

Welcome to my blog! I’m Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, President of the Party of European Socialists. This is where I share my ideas about European politics and tell you what I am doing during the 2009 European elections campaign.
Last week, I attended the PES Social Europe Network – a group of prominent PES policy-makers chaired by my colleague and good friend Alejandro Cercas – for a discussion of what I think is one of the most serious and yet most sidelined issues of ... en lire plus
After a fruitful meeting with the Americans for Financial Reform, I briefly met Richard Trumka, the newly elected President of AFL CIO - the largest federation of trade unions in North America - and delivered a speech at a meeting with the ITUC. ... en lire plus
President Barack Obama is still strong and very convincing when he talks. He is sending a clear message as when I saw him during his inauguration in Washington. Yesterday, during Bill Clinton’s global initiative conference, his message was again ... en lire plus
José Manuel Barroso sent European Parliament political groups his five year programme last week in his bid to be re-elected Commission President for a second term. This is in the run-up to tomorrow’s hearings in the Parliament where he will try ... en lire plus
Nous avons obtenu des résultats décevants lors des élections européennes mais nous ne baisserons pas les bras, vue l’explosion du chômage, nous avons de quoi nous battre. Nous sommes en présence aujourd’hui du Parlement européen le moins ... en lire plus
Alors que nous attendons les résultats définitifs des élections européennes, il apparaît clairement que les résultats pour la famille socialiste et sociale-démocrate sont décevants. Nous nous retrouvons avec un Parlement européen plus à ... en lire plus
We said it before the election, and after the election we are saying exactly the same: the PES cannot support a reelection of Barroso. Now more than ever, Europe needs a fundamental change of direction and real crisis management. After the ... en lire plus
The European elections have now started in the UK and the Netherlands and by Sunday evening will be completed in all 27 EU member countries. The elections are a vote on the policy, direction and leadership of the European Union. It is the Parliament ... en lire plus
By Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, President of the Party of European Socialists You choose – but please don’t throw your vote away!Like it or not, Europe is a part of your government, and Brussels is one of the seats of your democracy. There’s the Town ... en lire plus
Frankfurt is a city of contrasts. The shining towers that dominate the skyline house a major financial centre, an industry which needs to undergo major reforms if we are to avoid future financial crises. Over recent years, a handful of bankers and ... en lire plus
I keep reading in the media that Barroso’s second term as Commission President is a ‘done deal’.I disagree. It’s true that that many Governments are supporting him and so his nomination by the Council for a second term looks likely. But the ... en lire plus
Few can doubt that the figures on the state of the European economy are grim. GDP in the Eurozone fell by 2.5% between January and March this year. In Germany, Europe’s largest economy, it fell by 3.8%; on an annual basis that is enough to wipe ... en lire plus
A new majority in the European Parliament after the European elections is possible – and necessary. The situation in 2009 is quite different from 2004, and there are many reasons for change: One, the new Parliament will have a much more decisive ... en lire plus
I used to admire Finland for its originality, its spark, its way of doing things differently. Finland was the country where people, sitting in their saunas, asked “Is this really the best way of doing things? Maybe we can do better.” They ... en lire plus
We northern Europeans often complain about the blustery, rainy, windy weather that batters our shores, but this climate also offers us great potential to face the economic and environmental storms overhead. That’s because on our very coastlines we ... en lire plus
The Party of European Socialists is planning to have a strong presence at the European Trade Union Confederation ‘Fight the crisis: put the people first’ demonstration in Brussels today. Unfortunately I can’t be there in person but our ... en lire plus
I want to clear up one thing. We want the European Union to take a new direction. We want a European Union that does what is needed to create new jobs and tackle the economic and climate crisis in a decisive way. That is why the PES cannot support ... en lire plus
Today is Europe Day, the annual celebration of European integration.It marks the day in 1950 on which the Schuman Declaration was signed, launching the Coal and Steel Community: the start of what we now call the European Union. The declaration ... en lire plus
We MEPs are all in Strasbourg this week for the final plenary of the European Parliament before the European elections, and there’s a lot to get through. However busy this week is, there will still be a great stack of issues landing in the in-tray ... en lire plus
Yesterday I was in Kraków with our friends in the Polish SLD for a conference on the achievements and challenges of Polish membership of the EU. At the same time, at the EPP Congress in Warsaw, thousands of workers from the Gdansk shipyards and ... en lire plus
The launch of my blog finds me facing an all-too familiar prospect; the failure of the European Commission to respond to the economic crisis. You may already know the story, but here it is if you don’t: in September last year the European ... en lire plus