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Party
of European Socialists' Newsletter

4
May 2011

HOT TOPIC

European
Socialists ‘concrete steps of support are what count for Arab
Spring’ as PES adopts strong declaration in Tunis

The Party of European Socialists (PES)
has today adopted a strong declaration to support the Arab
revolutions. The declaration, agreed at the PES ‘Democracy and
Progress’ Conference in Tunis, outlines 4 concrete steps of
support:

World

Senior
Fatah representative explains reconciliation
agreement

At the PES
Euromed Conference in Tunis, Fatah
Commissioner for International Relations, Nabil
Shaath, gave an exclusive outline of the agreement
that his party made with Hamas. As he explained,
through this deal Hamas and Fatah came to an
agreement regarding the next elections thanks to
“concessions from the two sides propelled by the
feeling that unity is a must if we want to get
freedom, independence and peace for our country”.
Elections will take place in one year and will
bring to an end the political division between the
West Bank and Gaza.

Economy

Investing
or cutting : a difference of 5 million jobs

The European Union is
suffering from the effects of the financial
economic crisis. More than ever, millions of
European citizens are confronted with painful cuts
which affect the poorest most of all. Social
allowances are reduced and jobs are being cut. At
the same time, the bonus culture in the financial
world has restarted.

World

PES
condemns brutal oppression in Syria and demands
immediate end to dictatorship

The PES strongly condemns
the brutal oppression in Syria by pro-Government
security forces against peaceful advocates of
democracy. The people expect the dissolution of
the regime and are calling for comprehensive
democratic reforms. The PES demands that the
Syrian President, Bashar al-Assad, and his
acolytes cease their savage tactics. Democracy
representatives and activists currently under
detention on illegitimate grounds must be released
immediately.

PES

European
Commission bows to franco-italian pressure on
migration

Schengen dilution is an ‘abdication of
European principle’

The Party of European
Socialists (PES) deplores the attempt by the
conservatives to dismantle the Schengen agreement.
The European Commission is caving into the demands
of French President Sarkozy and Italian Prime
Minister Berlusconi, who have been putting
stronger and stronger pressure on the European
Union to implement stricter rules on migration.
Changing a fundamental treaty such as the Schengen
agreement would attack the foundation of the
European Union itself, as freedom of movement is
one of the fundamental principle upon which the
European Union is based.

EDITORIAL

New
progressive forces tower over the populists of fear

Poul Nyrup
Rasmussen

Having just
returned from Tunis last weekend I am happy to
testify that the forces of progressive change are alive
and well. The 3 days in the evolving democracy of
Tunisia were inspiring for me and for all the 120
participants at our ‘freedom
and progress’ conference. Our sister party FDTL (the
Democratic Forum for Work and Freedom) under the
leadership of my dear friend Mustapha Ben Jaafar, showed
the level of commitment that is needed at this time. The
courage shown by the representatives from all over the
region – Libya, Bahrain, Syria, Yemen, Algeria, Egypt
was inspiring. Their testimonies gave further resolve to
those gathered. Our
message of support for FDTL’s efforts and to all
progressives across the region was clear: the EU is not
all borders and walls. There is a progressive Europe
that is fighting for your interests.

News from PES members

PES
President address to Lithuanian LSDP

“Europe
should play a constructive role in supporting the
transition in the Arab world” says UK Labour
Party

Forthcoming events

9 May Europe's Day

11 May General & parliamentary
elections in the Netherlands

31 May "A new model of European
Growth - A fair deal for all"

Re:new

My
PES

Economy

Social
Europe

Environment

World

PES
Women

PES

More
news

Re:new

Making
Policy come alive – Re:new update

Having discussed our values in the face of today’s
challenges, the advisory committee of 15th April worked on
identifying the major shifts that have operated in society as
well as the consequences. We examined how these have had an
effect on the way individuals relate to political parties and
our political family.

My PES

European
Day in Bucharest

PES activists Romania Annual National Conference,
6-8 May 2011

PES Women

Conservative
cuts in the UK: it’s hurting…but it’s not working!

Yesterday, I came across the UK Labour
party’s ‘it’s hurting, but it’s not working’ campaign.

The Labour Party is talking about the
cuts that the conservative government in the UK has put in
place in order to restore ‘confidence’ in the British economy
and get its deficit under control. Yet, growth in the UK has
stalled and as elsewhere in Europe, austerity measures are not
providing the solution conservatives thought they could.