The European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party (ELDR Party) brings together 55 political parties with common liberal, democratic and reform ideals and is the forum for member parties to develop co-ordinated policies.

NEWSContentsPage 2■ A Massive Task Lies

Ahead■ Opinions on the EU

budget 2014-2020■ Associate Member

delegate at ELDR Congress

Page 3

■ A liberal democratic breakthrough

■ Palermo: a bridge for Freedom

Page 4

■ �The realities of the crisis

■ �Little liberal bookA guide for political party work

■ �Times of crisis require liberal solutions

Page 5

■ Annemie Neyts-Uyttebroeck: President 2005-2011

Page 6

■ Russian parliamentary elections: what do they mean for liberals?

■ Russia’s Non-Elections and European Policy Dilemma

■ ELDR Associate Membership

Page 7

■ Prospects for European Liberals in this decade

■ Spanish elections: a European affair

Page 8

■ A drink with Annemie Neyts-Uyttebroeck

■ Survey: Help us improve the ELDR Newspaper!

■ Liberal shakers

As I complete my third and last term as ELDR President, Liberalism finds itself in dire straits. When you elec-ted me for the first time as your pre-sident in Bratislava 6 years ago, we had liberal prime ministers in Belgium, Bulgaria, Estonia, Finland, Latvia and Romania. Today we have only two li-beral prime ministers left: in Estonia and The Netherlands. Six years ago, Liberals participated in the govern-ments of twelve member states; to-day, we find them in ten governments, including Germany and the United Kingdom for the first time since more than sixty years. Recent opinion polls and electoral surveys are not very kind to liberal parties and one cannot help wondering: is this election fatigue, is this the inevitable price to pay for the preceding long stretch of successes, is this in other words the waning succee-ding the waxing as is normal in well functioning democracies, or has libe-ralism entered a deep existential crisis?

It’s a bit of all of the above. Denmark for example has enjoyed a succession of three governments led by a liberal prime minister. Their party did pro-gress during the last elections, but people clearly wanted a change. Few are the parties that succeed to stay in the governmental lead for more than two successive legislatures. That also applies to liberal parties, and so we have fewer prime ministers nowadays.

At the same time, the general climate turns increasingly anti-liberal. There are those who never liked liberalism in the first place and who now smell revenge; there are the social demo-crats who suffered setback after set-back during the last decade and who have scores to settle; there are the po-pulists and conservatives of all shades who rightly or wrongly have felt snub-bed by liberals, there are the fervent anti-capitalists, etc, etc.

The opponents of liberalism are many and the deteriorating financial crisis of-fers them ample opportunity to lash out at us. This is not to say that libera-lism and liberals are beyond reproach.

Too often, organisational weakness has left the electoral field open to all others. Too often, liberal leaders have ceased to lead, have stopped to show the way and have preferred to serve weakened versions of the programs of more successful parties. This has never ever worked; but still liberals fall prey to the temptation. So when the mood turns euro sceptic, they turn a little euro sceptic; when the mood turns green, so do they; when the mood turns xenophobic, they become wary of immigration...

Clearly, this is not what we need. Offered the choice between the ori-ginal mood and the ersatz, the pu-

blic always goes for the original unless presented with an entirely different approach.

This is what Liberalism and liberals must do urgently, besides working at strengthening their inner organisation: devise a new liberal paradigm, one fit for the 21st century, its magnificent possibilities and frightening threats.

Gladstone could inspire us; he who said that «conservatism is distrust of people, qualified by fear, and libera-lism is trust in people, qualified by prudence.» We should turn our backs

on conservatism, fear and distrust; we should lay the foundations for a re-newal of trust in humankind and in its destiny.

I have tried to do that for the last six years, with the help of many friends and supporters, and with the help of the fantastic staff at the ELDR secreta-riat. I thank you all and wish you the best. See you at the next Council mee-ting or Congress

by Annemie Neyts-Uyttebroeck MEP

ELDR President

Thank you and goodbye

November 2011 | www.eldr.eu

European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party ■ Parti Européen des Libéraux, Démocrates et Réformateurs

10

The ELDR Bureau in its meeting of 16 September 2011 decided unanimous-ly to adopt a D66 proposal to make “Energy Transition” the theme for the coming year. This means it will be formally launched at the ELDR confe-rence in Palermo, as we wrap up the previous theme on the EU’s multi-an-nual financial framework. It is hoped that, as was the case this year, there will be ever increasing amounts of ar-ticles, activities and blogs on energy transition on the ELDR website, wor-king towards a solid resolution at the 2012 Congress.

The groundwork for the theme was laid by a seminar held in May 2011 by D66, Centerpartiet, the Lib Dems and the European Liberal Forum in Amsterdam, as part of the ELDR poli-tical and information activities. Under the title “A liberal roadmap for ener-gy transition” there was a valuable ex-change of best practices from the three participating countries. It remains clear, however, that successful energy tran-sition is only possible by having so-lid policies at European level, which can help guide investment and policy decisions at national and regional le-vel. Unless the basic parameters are in place (such as a fair carbon price and removal of subsidies on fossil fuels to create a level playing field) it will be hard for countries and regions to meet the targets they have set for themselves.

The objectives of an EU energy policy are shared by all liberals: energy se-curity, competitiveness and sustaina-bility. The key question is how these strategic objectives can be translated

ELDR theme for 2012: Energy Transition

into clear action that is implementable, also in times of economic strain. The European Commission’s “Roadmap for a low-carbon economy” and its “Energy Roadmap 2050” outline ambi-tious targets for reducing greenhouse gasses. As of yet, almost no member state is on track to meet these targets. It will be up to liberals to outline a sustainable way forward, keeping in mind the long term objectives.

The seminar also underlined the im-portance of the ELDR political and information activities in bringing to-gether national and regional poli-ticians. Members of the European Parliament see each other regularly, but for MPs and municipal or regio-nal representatives, it is extremely va-luable to learn from each other’s expe-riences. Having each other’s trust and, indeed, phone numbers can also give a strong political edge. If a minister claims to be isolated in the Council of Ministers, this can be verified with a quick phone call to a colleague in another parliament. In this way libe-rals can use the connections forged via the ELDR to have a greater politi-cal impact. And that of course is what it should be all about!

by Lousewies van der LaanELDR Vice-President

The forthcoming budget negotiations will possibly be the most difficult in the history of the EU. We are in the middle of the biggest economic crisis since the Second World War. And for the first time agreement will have to be found among no fewer than 27 mem-ber states by unanimity. Furthermore, with the Lisbon Treaty the European Parliament has increased its compe-tences significantly and will now for-mally adopt or reject the agreement found by the 27 member states.

In other words, the starting point is very difficult. Nevertheless, I am convinced that an agreement will be achieved. If for no other reasons, an agreement will be found, because the alternative scenario would lea-ve the Union and its member states in another crisis both politically and economically.

Focus is key

The main hurdles will be the size of the overall budget, how the budget should

be financed, and to what extent prio-rities should be shifted from agricultu-ral spending and regional development to areas such as, innovation, competi-tiveness, research and infrastructure.

For liberals and democrats both in the member states and in the European Parliament, a key prio-rity has been increasing EU spen-ding on research and innovation. We were very successful in 2005, and we should continue to push for this agen-da. This needs to be visible both in dealing with the overall budget, and not least when dealing with indivi-dual programmes.

Reforming eU policies

Achieving the EU budget is all about po-litics. The forthcoming negotiations may sound like an exercise in maths and economics. But it is much more than that. It has the potential to significantly alter EU policies as we know them, and to underpin an EU focused on growth, sustainability and cohesiveness.

The size of the EU budget is definitely an important issue to liberals and de-mocrats. However, equally important is how the money allocated is spent, and what type of policies the budget supports. Today 80 % of the EU bud-get is returned to member states via either the Common Agricultural Policy or the structural funds. This leaves 20 % to truly common projects such as research programmes, infrastructure

projects, common foreign and secu-rity policy and financial supervision.

We already know that a substantial part of the budget will be allocated to agri-culture. The Commission has proposed a slight decrease until 2020. Therefore, we shall make it a priority to ensure that agricultural spending is used to ensure a competitive agricultural sector based on innovation, efficiency, sustainability and animal welfare. This is not done by adding to the red tape, which is already making farmers’ heads turn blue. It is done by smart regulation and by inves-ting in research in the food and agri-cultural sector.

The same can be said for spending from structural funds. The regional policy should ensure regional deve-lopment and growth in business, not growth in bureaucracy. Liberals and democrats shall make it a key priori-ty to ensure that agriculture and re-gional policy contributes to achieving the 2020 goals.

a fair and transparent income side

Financing the EU budget has been a controversial issue from the outset. However, the controversy surrounding the matter has only increased in recent years. Why certain member states are entitled to a rebate on their contribu-tion to the common household bud-get remains impossible to explain to the public. In fact, it remains impos-

sible to explain in general, as it is both unfair and un-transparent.

The Commission has proposed to es-tablish new sources to finance the EU budget in order to alleviate some of the pressure on national budgets. This is to be done via a financial transac-tions tax and a new common VAT sys-tem. Personally I am sceptic towards taxing financial transactions but I find the idea of a common VAT base inte-resting. There is a profound need to have a more independent budget - not bigger - but more independent from the current horse trading between fi-nance ministers. Far too often we have seen heads of state toasting on new far

reaching agreements, only for finance ministers to cut appropriations the following month, making satisfactory implementation virtually impossible.

By changing the way the EU budget is financed, we can make it fair, transpa-rent and make sure that what is agreed in the European Council will actually be implemented. This will be to the bene-fit of European citizens, and at the same time underline the legitimacy of the EU.

by Anne E. Jensen MEPAnne E Jensen was rapporteur for

the theme resolution “A budget for Europe: liberal priorities for

the EU budget 2014-2020”

November 2011 | ELDR News n°10 | www.eldr.eu Page 2

Opinions on the EU budget 2014-2020

“I am confident that Europe will once again rise to the

challenge. Defeatism is for eurosceptics and ‘told-you-

so’ people. But if we want to boost growth in line with

the Europe 2020 strategy, we need to undertake serious

reforms. We need to start now. And we need to start by

reforming our own budget.”

Birgitta Ohlsson, Swedish minister for European affairs (Folkpartiet Liberalerna).

“We need to regain the European added value of

European expenditure. Therefore, it is necessary to

focus much stronger on Europe’s priorities: innovation,

sustainable development, energy, economic growth and

a strong position in the world.” Gerben-Jan Gerbrandy MEP (D66, the Netherlands)

‘O for a Muse of fire, that would ascend The brightest heaven of

invention, A kingdom for a stage, princes to act And monarchs

to behold the swelling scene!’

Shakespeare’s words still ring in the heart, though it

may seem strange to quote this quintessentially English

playwright in an article about Cohesion Policy! He calls

for ‘a muse of fire’, a way of painting a picture that will

capture the hearts of his audience. At this moment in

time, dealing with the future of Cohesion Policy and its

funding, a ‘muse of fire ‘ is just what is needed!

Flo Clucas, Leader of the ALDE Group in the Committee of the Regions (Liberal Democrats, UK).

Associate Members recently elected their delegate to the ELDR Congress 2011 in Palermo, Italy. The most votes were given to Francesca Jaume i Soler (Mallorca, Spain).

Who is Francesca Jaume i Soler?I was born in Vilafranca de Bonany, Mallorca, Spain in 1980. I have a Law degree and now I am finishing a Political Sciences degree and studying for an Information Management post degree. I was Press Office Head for the Mallorca Council between 2002 and 2007 and Director of Cabinet and Communication of the regional broadcasting company IB3 since July

Associate Member delegate at ELDR Congress

2007 to September 2011. Nowadays, I develop my communication manage-ment business.

What motivated you to become an Associate Member? Front my point of view, ELDR is the best forum for people who have deep libe-ral ideas. Furthermore, becoming an Associate member is the best option for people who do not have an established liberal party in their area.

What is your view on the EU bud-get 2014-2020, this year’s theme of the Congress? Obviously, the EU budget needs to af-front the current financial crisis. As far as I am concerned, I believe it has to help entrepreneurial people and fomenting training of young people. Also, I believe there should be a general agreement to abolish some aggressive financial practices, and services which can be developed by private enterprise should not be run by public authorities.

Although I know it is a state compe-tence, I also believe it is necessary take more tools to inspect fraud.

Earlier this summer, Praxoula Antoniadou Kyriacou, Party Leader of ELDR’s Cypriot mem-ber party United Democrats

was appointed as Minister for Com-merce, Industry and Tourism!Li

be

ral

Mov

ers

and

Shak

ers

ELDR’s Focus Year 2011 website contains a number of interesting

contributions from liberal politi-cians. Here you find a few excerpts

that are published online on www.eldrfocus.eu

A Massive Task Lies Ahead

An illiberal Italy, stifled by conflicts of interest, by attacks on the Republican constitution and continuous attempts to muzzle the media and to cripple the judiciary. A tired Italy, weakened by corruption, by tax evasion, by an unscrupulous commercialism without rules and by abuses of power. An Italy in crisis, economically, culturally and morally impoverished. This is, in brief, the legacy that the Italians are going to receive from a prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, whose political parable seems, thankfully, to have come to an end.

Unfortunately, while we are going through a terrible economic crisis that threatens to undermine the founda-tions of the “European building”, wi-

Palermo, an ancient Euro Mediter-ranean capital, for centuries a cross-roads of cultures, religions and peoples, is offered once again to Europe as a site of freedom, demo-cracy, tolerance, peace.

Palermo, Sicily, the natural lan-ding point for African and Middle Eastern migrants f leeing poverty, wars and dictatorships of the Afro-Mediterranean area, is today a can-didate to become a bridge between Europe, Africa and Asia, in the name of liberal values.

Palermo, a modern Euro-Afro-Mediterranean capital, will be tomor-row, but from now, the place where it is possible to achieve and share those liberal democratic values that are still indispensable for blowing the wind of freedom which, despite obstacles and contradictions, has given rise to the Arab Spring.

It’s time that Palermo, which ex-perienced the short-lived seasons of the Spring and of the Sicilian Renaissance, but also the long sea-sons of perversion of the values of democracy and freedom, as well as of its Mediterranean identity, tries to look beyond the boundaries of an island that has become, unfortuna-tely, inaccessible from the continent, hostile and too far away, both from Europe and Africa.

A liberal democratic breakthrough

Palermo: a bridge for Freedom

November 2011 | ELDR News n°10 | www.eldr.eu Page 3

sely and courageously built by our po-litical fathers to ensure to all citizens of this continent, freedom, prosperi-ty and peace, the Italian government looks the other way, too busy to solve the legal troubles of Berlusconi and his ministers, one of which is even under investigation for Mafia crimes.

This government, overwhelmed by scandals and immobilized by its in-capacity to find a solution to the pro-blems of the country, remains despe-rately barricaded in its bunker.

Meanwhile, in the absence of concrete actions by the government to address the economic crisis and to try to reduce the huge public debt, whose unbearable weight crushes the country’s economic

recovery, the European institutions are putting, de facto, Berlusconi’s executive under a commissioner. Unfortunately it is not enough, because the parlia-mentary majority, which keeps this go-vernment alive, in return for blackmails and promises of personal favours, slows down even the implementation of the guidelines coming from Brussels: too great is the fear of hitting the situation of rents and privileges enjoyed by castes and “committees of business” that halt the Italian economy.

«The air must be purified», so thun-dered even the Italian Church, which has so much influence in the public life, with obvious reference to the moral degradation that poisons the air of Palazzo Chigi, seat of govern-ment. After that, Confindustria, the industry confederation, distanced it-self from the government. Foreign lea-ders and media have already done so; after the embarrassing silences, or the requests to step aside, from many of his old supporters, this is the confirmation that the prime minis-ter is alone. Nobody wants him any-more, not even those who until yes-terday were his allies.

Nevertheless this man and this go-vernment are more dangerous than ever. They are desperate, and ready for anything. Berlusconi not only fears

to lose power, he particularly fears having to deal with justice, without shields and armour that guarantee him impunity. Just to avoid this kind of end, he is doing and will do anything.

Suffice it to say that the government is discussing a new bill to prohibit ju-dicial interceptions - and thus to en-sure impunity for criminals - in which a provision has been included to pa-ralyze the Internet. Once approved this new “gag law”, will mean inter-net sites and blog administrators will be obliged to rectify any statement, any comment, any claim whether any person, that believes to have been in-jured, asks them to do it.

It is evidently a last desperate attempt to silence any voice of dissent by a government that already controls or affects the vast majority of televisions and newspapers.

In this worrying context, Italia dei Valori has always been strongly com-mitted to the defence of constitutio-nal values of freedom, laity and law-fulness. A commitment which is not limited to tenacious opposition to Berlusconi’s government, exercised daily both in Parliament and in any other place where you can democra-tically express dissent towards a di-sastrous politics for our country. Italia

dei Valori has shown, with their own initiatives and proposals in the field of economy, employment, environ-ment, justice, foreign policy, to repre-sent a real and credible government alternative. The growing citizen’s ap-proval, achieved in recent years, the success of all the referenda proposed by IDV and, last but not least, the ex-cellent results obtained in the recent local elections, confirm that in addi-tion to being a major political party, we are ready to hold the reins of the country in the name of liberal demo-cratic values.

And it is precisely in the name of these values that we strongly claim the im-portance, for Italia dei Valori, to be member of the ELDR Party. An impor-tance witnessed, not surprisingly, by ELDR Vice President Leoluca Orlando who executes his role with great pas-sion and enthusiasm. A role that to-day, on the eve of a long-awaited li-beral democratic breakthrough for the leadership of our country, we want to strengthen even more.

by Antonio Di Pietro MPLeader of Italia dei Valori

The choice of Palermo, an Italian frontier town, but also historically and geographically in the heart of the Mediterranean, as the seat of the ELDR Congress 2011, is now for these, and other no less important reasons, even more significant. But Sicily is cer-tainly going through a critical econo-mic, political and cultural transition, which unfortunately afflicts even Italy. It’s hard to say, but in Sicily we have three cultural vices that have become national vices.

We risk losing the community dimen-sion of life; politicians without poli-tical parties, unionists without trade unions, pastors without parishes, and academics without universities.

We risk losing the respect of time, lo-sing the memory of the past and the hope for the future; and we risk living in a state of eternal present where a small defeat becomes death and a small victory becomes a triumph.

We suffer, too often, the “culture of belonging”. When somebody asks for the recognition of a right or for the sa-tisfaction of a need, the answer is not: “who are you, what do you know and what can you do?”, but “to whom do you belong?”. This is the real reason for the crisis of Sicily and Italy: the me-rits are not really acknowledged and the needs are ignored, with a conse-quent mortification of basic values of freedom, competition and healthy de-velopment through harmonious use of resources.

After the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Mafia has replaced the perverted va-lues of honour, family and friendship, which made her terribly Sicilian, with global values of freedom, competi-tion and development. Unfortunately the perversion of these values turns freedom into arbitrariness, competi-

tion into monopoly and development into hoarding of resources.

It is an epochal cultural transforma-tion that, supporters of Berlusconi’s ideology, after having invested in Italy, could spread into Europe. And all of this right now when the strong echo of messages of freedom and democra-cy comes to us from the other side of the Mediterranean.

In this context, dramatically charac-terised by a serious lack of liberal va-lues, by the supremacy of the culture of belonging, by the humiliation of the merits, by the injuries to free com-petition and the consequent prolife-ration of monopolies and conflicts of interest, Italia dei Valori is, today, the only Italian political party consistent-ly committed to return to its original identity those liberal democratic va-lues that have long marked the path of freedom and brotherhood of peoples and regions of Europe.

A new political commitment in a country, such as Italy, that is still wea-rily trapped in a logic of Cold War; still imprisoned in ideological fences that have been overcome by time and history; victim of an ethical and cultu-ral barbarism which marks the decline of a political season, Berlusconi’s one, thankfully close to the end. As well as the season of some North African dictators has come to an end.

The events of the past year have moreover cer t i f ied the overco-ming of the system of bilateral rela-tions between individual European countries and Afro-Mediterranean dic-tators. A system that has taken on the character of vulgarity, violation of hu-man rights and dirty business, some-times obscure but often pursued with arrogance.

Therefore, the time has come for Europe to find the strength to repair the mistakes of the past, and try to express a courageously genuine com-mon foreign policy.

Now we are ready to go, from Palermo, for a new Euro-Afro-Mediterranean Renaissance that places at the centre of the political and cultural action the human being and the community: the one and the other inseparable ele-ments for the success of the values of Laity, Freedom, Democracy, Peace.

by Leoluca Orlando MPELDR Vice President,

Italia dei Valori, Italy

Despite much literature sustaining the opposite view, the crisis in Europe is not fundamentally about Greece, whose GDP represents no more than 2,5 % of the Eurozone GDP. We, the Europeans, have to admit that Europe has been in a particularly weak po-sition to face a sovereign debt crisis. Unlike the United States, it has not got the institutional capacity to deal swiftly, and through a centralized de-cision-making process, with the crisis.

Greek society is in a real shock: sa-laries are cut, sometimes by 40%; 953,000 people are unemployed equi-valent to 1 in 5 people of working age; taxes constantly go up and are paid by law-abiding citizens, while the black economy is yet untouched. The sur-prise of a swift descent into hell has taken the Greeks by storm.

The main evils of the Greek malaise could be described as follows:

• A huge, bureaucratic and inefficient public sector.

• The small size of business, with most not oriented towards production.

• Closed markets and professions, with licences issued by the state.

• Chaotic and time-consuming pro-cedures for establishing a compa-ny or factory either by Greeks or as foreign investment.

• High taxes and a corrupt and inef-ficient system of taxation.

• Privileged state enterprises whose workers enjoy high salaries.

• Lack of labour mobility.

Today, the Greek economy seems to be heading towards a dead-end. The main reason is that the socialist go-

vernment is mobilised only during the periodical checks of the Troika. In between, ministers are just linge-ring with inertia. At the same time, the main opposition leader denies any kind of cooperation, stating that once he becomes Prime Minister, he will re-negotiate the loans with the Troika. Everybody in Europe knows that this is practically impossible, but the “Nea Demokratia” party continues to follow a strong populist line.

Moreover, the Troika has not insisted on a balance between tax increases and expenditure cuts, which was nee-ded. Besides, the Troika also failed to fundamentally see the political and social dimension of the issues. They always forget the fact that there are real people in Greece, who are unable to absorb the dramatic changes that take place every day.

Last June we presented in Brussels a different economic approach, to-gether with Guy Verhofstadt, as the European Liberals and Democrats al-ternative for handling the Greek cri-sis. Furthermore, within this wider plan, our party, Democratic Alliance, has suggested an alternative medium-term fiscal consolidation plan that was put forward to the Greek public and the troika.

What were the main elements of this alternative plan?

• A bolder, faster and more realistic fiscal consolidation program, based mainly on reducing government ex-penditure that would decrease the ac-cumulation of public debt and posi-tively surprise the markets. This was based two thirds (2/3) on a reduction of public expenditure and one third (1/3) in increasing revenues.

The realities of the crisis

European Liberals are united in the conviction that is advocated daily: the liberty and dignity of the individual to pursue their own goals. Based on firm principles, liberals formulate policies in parliaments and councils at all levels.

However, politics is based on a so-lid organization in order to develop, communicate and implement liberal policies. Success is therefore based on internal party structures, the ability to recruit and engage members and your ability to campaign for your ideas.

Little liberal book A guide for political party work

Party politics demands increasing professionalism but simultaneously it becomes increasingly difficult to re-cruit volunteers who build the back-bone of any political party or nonpro-fit organization.

The ELDR Party has written a guide on political party work in order to provide some orientation for new par-ty leadership personnel on the one hand and to be a reference book and provide ideas for experienced party workers on the other.

It will provide you with concrete ideas and tips, such as how to build your local party chapter, how to orga-nize events or how to deal with press.

Such a guide also depends on your feedback. Let us know any short-comings or suggest additions that you would like to share with others. Future editions will take this into consideration.

by Philipp HansenHead of the political unit at the

ELDR secretariat

November 2011 | ELDR News n°10 | www.eldr.eu Page 4

Times of crisis require liberal solutions

It’s that time of the year again! The exciting time to convene with fellow European Liberal Democrats at the ELDR Party Congress, to discuss to-pical issues and to network.

I am happy this year’s Congress is held in my home country. Not only because it will treat you all with quite plea-sant late November weather – but be-cause Italy is one of the key countries in the current crisis. Over a decade of Silvio Berlusconi has had its toll, both on society and economic progress. Yet Italy needs to get back to its feet again. Our kind Congress hosts Italia dei Valori is working hard and suc-cessfully to challenge this, together with Radicali Italiani, both full ELDR members. That is good news for both Italy and Europe!

Rarely has our Congress agenda had such high topicality. In view of the on-going financial turmoil, it is high time to adopt pragmatic, liberal solu-tions for Europe’s future financing. As

we liberals know, we are in this to-gether. Thanks in part to the internal market, which we have fought for over a number of years and know benefits us greatly in good economic times, Europe is nowadays a tightly knit area. Difficulties in Greece and Italy will thus mean difficulties in Belgium and Denmark. Across Europe, we are now seeing pain-staking proof for this.

But the solution is not, as many in-fashion populist parties around Europe like to give at hand, to dismantle the internal market in favour of nationa-lism and protectionism. Europe is not black-and-white. There are few easy solutions – but there are certainly bet-ter and worse solutions. To achieve the former, Europe needs more liberalism and liberal presence in governments. We liberals need to counter this pre-vailing easy-answerism.

The ELDR Party cannot run in elec-tions. But hopefully, we can be of some help to our members doing so.

On this page, you will find a presen-tation of a new ELDR Party publica-tion – the Little Liberal Book - which aims at being a hands-on guide with tips for how to set up a political li-beral party – and remain successful over many years. It’s at the same time an initiative and a legacy of President Annemie Neyts-Uyttebroeck at the end of her 6 years of ELDR Presidency. This booklet, written together with Philipp Hansen, shares best practice from successful liberal sister parties, and should be useful for anyone inte-rested in developing sustainable par-ty structures. Copies can be ordered from the ELDR Party Secretariat.

In addition, ELDR is promoting Party Training Seminars. This is intended to be a complement to the Little Liberal Book and the Political & Information Activities that we have offered our full members for a longer time. If your party would like to develop a certain feature of your party, be it anything from fund raising to campaign strate-gies, we hope that you will contact the ELDR Secretariat, and together we can develop joint solutions to this end.

Despite my absence during this Congress due to my maternity leave, I will be following the outcome of the Congress closely, and look forward to coming back to work with a newly elected Bureau and President in 2012.

In the meantime, I wish you all the best for the Congress and the remain-der of the year!

by Federica SabbatiELDR Party Secretary General

• A long-term institutional reform program aimed at dealing with cor-ruption and clientele-type political practices, with technical assistance from the relevant EU services and agencies.

• New incentives for Greece in terms of investments, today the Greek pri-vate sector lacks certainties and faces incredible difficulties. They have to pay a lot more taxes, they have no financing from the banks, the eco-nomy is shrinking and the possibi-lities for investment and growth are blocked as the danger of bankrupt-cy is still imminent. This is why we asked for an investment plan with reallocation of resources from the European budget and the European Investment Bank amounting to €30 billion, of which €10 billion could already be taken from the funding period 2014-2020. We also asked for guarantees from the EU and the EIB for new private investments in Greece and for part of the privati-zation program to be attributed to a fund for investments.

• Europe should ask for deeper expen-diture cuts in public consumption and offer in return additional mo-ney for investments, which are going to be jointly implemented. This can be automatic, with part of the ins-talments from the European loans to be earmarked for investment only.

• Private sector financing should be in-creased. Part of the bank recapitali-zation should be earmarked for new investment, rather than patching up existing bad loans. The Greek go-vernment should also pay immedia-tely its overdue obligations to pri-vate businesses. Investments already on the way, like the big highways which have stopped in the middle and can add 1,5% to the next year’s GDP, must be urgently rescued and restarted.

• The privatization program should be realistically re-evaluated. 75% of the assets already in the privatiza-tion fund can be used as guaranty for the new loan and the rest to be earmarked for new investments in Greece. The privatization program should then be co-designed in coo-peration with the lending countries, with the emphasis being -instead

of fire sales- on maximization of the revenues. For example, we can-not seriously go on with a program that aims for 35 billion Euros from the sale of public land, while no-body has initiated an impact as-sessment on what will happen to the Greek real estate market, as the Commission admits. We need to do these privatizations according to a rational and well-organized plan.

Greece is a country in deep trouble, but it also has huge potential. We have good infrastructure. The Greek wor-king force is industrious, well educa-ted (many of our younger people are alumni of the best universities of the world) and multilingual. Greek entre-preneurs have excelled in internatio-nal markets and sectors. We always have the biggest commercial fleet in the world. The country itself has huge untapped resources in terms of re-newable energy, minerals, but also in terms of natural beauty and cultu-ral heritage. We need to change and put all our efforts into developing all these resources and mobilizing our working force. We cannot do that if the economy is stalling and the mo-ney from Europe and the IMF ser-vices only the past debts and public consumption, while our private sec-tor suffocates, our people are unem-ployed and can’t find a job.

The message is simple: Greece has to produce again and make money, so that it can quickly repay the debt. That is why we need the support of our European allies.

One thing is for sure: Greek people want to change their country. Only Europe can help bring about this change, for the sake of all the EU states. But it must act now, before things get totally out of control. Time goes by and we, the Europeans, did not persuade the markets that we can efficiently deal with the crisis. It is high time to do it.

by Dora Bakoyannis MPLeader of the Democratic

Alliance of GreeceThe Democratic Alliance applied

for membership of the ELDR Party.

Annemie Neyts-Uytttebroeck: President 2005-2011

November 2011 | ELDR News n°10 | www.eldr.eu Page 5

MaRiaNN FischeR Boel former european commissioner (Venstre, Denmark)

I never forget when I first met Annemie. It was in December 2001 at my first Agricultural Council as a Danish minister. A very difficult agenda but with Annemie in the chair (Belgian Presidency) she managed after tough nightly negotiations to get an agreement. This has been the strength of Annemie - finding sustainable solutions and I was very happy to work with her during my 5 years in Bruxelles as a Commissioner. Annemie is certainly a remarkable person and I admire her a lot.

caRles gasòliBa i BöhM former MeP and senator (cDc, catalonia)

It is a pleasure to express my deep recognition and gratitude for the ex-cellent and exceptional work carried out by Annemie Neyts for the libe-ral cause in so many and different political responsibilities. Her leadership and clairvoyance is enlightening us in European and International politics.

Mikhail kasyaNoV former Prime Minister of Russia (People’s Democratic Union, Russia)

This photo was taken in Moscow at the place where Lenin and Trotsky used to deliver speeches. We, together with President Annemie Neyts, have turned this place liberal and will sooner or later turn Russia into a free and democratic European state.

JaN-kees WieBeNga Member of council of state, former MeP (VVD, the Netherlands)

More than 40 years of cooperation, starting with the World Federation of Liberal and Radical Youth in 1970, via the ELDR Group in the European Parliament in the nineties and recently in the ELDR Council: it was a great pleasure!

haNs VaN BaaleN MeP President of liberal international (VVD, the Netherlands)

annemie, a politician with a heartSince the early 1990s, I know Annemie Neyts. At first, we worked to-gether when she was Treasurer of Liberal International, later on as she was its Deputy President and President. The last years, I worked almost every day with Annemie in her position as President of ELDR and as a colleague in the ALDE Group in the European Parliament. So we have a history together. To me she is not only a political inspiration but even more so she is a human being and a true friend with a strong fee-ling of what is right and what is wrong. When I ran for my seat in the Dutch Parliament for the first time in 1998, I was bitterly attacked by the left-wing media because I had been an active member of one of the oldest and most traditional Dutch Royal Student Unions at Leyden University which they considered to be elitist and ultra conservative. It was Annemie who directly defended me in an open letter to the media giving examples of my liberal positions through the years. She had nothing to gain but she wanted simply to support a friend and a liberal colleague. I was elected and hence started my political career. Annemie Thanks! I owe you more than one!

MaRk RUttePrime Minister of the Netherlands (VVD, the Netherlands)

annemie, a beacon for liberalsAnnemie Neyts has always been the ideal guest speaker at our VVD par-ty congresses: open minded, a true liberal and a neighbour from Belgium with whom we share the same language. Today, she is for me a vital libe-ral colleague who as ELDR President brings liberals in the European Union together because we agree on the essentials of politics: protecting civil li-berties in a free market environment! Annemie many thanks! Also in the years ahead you will remain to be one of our beacons.

aRtUR Mas President of catalonia (cDc, catalonia)

Annemie Neyts has a moral authority within the liberal family, which does not loose when resigning as president of ELDR Party. Her task at the party and previously, at the Liberal International, has been extra-ordinary. We have always felt very well-represented by her and in her presidency we will never forget the ELDR Party Congress in Barcelona

Neelie kRoesVice-President of the european commission (VVD, the Netherlands)

A professional, a tough cookie, a fighter for the case, a very nice person whom I wish all the best!

aNDRUs aNsiP Prime Minister of estonia (Reform Party, estonia)

Thank you Annemie for serving the important mission of stan-ding for liberal democrat values in Europe. Please accept my gra-titude for your successful work as President of European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party.

kaRel De gUchteuropean commissioner for trade (open Vld, Belgium)

Annemie has always brought a certain flair and style to the political mandates she has held throughout her career. In politics, that mat-ters a great deal. It made her the Grand Dame of Flemish liberalism when she a Belgian MP, party President and, later, minister. It made her plenty of friends around the world as president of the ELDR.She did a great job as president and well deserves our gratitude for those six years.

loRD alDeRDiceformer President of liberal international (liberal Democrats, Uk)

Most politicians are satisfied with fluency. One of your gifts as President of LI/ELDR was your impressive understanding of the origins and meanings of other people’s languages. You are a master of words - the me-dium of politics.

siiM kallasVice-President of the european commission (Reform Party, estonia)

Thank you for your support over these last six years as ELDR pre-sident. Your work in foreign re-lations and help in coordinating meetings of liberal politicians be-fore European Councils were in-valuable. I trust you will keep the spirit of liberalism alive in Brussels! Best wishes for the future.

gUy VeRhoFstaDt MePleader of the alliance of liberals and Democrats for europe in the european Parliament

As President of the ELDR, Annemie Neyts has managed to further expand ELDR and make it an important ally in advancing a European agenda!

siMeoN saxe-coBURg gothaformer Prime Minister of Bulgaria (NMsP, Bulgaria)

Ever since our first encounter in 2002, I have considered her a friend.Among various subsequent meetings, I recall an interesting “Liberal summit” at my mountain lodge in Borovets, together with Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Calin Popescu-Tariceanu, Janez Potocnik, Olli Rehn, Lord Alderdice and Sir Graham Watson. A propos Commissioners, we must keep in mind that it was during Annemie’s presidency that the number of liberal European Commissioners increased significantly!At this stage of Annemie’s rich political life, I wish her only the very best, to continue being so committed, together with my sincere grati-tude for what she has done for us Bulgarian liberals.

Since the mid-1990s, elections in Russia have been gradually and stea-dily turning into a staged play where the main protagonist - the ruling par-ty (called United Russia at present) – has been always defeating its po-litical rivals with a huge majority of votes – sometimes winning with over 109 per cent of the vote. All this de-monstrates an unprecedented scope of falsification of the voting and vio-lations of the law, confirmed by in-dependent analysts who have proved fraud by mathematical and statistical models, rather than by those who lost the elections. The unfair and non-free essence of the elections has not been limited to fraud on voting day.

It began with lack of equal access to the media and administrative pres-sure on the opposition. This is dele-gitimisation of power. Unfortunately, even politically correct reports made by international observers (including the Council of Europe and the OSCE) noting every time glaring violations at elections have not led anywhere: Realpolitik has continued dominating in the every day politics.

The very core of democracy – rule by elected representatives of the people for the sake of the people - has virtual-ly been replaced by the rule of politi-cal and business bureaucracy for the sake of profit generation.

Until recently turnout has been steadi-ly falling as many people have become alienated from this regime and such a state being engaged in mere physi-cal survival, while others got “disillu-sioned” with democratic ideals due to Russia’s failed reforms and dominance of the pro-Kremlin’s parties in the par-

liament after 2003. But the meaning of such voting “by feet” (when ordi-nary people boycott elections) was quickly devalued by United Russia’s MPs through means of legislative abro-gation of a voter turnout parameter and elimination of the “Against All” line in the voting ballots. Also a seven per cent (instead of a former five per cent) threshold was introduced for the par-ties striving to get into the Russian par-liament. All non-parliamentary political parties have to collect over 150,000 vo-ters’ signatures (that are put to subjec-tive “expertise” by electoral commis-sions) to be registred in the election campaign. Registration of new politi-cal parties has virtually ceased.

But why does Russia’s oligarchic re-gime try to disguise itself as a demo-cracy? The answer is simple: without democratic decoration such regimes can not be legitimate in the eyes of their nations and the world and can not feel secure, moreover that social tensions and dissatisfaction with the

Russian parliamentary elections: what do they mean for liberals?

November 2011 | ELDR News n°10 | www.eldr.eu Page 6

Well in advance of the December 2011 elections of the Duma and the March 2012 Presidential election in Russia, the results look amazingly preset. The country is heading towards the “United Russia” party dominance in the lower chamber of the Parliament and Putin’s comeback to the presi-dential position – now, thanks to a constitutional change by President Medvedev – for a six-year term.

But this certainty conceals a deep dis-satisfaction by the people and growing signs of fragility. Putin’s investiture will be a Pyrrhic victory rather than a long-lasting success.

The fruits of his regime’s performance are evident: increased dependence of the economy on oil and gas; war in Georgia and open pressure on neigh-bours; degradation of the social sphere and infrastructure; Magnitsky’s torture and death in custody as a striking example of lawlessness and corrup-tion of the bureaucrats and the police; growing deficit of the pension system; systemic oppression of dissent inclu-ding the Khodorkovsky-Lebedev case; repeated energy cut-offs for European consumers; blatant hooliganism of pro-Kremlin youth organizations; small and medium businesses’ expropriations; to-lerated and even stimulated nationalis-tic unrest; endless terror attacks and not only in the Northern Caucuses.

Putin’s popularity, based on a media-inflated bubble and oil bonanza, is falling. Morally this regime is already dead being scorned by the elites. Businessmen and talented people lea-ve the country and this process looks set to accelerate. It is just a matter of time until this regime destroys its ma-terial and political base and collapses.

Putin’s third presidency will be an administrative making, not a political triumph. A lot has been done by Putin and his team to keep power and to ex-clude any real competition, including legislative change, through pressure on

Citizens from around Europe decided to support the European liberal va-lues and become an Associate mem-ber of the ELDR. For 25 euros annual-ly, associate membership cardholders have privileged access to ELDR events,

Anna MelichAs a retired EU official, I wish to extend my political activities at the European level. Of course, my national party, CDC, being a member of the ELDR party, it was the natural choice.

Jurnan GoosMy political allegiance is to the European Union, which gives us the best shot at prosperity and freedom, more than any collabo-

ration of nation states ever could.

Miguel DuarteI prefer the regret of doing something to the regret of not doing it.

Nelly GuetAs an Associate member, I am informed about the main issues

facing us and I would like to participate in events organized by ELDR to bring back once again Liberalism to France.

Pavel MarozauMy country, Belarus, is not part of the European family due to Lukashenko’s dictatorship but many youngsters are really European minded. I want to show the example, for a better future.

Peter JensLiberalism is the kinder, creative and constructive force of

change. A pan-European party is the preferred instrument for democratic reform compared to national parties.

Rafa VillaroMy political reference is the Italian and transnational radical mo-vement of Emma Bonino. Neither in Catalonia nor Spain is there a liberal party belonging to the Liberal International.

Stefan BotnarI want to be involved in political life of Europe, promoting li-

beral principles and values and most of all: individual freedoms and responsibility, private property and equal rights.

Vanja ZubicUnification of Europe, freedom of movement, speech and the press have a new dimension to the ideas that brought together people in the ELDR - this is a new age!

Graham WatsonI joined ELDR’s Associate membership to further the cause of

Liberalism, as an activist, an office holder, a writer, a canvasser and in other ways.

Russia’s Non-Elections and European Policy Dilemma

ELDR Associate Membership

the opposition and civil society by the police and secret services and media manipulations. No redress is available as servile courts always agree with the government’s position. All registered parties cannot behave independently and continue to keep a low profile on the key political issues.

In this environment the People’s Democratic Union united with other Russian liberal groups to form a new political party and fight with this re-gime. But contrary to the Constitution and the international obligations of the country our People’s Freedom Party (along with other eight organizations, representing different parts of the po-litical spectrum) wasn’t registered to participate in the elections because of allegedly incorrectly arranged papers.

Manipulated and falsified elections be-came a norm. Public sector workers are collectively brought to the polling stations to vote under their bosses’ guidance. Massive evidence of electo-ral fraud in different regions of Russia was never investigated. OSCE elec-tion monitors face an uphill struggle to undertake their activities. Non-coincidentally, according to the na-tional polls the majority of Russians are sure that the forthcoming elec-tions will be dishonest.

It’s not an issue how to treat the future results of these non-elections to any per-son for whom European values mean so-mething. The whole new administration in Russia will be illegitimate.

Thus, Russia faces an entirely different political setting. We always considered democratic ballot as the only normal possibility to change the detrimental political course of our country and tried to get access to the elections. The by now wholly demolished institute of elections cannot be used anymore to restore constitutional order and the violent “Arab Spring” scenario appears much more likely. We must prevent it from happening.

home delivery of publications and much more.

On this page, ten of the Associate members share their motivation why they joined.

This regime is at odds with the logics of modern development and cannot resolve the problems of the country. Rather sooner than later Putin and his team will have to start negotiating their exit. To provide for peaceful change of power we are to formulate conditions for such a dialogue which should be coordinated through the nation-wide round-table with the real opposition and civil society. At the same time we will continue to exert political pres-sure on the regime and its architects to bring their departure closer.

It will be a difficult dilemma for the European politicians how to deal with a reinvigorated Putin regime. They could, as previously, acknowledge non-elections as something real. They could tolerate negative developments in Russia to secure lucrative deals. They could even engage in another “mo-dernization partnership” with Putin’s Russia. But experience proved that myopic “reset” tactic leads nowhere.

On the contrary, Russian liberals would like Europe to stand to its va-lues. It means that forthcoming elec-tions should not be treated as normal and their results as truly legitimate. It means that the Russian authorities’ be-haviour will not get an exclusive treat-ment in the Council of Europe and OSCE any longer. It means that coope-ration with the Russian leaders will be conditional on their compliance with the international conventions Russia is a part of. It means that Russian of-ficials involved in corruption and vio-lence against people will start to be exposed to sanctions.

It’s not a simple choice but it is the only way to help us to halt dangerous developments in our country.

by Mikhail Kasyanov Leader of the Russian political

party People’s Democratic Union

government have been growing. Also such lack of legitimacy may become an obstacle for the generation of profit by Russia’s political-and-business elite.

Why YABLOKO is going to run in the elections in such a situation?

First, as there is no other peaceful means for replacing those in power. We are going to change the system and it can be done only through elec-tions. This is a long and hard way but its alternative – boycotting the elec-tions – means sitting and waiting for a collapse of the system through a revolution or a coup-d’état that ine-vitably would lead to bloodshed and national disaster.

Second, today YABLOKO is the only re-gistered independent political party de-fending democratic and liberal values. YABLOKO represents the only legal de-mocratic alternative to the present poli-cies. The pillars of YABLOKO’s policies are the rule of law and independent ju-diciary, protection of civil freedoms and private property. YABLOKO has deve-loped a comprehensive programme of political and socio-economic develop-ment envisaging reforms in the econo-my, the judiciary, education and heal-thcare and so on. We are certain that

the core project of our economic pro-gramme – “Land-Housing-Roads” – will ensure Russia’s fast economic and so-cial progress by means of boosting do-mestic demand, creating jobs and final-ly leading to the emergence of a true and large middle-class.

Third, we believe that calls for an elec-tion boycott that Russian voters have been hearing from some activists cal-ling themselves liberals represents a serious obstacle for the development of a modern society in our country. Abstaining from elections does not make any sense, as the voter turnout is no more a relevant parameter, and elections will be recognised valid even if one person comes and votes for the ruling party and its policies. In addi-tion, low turnout considerably eases fraud and leads to the growth of the share of votes for the ruling United Russia party. So if democratic voters do not come to the polling stations, the present situation may be maintai-ned for another 12 or even more years. In other words, a boycott offers ab-solutely no alternative to the present regime, on the opposite, such a boy-cott only helps to maintain it.

by Sergei Mitrokhin Leader of YABLOKO

Would you like to sign up too? Go to www.eldr.eu/associate or scan the QR code with your smart phone!

“I hope still to contribute to the task of building Liberal strength across the continent of Europe and beyond. I believe there is much to play for. The European People’s Party is an inherently unstable coalition, the European Socialists a party in termi-nal decline. The opportunity for a stronger centre is immense.”

With these words I concluded my book ‘Building a Liberal Europe - the ALDE Project’ published late last year.

On 20 November 2011, general elec-tions will take place in Spain. It is well known that this southern European member state is not experiencing its best economic momentum. The cri-sis has been stronger here, due to a variety of internal reasons: socia-list government failures, the property boom, a state culture based on public aid and not entrepreneurship, a low level of educational standards, etc… All electoral polls are clear and indi-cate a change in the colour of the go-vernment, from red to blue, from so-cialist to conservatives.

As the prestigious British newspaper The Guardian expressed a few months ago “Spain is facing a credibility cri-sis. Property prices are crashing, wi-ping out a large part of the wealth of many families and leaving banks with billions of euros in loans, which look increasingly risky in a country where up to 1.5 million houses appear un-sellable. More than 4 million people are unemployed and numbers are ri-sing sharply. It is clear that what once appeared to be solid public finances were nothing of the sort but were in fact an illusion based on bloated and unsustainable revenues from a pro-perty boom.

But Spain’s credibility problem isn’t just economic – it’s political. If it is to win back the trust of the markets it needs to show that it can diagnose the extent of its financial problems, take the necessary measures to cor-

rect them and find the state will power to carry them out. Up to now, none of these things have happened be-cause the central government has been unable to face up to its obli-gations or even accept that there is a uniquely Spanish set of problems here – preferring to blame the glo-bal financial crisis instead of unders-tanding that it has simply highlighted and accentuated our country’s speci-fic economic weaknesses.”

In that context, the Spanish general elections are without any doubt more than ever of great European interest. It is for that reason that as liberals we have to work really hard in the coming weeks in order to support the liberal parties to an excellent result. ELDR full member, Convergència Democràtica de Catalunya –CDC- and its electo-ral coalition CiU are ready to win a great new victory in Catalonia as we did at the Catalan elections and the

Prospects for European Liberals in this decade

Spanish elections: a European affair

November 2011 | ELDR News n°10 | www.eldr.eu Page 7

The book tells the story of the Liberal contribution to the building of the EU from the first direct elections to the European Parliament in 1979 to the elections of June 2009. But the story of liberalism did not end there.

Since then the Lisbon Treaty has en-tered into force, giving the EU insti-tutions new competences; substan-tial moves have been made towards common economic government for the countries sharing a common cur-

rency, in conjunction with moves to control the greed of the financial com-munity; the EU has been challenged to turn its fine words into action in the fight against climate change; and the foundations have been laid for a common foreign and security poli-cy. Liberal thought has contributed to these. But where do we go from here? How can we contribute to the EU’s ‘work in progress’?

I contend that with the Lisbon Treaty now in place, Liberals should accept that the constitutional basis for the European Union is almost complete. Some further treaty change will be ne-cessary (indeed, minor changes have already been made since Lisbon and more will be needed to deal with cur-rent Eurozone weakness). In particu-lar, we need to update and clarify as-pects of the decision-making process. Among these, election of Members of the European Parliament from supra-national lists must remain our goal, for EP elections are currently little more than 27 different sets of national elec-tions for a supranational parliament.

And indeed, I believe that if given an EU-wide platform to present our Liberal political ‘goods’, our open, to-lerant approach really will win sup-

port. Just as outward-looking busi-nesses have thrived and grown in the single market, political parties whose messages translate across bor-ders and do not fall prey to isolatio-nism or small island mentality will also prosper in a single political mar-ket for votes.

But the Lisbon settlement must repre-sent the settled will of the people, the nations and the member states of the EU to pursue policies for in-tegration within a framework which anchors the rights of national parlia-ments and national administrations. The idea of ‘ever closer union’ need not and must not mean the arroga-tion by central, Brussels-based go-vernment of ever greater powers. Indeed the need for subsidiarity to and beyond member state level de-serves further consideration by the EU’s judicial instances.

The EU is currently facing three ma-jor challenges or threats that must be solved - and luckily the Lisbon treaty gives us the tools to do so - but which are also real opportunities for Liberals to show their mettle.

The first is the unsustainable basis of world finance and the greed of fi-nanciers, one of the greatest threats to liberal democracy and which near-ly brought about the collapse of ca-pitalism in 2007-08. Liberals must recognise that this is a threat that comes from within. When Otto Graf Lambsdorff joined Jacques Delors and others in warning - in May 2007 - of the perils of a situation in which the value of commercial paper in circula-tion was almost three times that of the value of the underlying assets (com-pared to less than twice at the time of the Wall Street Crash of 1929), he si-gnalled a Liberal concern which can be traced back to Adam Smith: that left to their own devices, markets do not always work.

The greed of financiers, taking in fees some 20% of all monies inves-ted in stock and equity markets, is a legitimate target for Liberals. Indeed, failure to legislate will undermine the moral basis for liberal democra-cy. Sovereign debt poses a problem which must be solved, not least be-cause of the inter-generational theft involved in leaving the problem to the next generation. And the money and stock markets must be calmed by ef-fective government action co-ordina-ted at EU level.

The second such threat is our dan-gerous dependence on imports of oil and gas, whether from the east or the south, which not only puts us at the mercy of producer countries but also deepens our destructive and unnecessary acceleration of the pro-cesses of climate change. Today’s EU, larger and stronger than ever before, is in large measure the le-gacy of Hans-Dietrich Genscher’s Big Idea in foreign and security po-licy: an Ostpolitik which liberated from communist domination many of the countries of central and eas-tern Europe. A similar Big Idea is at hand for the climate threat, and we must make it ours. That big idea, which has been quantified by the European Climate Foundation in its epic ‘Roadmap 2050’ study, is for the EU to cut carbon emissions by 80% by 2050 through the rapid develop-ment of renewable energy (primarily electricity) production accompanied by carbon capture and storage tech-

nologies. This should be grasped as a Liberal idea, not one to be left to the Greens, since it is as much about se-curity policy as about energy policy.

The third such opportunity is a poli-tical one, stemming from the popu-lar uprisings in the Arab world which are, like their eastern European equi-valents twenty years ago, an expres-sion of the values of Liberal society. In 1989 it was Liberal action which turned a sceptical EU into a welco-ming partner for those yearning for freedom on our eastern borders. In the 18 years which followed, Liberals led the way in stabilising the new-ly-liberated countries by their gra-dual integration into the EU. The challenge posed to us by develop-ments in north Africa is no less great, though the means of stabilising these countries in the long term may be different since they involve tackling the dangerous conflict between the Abrahamic religions.

Are Liberals up to meeting these tasks? I think we are. At EU level, eight of the 27 EU Commissioners come from the Liberal family, giving us an impor-tant input into policy-making. While we have fewer MEPs and fewer go-vernment ministers in member states than in recent years, our base of sup-port is arguably broader than before.

In the UK, Germany, Italy and France - which together represent 50% of the EU’s population - we are well repre-sented in the European Parliament; in the UK and Germany we are coali-tion partners in national government. In the three member states populated by another fifth of the EU’s people - Spain, Poland and Romania - the pic-ture is mixed. In Spain our presence is regional, mainly in Catalonia and the Basque Country; in Poland we are thin on the ground and not represen-ted in Parliament; only in Romania are we numerically well represented in the European Parliament and strong on the ground - the major opposi-tion party - at home. Of the twenty member states which account for the final 30% of European citizens our presence ranges from leading the go-vernment (Netherlands, Estonia) to a complete absence from the political scene (Portugal, Malta).

Greater coordination of the work of our parties and our government mi-nisters is vital. It will help with the development of a truly pan-Euro-pean political party, which could then be expected to assist most in those countries in which our political fami-ly is weakest or absent.

Liberals were, after all, the first to es-tablish a trans-national party for the elections to the European Parliament in 1979. Liberals must again lead the way.

Lord Russell-Johnston remarked that Liberalism is often most rejec-ted when it is most needed. He ascri-bed this to the weakness of organised Liberalism. The need for Liberalism to-day, as Europe’s dominant right wing slides dangerously towards nationa-lism and theocracy and its left conti-nues to flounder is clear. It is our task to make sure we organise effectively so that our solutions are embraced by our people.

by Sir Graham Watson MEP and Vice President of

the ELDR Party

local ones - winning for the first time in modern democratic times the city of Barcelona. Of course, we would like to have a result that allows us to influence the next Spanish govern-ment in order to implement truly li-beral policies. Also other liberal par-ties in Spain, such as ELDR observer member Centro Democrático Liberal (CDL) will definitely help us achieve this goal. Spain will have to act deci-sively and restructure its entire system in order to rediscover its full muscle. We, the liberals, are the only ones that can assure this change.

We expect that after 20 November 2011 Spain will move into the liberal direction. Europe will benefit from it and Europe deserves it!

byMarc Guerrero i Tarragó ELDR Party Vice-president and

CDC national Board Member

What or who motivated you to en-ter politics.Born at the end of World War II, I grew up with stories about war and occupa-tion. I somehow understood early on that politics and politicians decide on war and peace. Later on, I read Anne Frank’s Diary at the exact age at which she was deported and died. So I re-solved to do whatever I could to pre-vent war, the ultimate horror to me. I joined the Liberal Students at univer-sity where I met my future husband, which of course helped a lot.

Do you remember your first ever international liberal event in which you participated?It must have been the WFLRY Congress in Noordwijk, the Netherlands. There I learned what kitchen diplomacy is, and many other very interesting things, not all of them fit for revelation.

Where do you stand on the politi-cal spectrum?My Liberalism is more a humanism and a philosophy than an economic theory. In Belgium, most people consider me to be a rather left leaning liberal, but I get along with all shades of Liberals.

What is your favourite quote?“Conservatism is mistrust of people, qualified by fear. Liberalism is trust in people, qualified by prudence.” It is a saying by Gladstone, and I dis-covered it in the hall of the National Liberal Club in London, where you can still find it.

A cup filled half-way is…An invitation for hope and endeavour.

The best example of government waste is…Taxes and levies that cost more to col-lect than the revenue they generate.

Howdo you feel about freedom of speech in Europe?I find that freedom of speech should not be confused with freedom to in-sult, harm or degrade. I also find that freedom of speech, which is an indivi-dual freedom, is different from press freedom which belongs to the public sphere. The cause célèbre of the Danish cartoons was to me more of an issue of press freedom than of freedom of speech. In many European countries press censorship is illegal, and that should remain so.

The most convincing evidence that brainwashing exists in Europe is the fact that some truly believe…That men come from Mars and wo-men from Venus?

What should be the highest law in Europe?It should be the abolition of capital punishment.

What are the greatest books of all time?One is supposed to answer ‘the Bible’ or suchlike. I would say all books that enrich you, that broaden your unders-tanding and insight.

Three best things in life…The Beatles have sung it: love, love, love.

What do you fear?Wilful stupidity

Do you remember the last time you danced? It’s been a while, but Anders Fog Rasmussen is a fantastic dancer. We opened the dance at the 30th anniver-sary of ELDR in Stuttgart.

What is your favourite restaurant in Brussels?Too many to list them.

Have you ever read the Communist Manifesto? Yes I did, not only because it was written in Brussels, in what is today Restaurant Le Cygne.

Annemie Neyts-Uyttebroeck

A Liberal Drink with Annemie Neyts-Uyttebroeck

November 2011 | ELDR News n°10 | www.eldr.eu Page 8

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MEP Lena Ek (Centerpartiet Swe-den) has taken the portfolio of Swedish Environment Minister She will be succeeded by Kent

Johansson, a former Leader of the ALDE in the Committee of the Regions

DP’s Leader in the Chamber of Deputies of Luxembourg, Xavier Bettel, won the recent local elections in Luxem-

bourg and will be the new mayor of the city

Jan Mulder (VVD, the Nether-lands) has taken the chair of the Budgetary Control com-mittee in the European Parlia-

ment, following the election of Luigi de Magistris as Mayor of Napels Li

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sMargrethe Vestager, Leader of the Danish social-liberal party Radikale Venstre, was appoin-ted Minister for Economy and

Home Affairs following parliamentary elections on 15 September Li

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elDR Party aisbleuropean liberal, Democrat and Reform PartyParti européen des libéraux, Démocrates et Réformateurs

Rue Montoyerstraat 31, 1000 BrusselsTel. 02 237 01 40 - Fax 02 231 19 07

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Lay-out and impression: Trinome.bePublished with the support of the European Parliament.

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