ELDR Prime Ministers lunch in view of next London summit
ELDR calls for a clear position on the implementation of the climate package amidst the financial turmoil. Summing up the discussion during the Prime Ministers Lunch organised by the ELDR party last Thursday, Annemie Neyts, Party President, expressed the leaders' common view that "the EU has to send a clear message on the financial crisis and we have to speed up negotiations and achieve an agreement in view of December's climate summit in Copenhagen in which the EU must play the leading role."

In view of the G20 talks in London on 2nd April European liberal Prime Ministers called for a real free market instead of stifling the economy with protectionism and for better international coordination in order to ensure a faster economic recovery and to prevent further crises.

Brussels: Spring Academy – Europe in Practice
Supported by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom and the ELDR Party, the European Liberal Forum asbl (ELF), the European political foundation of the liberal family, successfully organized the 1st Spring Academy: Europe in Practice from 20-21 March 2009 in Brussels. Alexander Graf Lambsdorff MEP and President of ELF welcomed liberal participants from all over Europe and presented the many activities of ELF. The academy focused on the policy achievements of the ALDE group in the European Parliament over the past four years and explained the impact of decisions of the European Parliament to the citizens’ everyday life. Among the many prominent speakers were Annemie Neyts-Uyttebroeck MEP, President of the ELDR Party and Vice-President of ELF as well as Jules Maaten MEP.

Women serious contenders in Slovakian presidential elections
Liberal candidate Zuzana Martinakova obtained more than 5% of the votes in last Saturday’s first round of the Slovakian presidential elections. ELDR Vice-President Kristiina Ojuland MP, who visited Slovakia on 28 February has supported the candidature of the Free Forum party leader: "In the current economic crisis, we neither need old-fashioned recipes from the left nor populist answers from the right. Liberal solutions based on common sense and responsibility can help us find a way out. Mrs Martinakova offers Slovakian voters a credible third choice, a liberal choice." Incumbent Slovakian President Gasparovic, supported by the governing socialists and nationalists, scored 46.7%. He now will face opposition candidate Mrs Iveta Radicova, who scored 38%, in a run-off on Saturday 4 April.

“Europe is the solution, not the problem” - MR launches its European campaign
The Mouvement Réformateur launched its European election campaign on Saturday 21 March in a Brussels cinema. Top of the list of candidates is European Commissioner Louis Michel, followed by MEP Frederique Ries, and the state secretary for European Affairs, Olivier Chastel. Michel: “The European Union is the most prosperous economic region in the world, and the realization of the most beautiful story of mankind.” He warned that the campaign will be vicious against our liberal values: “politicians from the left, these scandalous children of Marxism, want to give a false impression of liberalism, linking it to Wild West capitalism. Those who today spit on liberalism would better reflect upon what a collectivist Europe would have brought us.”

ELDR Prime Ministers Lunch

In advance of the European Summit, the Prime Ministers of the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party (ELDR) will meet during a lunch hosted by Karel De Gucht, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Belgium, at 12:00 on Thursday 19th March 2009 in Palais d’Egmont, Petit Sablon 8, B-1000 Brussels, Belgium.

The meeting will focus on the financial crisis and preparations for April’s G20 summit in London; the EU’s climate change strategy, in view of the Copenhagen summit in December, as well as energy security. As the last formal meeting before June’s elections, the occasion will also be used to discuss preparations for the European elections. Please see below the list of participants:

Hosts:
Annemie Neyts-Uyttebroeck MEP, President ELDR Party, Belgium
Karel de Gucht, Vice-Prime Minister, Belgium

Participants:
Andrus Ansip, Prime Minister, Estonia
Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Prime Minister, Denmark
Siim Kallas, Vice-President, European Commission, and Commissioner for Administrative Affairs, Audit and Anti-Fraud, Estonia -
Cecilia Malmström, Minister for European Affairs, Sweden
Gergana Passy, Minister for European Affairs, Bulgaria
Matti Vanhanen, Prime Minister, Finland
Graham Watson MEP Leader ALDE Group, European Parliament, UK

Journalists will be able to make a tour de table at 12.

The Prime Ministers and Ministers will hold a press conference from
13 h 30 – 14 h 00 in the same building.

Interested journalists are invited to confirm their participation to Chiara Puletti, ELDR Press Officer, cpuletti@eldr.eu, +32 2 237 01 43 or + 32 488475966.

Italian women in action- IdV set out a new plan
Active in the field of promoting civil rights, Italia dei Valori’s women’s network (ELDR member party) is now plugging away at different national topics. One of the most relevant is the position of women in the workplace. “We all worked –explained Patrizia Bugnano, IdV Italian MP - on a draft bill in order to: a) promote opportunities for self-employed women and women entrepreneurs; b) create a fund for small and medium sized women’s enterprises; c) create at least 1000 extra nurseries across Italy by 2011; d) better integrate women with disabilities into the business environment; and e) pursue pay equality.

Kristina Ojuland: “21st is the liberal women’s Century”
“I share Francis Fukuyama’s (American philosopher, political economist) view that the 21st century is the century of women” Kristina Ojuland MP and Vice President of the ELDR Party said. “I would even paraphrase him saying that the 21st century is a century of liberal women. There are many of us whose opinion counts in politics, business, media, etc. Liberal women do not need gender quotas for gaining positions. It is enough to have freedom of expression. We are competitive and ready to participate in society in an equal manner. I encourage all women to express their voices louder and set their sights higher! Happy Women’s Day!”

“Women’s rights central in liberal thinking”
“Ideas of equal opportunities and women's rights have been at the centre of liberal thought since the works of the father of modern liberalism John Stuart Mill” said Vesna Pusic MP, Vice President of the ELDR Party, and President of the European Liberal Women’s Network. “Ever since, the women’s rights movement there has been a liberal movement, like all other progressive movements throughout history. Today, these issues are as important as ever and European liberals are and must remain the driving force behind the fight for equal opportunities for all.” ”

Salaries are not equal yet in Europe
According to EU statistics, women receive, on average, 17.4 % less money than men across the whole EU. The greatest difference is in Estonia, where men earn 30.3 % more, while Italy has the best level of pay equality. The statistics also reveal that in the EU women are less represented in politics than men (24 % of the national law-makers and 31 % of MEPs are women). ELDR is pleased to show that it is concretely bucking this trend with 44% of the MEPs representing the ELDR family being women and having an ELDR Bureau composed of 70% women, including the president, five vice-presidents (out of seven) and the secretary general.

Ruling party of Ireland Fianna Fàil applied for ELDR membership

The party Fianna Fàil, leading government party in Ireland, announce today the intention to file a formal application for membership with the liberal ELDR Party. Successful discussions on membership were started today by Markus Löning, German MP and ELDR Vice President and Federica Sabbati, Secretary General of ELDR, who arrived in Dublin this morning to meet with Fianna Fail officials among them Minister of European Affairs Dick Roche and the Secretary General Sean Dorgan.

“We express our great satisfaction with this step taken. I personally will advocate the membership of Fianna Fàil in the ELDR Bureau” said Löning who is also spokesperson for European Affairs for the FDP group in the German Parliament. The ELDR bureau that will meet on 13 March will formally discuss the application and process a recommendation to the ELDR Council deciding on membership applications. The Council is scheduled to meet on 16 April in Brussels one day after ELDR’s European Campaign Launch (http://www.eldr.eu/campaignlaunch/).

“Therefore, there has never been a better time than now to join us”, added Federica Sabbati. “With the Irish being part of the European Liberal Democrats – she continued - we will be strongly committed to lead the upcoming debate in favour of the Lisbon treaty that will further democratize the European Union and ensure greater effectiveness. With European Liberals Fianna Fail will gain committed partners across Europe”.

ELDR Party President Annemie Neyts welcomes the news that Fianna Fáil has decided to apply for membership of the ELDR Party. Fianna Fàil has long been a pro European party leading Ireland into the EU.

ELDR and Fianna Fail’s cooperation will be based on shared values believing in the European integration, common economic policies and the liberal principles of the rule of law as defined in ELDR’s founding document, the Stuttgart Declaration. This would make Fianna Fàil a welcome and highly valued member of the European liberal democrat family.