Brussels, 31/08/2007 (Agence Europe) - The president of the Party of European Socialists (PES), Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, sent a letter at the end of this week to the president of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, in which he sets out the Social Democrat priorities for the autumn.
In the social field, Poul Nyrup Rasmussen sends a warning to the European Commission, which, he says, should realise that “European citizens will not accept a diet of deregulation which does not promote our way of life” without there being new proposals for “reviving Social Europe” and in order to set out a clear social dimension to the future internal market strategy. “The PES vision and roadmap for a New Social Europe shows that modern social policies and public services can be a driving force behind European economic competitiveness, but we must have an integrated strategy of competition that stimulates cooperation that strengthens, and solidarity that unites”, writes President Rasmussen.
When it comes to combating climate change, Poul Nyrup Rasmussen calls on the Commission to focus its efforts on putting forward a number of proposals that will see the light of day this autumn: revision of EU strategy in favour of sustainable development, launching international discussions to define a post-Kyoto negotiations framework, and different European legislative initiatives to combat climate change. “Today, we still have the potential to become the world leader in clean energy technologies and progressive climate policies”, Rasmussen's letter reads.
Furthermore, this autumn offers a “unique opportunity” for the EU to agree on a new European treaty which, among other initiatives, will announce a “positive turnaround for the European project”, Mr Rasmussen writes, inviting the Commission to “take an active role in achieving these positive and much-needed changes from this September onwards”.
With regards the financial markets crisis this summer, Poul Nyrup Rasmussen says that the Commission should already have heeded the many warnings issued about the risky operations of some hedge and private equity funds, but failed to act. President Rasmussen urges the EU to “act now to avoid the recurrence of such a financial crisis” and calls on President Barroso to submit a proposal to the Council and to the Parliament this autumn. (gb)