jobs and
opportunities in a country characterized by a high level of
unemployment.