Manifesto of the Party of European Socialists for the June 2004
European Parliament elections
The European elections in June will be historic. For the first time,
people of 25 countries will choose Members of the European Parliament
to ensure that the European Union serves the needs and priorities
of its 450 million citizens.
The Party of European Socialists urges voters to seize the opportunity
of the elections to shape Europe's future. Problems and challenges
common to all European countries (such as the environment, border
control and cross border crime) are best tackled at a European level.
Decisions on European law and spending made by MEPs in Brussels
and Strasbourg might seem far from home, but they directly affect
the working and living conditions of each and every one of us.
A vote for Social Democrat candidates is a vote for a European Union
that combines social justice within countries and solidarity between
countries. We seek a strong, social European Union that provides
economic success and security for its people.
Social democrats of every country are pro-European, strongly in
favour of a united European Union that is an area of peace and cooperation
based on partnership and the rule of law. We also recognise that
in many policy areas national or local authorities are in a better
position to act.
The Party of European Socialists is proud to put forward a programme
for a progressive European Union that puts first the concerns of
people. We give voters five key commitments for the European Parliament's
next five-year term and pledge ourselves to work throughout the
Europe Union to ensure that all citizens, in both the existing and
the new Member States, benefit from EU enlargement.
1. Boosting Europe's growth, fighting poverty and creating
more and better jobs
Social democrats drew up the first European economic and social
reform action plan, adopted by the EU in its Lisbon Strategy four
years ago, to make the EU the most dynamic knowledge-based economy
in the world, capable of sustained economic growth with more and
better jobs and greater social cohesion by 2010.
Now we want to give fresh impetus to this strategy. We have produced
a detailed work programme to create five million high-quality jobs
by promoting greater investment in research and technology, supporting
new growth sectors and reinforcing modern education, training and
lifelong learning [1].
We reject the attempts of right-wing governments to limit the Lisbon
process by neglecting its social objectives. For European Socialists,
it is essential to focus on the goals of more and better jobs, full
employment, social inclusion, environmental protection and sustainable
development. Moreover, to ensure prosperity is shared we must preserve
the European Social Model which combines economic growth with social
security.
We demand action to meet the social and employment objectives of
the Lisbon strategy, with particular emphasis on reaching the 70
per cent overall employment rate and the 60 per cent rate for women's
participation in the workforce by 2010.
We have already fought for and secured European laws to promote
greater equality between women and men at work. However, there remain
inequalities in income and opportunity. Progress is still needed
to ensure that equality laws are respected in practice and that
there is sufficient support for working mothers.
The historic EU enlargement of May 2004, welcoming ten new countries
will provide a better standard and quality of life for citizens
in the new Member States and stimulate trade and increase jobs in
all member states.
We are committed to working towards a more efficient and effective
use of the EU budget. Finances should be raised in a fair way between
EU countries on the principle of solidarity between richer and poorer
regions. European funds must be sufficient to support the EU's objectives,
in particular to ensure enlargement is successful.
We are in favour of reforming the stability and growth pact to promote
higher growth and employment. Stability must be pursued as a vital
condition for growth, not as an alternative to growth.
We support the reform of the European agricultural policy to support
rural development in place of the direct subsidy of agricultural
produces. It is crucial that the reformed agricultural policy promotes
high quality and affordable food and respects the environment, landscape
and animal welfare.
We reject the right-wing's crude view that unfettered market competition
should take precedence over social justice. Our vision of the European
Union is a community based on the principles of the social market
economy and mutual cooperation for the benefit of all.
We aim to:
·
Target
EU funds on job creation.
·
Develop
a European monetary policy that promotes growth, sustainable
development and employment in a social market economy.
·
Provide
the necessary infrastructure to make it easier for women to
take up jobs.
·
Introduce measures to help women and men achieve a better
balance between working life and family commitments.
2. Bringing the European Union closer to its citizens
The European Union must ensure not only that citizens benefit from
its actions but also that they are involved in its decisions. At
the same time, in line with the subsidiarity principle, the EU should
not act when national or regional bodies are better placed to do
so.
When finalised and ratified, the European Constitution will make
the EU institutions more transparent, accountable and relevant to
citizens. It will enable their decisions to be more democratic and
efficient. The Constitution is crucial to the success of an enlarged
EU. Its adoption should, therefore, be a priority for European governments.
European Socialists played a key role in shaping the draft Constitution
and ensured that it included key values and rights.
In a European Union for citizens, we will propose policies to improve
people's quality of life, focusing on equal rights for women and
men, rights of employees and consumers, freedom of movement, safety
of food, quality of the environment and access to transport.
Fighting cross border crime requires a common approach at European
level. For this reason, we will work for greater European cooperation
to make society safer for everyone. The new threat of international
terrorism threatens the fundamental European values of democracy,
human rights and the rule of law. We, as Europeans, must unite against
any intimidation of this sort. Given that no country is immune,
we need effective co-operation between European police and security
agencies to tackle this threat.
European Union policies must provide for future generations by taking
on board the priorities of young Europeans in education, information
technology, environment and cultural diversity. We must build upon
the education and success of the EU's youth programmes. We will
aim to improve the conditions for young people in employment, social
integration, social protection and other policy areas.
We aim to:
·
Promote
cheap travel and encourage energy-efficient transport.
·
Improve
access to information technology and guarantee broadband internet
access for all citizens by 2012.
·
Strengthen
European police cooperation through Europol and create a European
Drugs Squad to step up the fight against cross-border crime,
drug trafficking and money laundering.
3. Pursuing integration and managing migration
We want active, firm and just management of migration and integration.
We recognise the positive contribution of legal migrants and support
a multicultural and tolerant society. At the same time, we must
tackle illegal immigration and crack down on human trafficking and
exploitation.
We vehemently oppose racism and xenophobia wherever it is found.
We oppose attempts by right wing forces to exploit the issue of
immigration to create divisions in our society and to undermine
the diversity and stability of Europe. We reject any cooperation
with right-wing-movements and parties.
To complement national measures, we will seek an EU-wide approach
with two key features. First, we will pursue an active policy of
social inclusion and integration. Member States, in partnership
with local authorities, must ensure that migrants can exercise all
their civic and social rights, and that there is a shared management
of migration flows.
Second, in partnership with progressive forces in other countries,
we will promote a global development policy that promotes a better
life in the countries of origin of migration. Fostering economic
and social development in those countries and improving their humanitarian
conditions must be central to European migration policy.
The European Union must continue to be a place of refuge for victims
of persecution. It must offer full protection to genuine asylum
seekers, while co-operating to halt false claims to asylum by economic
migrants at the expense of genuine refugees.
We aim to:
·
Develop
a European immigration and asylum policy with common standards
on visa rules and asylum status.
·
Use
the European Social Fund to set up integration policies that
include better education for migrants and community involvement.
·
Improve
the standard of living in countries of origin of migration
through international organisations and cooperation agreements.
4. Promoting a more secure, sustainable, peaceful and just world
We want a strong European Union that has a clear voice in international
forums, pressing for a just, stable and peaceful world in accordance
with international law and in the framework of the United Nations.
We need reform of the United Nations to enhance its role in ensuring
global peace and common security and to make it more representative.
The European Union must pay a leading role in working for effective
multilateralism, enabling countries to work better together to resolve
conflicts and to respond to new security threats. The fight against
international terrorism will succeed only if we tackle the roots
of terrorism.
We should further develop the European Security and Defence Policy
to become a credible instrument in terms of conflict prevention
and crisis management. We support the European Security Strategy
adopted by the Council in 2003 which will provide the framework
for a more effective Common Foreign and Security Policy. In particular,
the EU must play a key role in working towards a lasting Middle
East peace settlement.
In the enlarged EU, it will be crucial to forge stronger relations
with our new neighbours, as well as improving links with our Mediterranean
partners.
In cooperation with other progressive forces in the world, we have
proposed new policies to meet global challenges, in particular the
United Nations Millennium Development Goals. These policies include
trade with fair access to our markets for developing countries,
particularly for agricultural products, aid for social development,
health and education, and greater investment with an emphasis on
sustainable development. We will step up efforts to fight global
poverty, cancel the debt of developing countries, intensify the
global fight against AIDS and other diseases related to poverty.
We will push for a progressive globalisation, which not only seeks
to increase trade with developing countries, but also seeks to promote
democracy, human rights and environmental protection in these countries.
The EU must play its part in ensuring good corporate governance
and social responsibility of business wherever it trades.
We want to deliver the commitments made in Kyoto to reduce greenhouse
gas emissions and then to develop more ambitious targets for climate
stability. To promote global sustainability, we will also work towards
substituting the excessive use of natural resources, including fossil
fuels, with more sustainable alternatives.
We aim to:
·
Reform
the UN and its institutions and strengthen cooperation between
countries around the world.
·
Establish
an Action Programme to end quotas and tariffs on exports from
developing countries and reform the Common Agricultural Policy.
·
Ensure
that our development policies respect the priority of protecting
and sustaining the environment.
·
Use
EU influence to resume and complete world trade talks.
·
Build
on existing efforts in the area of corporate governance and
social responsibility for global business.
5. Promoting Europe as an area of democracy and equality
Our vision is of a European Union based on democracy, equality,
respect for human rights and the rule of law. We should also promote
these values outside the EU Member States.
For social democrats, equality is one of our most important aims:
democracy is not possible without equality. We oppose all forms
of discrimination, including that based on race, religion or belief,
gender, disability, age or sexual orientation.
Fraud and corruption undermine democracy and we will root them out
wherever they are found. We oppose monopoly control of the media,
economic and political power.
We will continue to press for further reform of the EU's institutions.
We will fight for openness and transparency, with sound financial
management, open competition, value for money and a strengthened
role for the European Parliament.
We aim to:
·
Strengthen
alliances against extreme right-wing forces and challenge
other parties, in particular those belonging to the right-wing
European People's Party, to sign the EU Charter for a Non-Racist
Society, already signed by all European Social Democrat
parties.
·
Increase
the size and effectiveness of the European Anti-Fraud Office
to ensure that it acts earlier on cases of concern.
Your vote counts
The Party of European Socialists urges all voters to take part in
the elections of June 2004 and to vote for our vision of the future.
Europe is growing. Together we can make it stronger.
Europe needs your vote.
The Party of European Socialists is made up of 28 Socialist, Social
Democratic and Labour Parties from the 25 Member States and Norway,
as well as 13 associate and observer parties. Its partner organisations
include ECOSY (Young European Socialists) and PES Women. It seeks
common strategies and coordinates policy positions.
The manifesto provides an overview of our guiding principles and
policies. In addition we have a wealth of detailed policy documents:
Europe and a New Global Order - bridging the global divides
tabled by Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, former Prime Minister of Denmark
May 200
Europe's new neighbours - A post-enlargement strategy for
European foreign policy
tabled by PES Vice-Chairs Rudolf Scharping and Jan Marinus Wiersma
March 2004
Approving the new constitution: democracy and transparency
tabled by PES Vice Chair Giuliano Amato April 2004
Tackling right-wing populism in European democracies
tabled by Alfred Gusenbauer, leader of the SPÖ-Austria Sept.
2002 / March 2004
-Promoting investment, sustainable growth and full employment -Momentum for recovery in Europe promoting public and private
investments
tabled by Poul Nyrup Rasmussen 2003/2004
The Roma people: discrimination and exclusion
tabled by PES Vice Chair Jan Marinus Wiersma Nov. 2003
Managing migration and integration
tabled by Anna Terrón i Cusí MEP March 2004
The Reform of the Common Agricultural Policy and Food Safety
tabled by Henri Nallet, Willi Gorlach MEP & Frans Timmermans
November 2002
PES Working Group Paper on Sustainable Development
tabled by Göran Persson, Swedish Prime Minister March 2002
Transatlantic dialogue: building global alliances for the
21st century
tabled by SI President Antonio Guterres and PES President Robin
Cook March 2004
The European Union for a more secure world
tabled by PES rapporteur and former defence Minister Alain Richard
April 2004
European Party Statute: strengthening the Party of European
Socialists
tabled by PES treasurer Ruairi Quinn and Secretary General Antony
Beumer April 2004
These reports, along with national manifestos of PES parties, are
available on the PES website — www.pes.org. Additional documents
are available on the website of the PES Parliamentary Group: www.socialistgroup.org
[1] More details on these proposals are contained in the PES policy
document "Momentum for recovery in Europe promoting public
and private investments"
