Sharon Bowles, Liberal Democrat MEP for the South East of England

At the ELDR Rally, I said the Liberal response to the crisis is Stay Liberal!

This is not the end of the Liberal market economy. The problem is we have had a so-called liberal market economy, but run by pretenders, calling themselves neo-liberals.

They thought it was easy to be Liberal - so they failed to understand a basic morality that is an essential part of liberalism - do no harm to others - and therefore they failed to integrate that morality into their version of the market economy. That is why the Tories and New Labour are both flummoxed. (more…)

ELDR President Annemie Neyts-Uyttebroeck

Dear Mr. Nyrup Rasmussen, dear European Socialists, Thank you for your letter. You are surprised about our commitment to the Single Market. You should not be. Liberals believe that Europeans benefit from the Single Market. It gives European consumers more choice and better products. It gives European companies opportunities to grow and create jobs.

Do you believe that Denmark would be better off without the opportunities it offers? Would Danish consumers want to live without French cheese, Italian shoes, German technology or Finnish phones? Do you believe Danish companies would want to stop exporting their goods to the rest of Europe, thus risking their employees’ jobs?

The Single Market is not an end in itself for Liberals, but rather serves as the most efficient means to meet the citizens’ demands.

(more…)

Would you like to share with other European citizens your liberal story? Why are you a liberal? Why do you vote for a liberal party in the European elections? Or for example why do you believe the European Union is a liberal project?

If you have a story to tell, then this page on the ELDR blog is the right place for you! You can post your thoughts as a comment below this article.