The European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party has opened its 28th annual congress, running from 18 to 19 October. The event is taking place in Berlin and is being hosted by ELDR member party Freie Demokratische Partei (FDP).On the same day as the EU summit of heads of state and government in Lisbon, ELDR President Annemie Neyts said that she hoped “the draft [EU] treaty would be finally approved so that we can then concentrate on ratification before the next European Parliament elections in June 2009”. Denmark’s Prime Minister Anders Fogh-Rasmussen called for the EU to play a leading role in the promotion of free trade. “We should liberalise the Common Agricultural Policy by abolishing all the subsidies so that farmers can compete on equal terms, we should liberalise world markets to give developing countries free access to world markets and we should create a transatlantic marketplace to act as a counterweight to the emerging economies in Asia,” said Rasmussen. He also said that, “through the UN, we must combat any resolution attempting to limit freedom of speech” and pointed out that it was important to allow criticism of any religion. He expressed regret that Muslim countries had recently managed to have a UN resolution adopted aimed at limiting free speech and protecting religion.The leader of the congress’s host party, from the FDP, Guido Westerwelle, said that “globalisation needs answers in terms of free trade” but that “it does not just mean economic globalisation but globalisation of values, human rights and common ideas. Those that talk of globalisation in economic terms forget that globalisation of ideas was what brought Germany together as one country”. Italy’s EU Affairs Minister Emma Bonino backed Rasmussen’s remarks about trade, the CAP and the importance of free speech and added that the final steps were being made towards a moratorium on the death penalty being agreed at the UN. “This is a worthwhile fight where liberals are in the front row in their calls to stop state killing,” she said.EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn said that enlargement was a “very important liberal project” which needed to be managed in a gradual and careful way. He said that it was “no high speed train but that it was important it stayed on track”, referring to the ongoing discussions with regard to the western Balkans and Turkey. In an opening address to the congress, the EU commissioner leading the fight against fraud, Siim Kallas, referred to his efforts to create a code of conduct and register for lobbyists by 2008 and said that a commitment by EU member states to publish information on the beneficiaries of EU funds would be “operational in 2009”. He was happy that 13 countries had already opted for this approach. He also called for more cooperation between the Commission and member states in the fight against fraud.The key themes that the congress will be debating over the next two days are Europe as a global partner, climate change and Europe’s role in promoting democracy in the world. For more information and to request interviews with the participants, please contact Julian Hale on 00 32 473 690749 or email to communication@eldr.euA video report of the congress opening can be viewed by clicking here