We would like to wish all our supporters a Merry Christmas and a happy and successful new year for 2008.One of the founding liberal principles of the EU is the free movement of people, giving the possibility to travel in freedom, sans soucis and sans passport, across 24 countries stretching over 3.6 million sq. kilometres, allowing travelers and workers to move across Europe, from Rome to Helsinki, from Tallinn to Lisbon, from Stockholm to Athens. There is no better example of this freedom to travel than during the festive period when many people visit their friends and family or simply go in search of some sun and warmth to escape the winter cold. Read more ...

 At the invitation of ELDR President Annemie Neyts-Uyttebroeck, four liberal prime ministers met for a working breakfast in the Brussels Egmont Palace. They discussed the status of Kosovo, the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty and the preparations for the next European elections. Read more ...

 During a visit to Georgia on 18th December, ELDR Vice-President, Kristiina Ojuland stated that “Georgia has a vibrant democratic life and must be given every opportunity to enter the Euro-Atlantic structures.”Mrs Ojuland has had the opportunity to meet with a wide variety of personalities, including the Acting President and Speaker of the Parliament, Nino Burjanadze, with whom fruitful discussions took place. Read more ...

 The European Liberal, Democrat and Reform (ELDR) Party is the European political family bringing together parties with common liberal, democrat and reform ideals from more than 30 European countries. Its role is to strengthen the liberal democrat movement throughout Europe, assist liberal democrat politicians to become better acquainted and to define a common political vision and communicate it effectively to European citizens.The Brussels-based Secretariat of the ELDR Party is a dynamic team of seven dedicated professionals who support the activities of the party, organise its statutory meetings, manage its external communication, facilitate European policy development and networking amongst liberal parties.In order to support our growing activities, we are now seeking an additional  Political Adviser Read more ...

 Representatives from over 180 countries are in Bali from 3 to 14 December to discuss the future of international efforts to halt global warming. A European Parliament delegation will attend the UN Climate Change Conference from 11 to 14 December. On 15 November, the European Parliament called for agreement on binding emissions targets for all industrialised countries and a 50% cut in greenhouse gas emissions by the middle of this century. MEP Lena Ek, a member of the ALDE group from Centerpartiet, a Swedish ELDR member party, is on the European Parliament’s Temporary Committee on Climate Change (CLIM), which was created in May 2007. Read more ...

 An observation mission of parliamentarians from the Orgnisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the Council of Europe says that Russia’s Duma (parliamentary) elections on 2 December were not fair and failed to meet many OSCE and Council of Europe commitments and standards for democratic elections.In a joint statement the day after the poll, the two organisations said that “a broader participation of international observers would have been preferable and could have contributed to greater transparency”.  Read more ...

 The Presidents of two ELDR member parties in Belgium, Didier Reynders (Mouvement Reformateur) and Bart Somers (Open Vld) said in a joint press release on 3 December that they agree on what should be done about the Belgian political crisis following the resignation of Yves Leterme (CD&V) as ‘formateur’. The ‘formateur’ is the person who is appointed by the king to form a government. Leterme’s resignation is the latest development in a country that has been unable to form a government since the 10 June elections. Read more ...