PES Manifesto

Lets get together and spread the Nordic welfare model!

Published Saturday, March 1, 2008 at 18:32
by rikkeindenmark (793 views and 0 comments)

The afternoon of the Danish conference on the PES manifesto ended with a plenary where the four work groups presented a ‘top 3’ of priorities for their manifesto theme. Here are, from my view, some of the most interesting ideas brought forward:

• The PES manifesto should propose to put an end to the emissions trading scheme where rich countries can buy CO2 credits from the developing world
• Fighting climate change needs to take place on many levels: the international, the national and the individual. EU should offer the citizens a ‘package’ of suggestions to how they can reduce their energy consumption
• Public transport should be free in Europe
• The PES manifesto should encourage that the Scandinavian welfare model is spread to other European countries (non-Nordic people, what do you think? Do you agree?)
• It should also underline that the social rights of people working outside their home country are important to protect
• Europe’s social democrats should consider what a European, social democratic identity looks like. What do we have in common – and how can we use that in our political work and the campaign for the 2009 elections?
• The EU should promote democracy and human rights in its external policies: for example, in trade policy favour countries with decent working conditions and respect for human rights
• The PES manifesto should encourage a fair distribution of the world’s human resources: Europe’s social democrats should be critical of EU initiatives that might lead to ‘brain drain’ of developing countries

Tags: CO2, decent work, energy, environment, manifesto, PES, trade, welfare