MR and ACDE organize “Green Business” conference
ELDR member parties Mouvement Réformateur (MR), Belgium, and the Citizens Alliance for Democracy in Europe (ACDE), France, will host a joint conference on the EU’s climate policy and the development of alternative forms of energy and the potential benefits for businesses and the European economy. This event will take place on Thursday 29th January from 16:00 to 19:00 at the Centre Jean Gol in Brussels within the framework of the ELDR political and information activities. For more information contact Robert Plummer rplummer@eldr.eu and to register send an email to cjg@cjg.be.

Open VLD proposes tax cuts
At last week’s Open VLD New Years’ reception Bart Somers MP, the Open VLD President, responded to the Belgian federal government’s budget deficit: “My party will support efforts to tackle the deficit. Not by reverting to old recipes such as tax increases, only through tax cuts and a more efficient and smaller government we’ll achieve again a balanced budget.” Former Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt received a warm welcome at the reception. He is set to head the list of Open VLD candidates to the European Parliament.

Liberal Democrats oppose runway plans
The Liberal Democrats (UK) have voiced their opposition to the Government’s decision to build a third runway at Heathrow airport believing that it contradicts the UK’s ability to meet its own climate change targets and those set by the EU in the Energy and Climate Change Package. "This utter hypocrisy proves that the Government’s green rhetoric simply cannot be believed. This decision was the big test of Gordon Brown’s commitment to the environment - and he has failed” Susan Kramer, Lib Dem MP, said.

Venstre celebrates its 125th anniversary
The Norwegian ELDR full member party Venstre will celebrate on 28 January its 125th anniversary in the prestigious “Gamle Logen” in Oslo. Venstre is not only the oldest party in Norway, but also within ELDR. President Neyts: “Venstre has consistently worked for democracy and human rights, for public schools to secure equal opportunities for everyone and for a fair, free and open society. I am proud that they are part of our political family and wish them all the best for the future.”

New website for MR party
Le nouveau site du Mouvement Réformateur (MR) www.mr.be est en ligne depuis ce lundi et offre la possibilité à l'internaute de personnaliser la page d'accueil, une "première pour un site politique", selon un communiqué du MR. Il s’agit du premier site politique dont la page d'accueil est personnalisable en fonction des centres d'intérêt de chacun.

A new tool to decode EP 2009 elections
The European Parliament finally launched its information website, where you can find information on the reasons to vote, the candidates, the groups, the different dates of election day in Europe, and other tips on how the Parliament is organized.
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/elections2009/default.htm?language=EN

Europe must help ending the fighting in Gaza
The war between Israel and Hamas following the six-month ceasefire must be brought to a real end.

"Even a crushing Israeli military victory would not inevitably translate into a political win for Israel", said ELDR President Annemie Neyts. "The current dreadful situation in the Gaza strip is a consequence of a common failure since the Islamist's electoral victory over the Fatah Movement led by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas two year ago", President Neyts continued. Hamas failed to act as a responsible political actor, Israel continued to strengthen the Islamists by economically isolating the Gaza strip, the PA leadership did not accept the consequences of a democratic process and last but not least the international community completely failed to facilitate a negotiated outcome between the local actors.

Mr Watson, keep up the good work!
ELDR Party President Annemie Neyts welcomes and endorses Graham Watson's candidacy for the Presidency of the European Parliament.

"I believe - she said - that he is the ideal candidate to lead the parliament in working to revive the reform of Europe's institutions, provide a much needed stimulus to the economy and ensure Europe plays a leading role in addressing climate change and the EU's energy needs". "Mr Watson, keep up the good work!"

Bigger member states, better EU presidencies?
Nothing than praise was what one could hear in the European Parliament before the Christmas break. French President Nicolas Sarkozy and his EU presidency that ended on 31st December 2008 received a positive evaluation from most sides of the political spectrum.

Now it's the turn of the Czech Republic. They are a newer member state, with a less experienced administration in dealing with EU affairs and a smaller diplomatic corps. But the current focus on the perceived incapacity of the Czech Republic has much more to do with other reasons than the size of a smaller member state. As a matter of fact it is not true at all that bigger member states make better EU presidencies. The leadership of the Danes in 2003 made it clear that better presidencies do not always require a bigger member state.

Belgium - a new liberal Minister of Interior
ELDR welcomes the four designated liberal ministers in the new Belgian Government: Karel De Gucht, Minister Foreign Affairs and Deputy Prime Minister, Annemie Turtelboom, Minister for Migration, Vincent Van Quickenborne, Minister for Economic Affairs, Guido De Padt, Minister of the Interior, Didier Reynder, Minister of Finance and Deputy Prime Minister, Charles Michel, Minister of External Aids and Sabine Laruelle, Minister of SME.

"La Belgique est entrée dans une année électorale qui ne manquera pas d'être animée! " Louis Michel (MR), European Commissioner for development and humanitarian aid, commented.

"Et le Mouvement Réformateur est prêt à réaffirmer ses valeurs et ses convictions, avec une énergie nouvelle. Tant pour les élections européennes que pour les élections régionales prévues à la même date, sans parler d'un scrutin fédéral toujours possible même si personne ne le souhaite...! " Patrick Dewael (OpenVLD), the former Minister of Interior became President of Parliament and Armand Dedecker (MR) is still the President of the Senate.
Olivier Chastel is the Secretary State for European Affairs.

MIDEM festival in Cannes - music and business
The warm welcome of one of the most elegant cities in the Mediterranean Sea will be the backstage of the 2009 edition of the MIDEM festival that will host a growing list of industry talent and live concerts. From 18-21 January artists like Donovan, Jamie Cullum, Paolo Nutini, Groove Armada, Bomb Squad will take the stage.

This year's MIDEM conferences will bring together around 200 key decision-makers to talk about the industry's different areas of expansion such as live performance; independents; managers; images and brands; artist development; and for the first time this year, publishers, with a special dedicated event - the International Publishing Summit