ELECTIONS 2009

Wanted: an entry strategy into the labour market

Poul Nyrup Rasmussen — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 15:21:04 +0100

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 the day: unemployment (read the report of the meeting ).

I decided to dedicate a blog post to this because the current European discussion about an exit strategy is extremely worrying. The unemployment crisis has just begun. Over 5 million young people are already unemployed. Economists warn that we risk losing an entire generation of people to poverty and unemployment, and they are not exaggerating. Overall, it is likely that by 2010 more than 30 million people will be unemployed.

The surge in unemployment that we expect will not only increase social exclusion. It will jeopardise future growth prospects; it will endanger the sustainability of public finances through increased welfare payments; it will reduce the total level of demand, sending our economies into a negative spiral.

You might ask: why then isn’t everyone demanding co-ordinated policies for job creation? Because the agenda is currently dominated by other issues. The conservatives are now asking for an exit strategy from the recovery programs. But make no mistake: with the unemployment and social crises flaring up, it is not the time for an exit strategy. What we need is an entry strategy into the labour market.

Such an entry strategy must include carefully thought-out policies, based on a European strategy for smart green growth. Such a strategy could create 10 million new jobs by 2020 – with two million in the renewable sector alone. Meanwhile, investment in green jobs could serve to reduce raw material and energy costs, thus making European products more competitive, to transform European transport, to expand energy and broadband infrastructure, and to raise the EU’s global research and innovation profile.

Practically speaking this could be achieved by reforming the Lisbon Strategy into a ten-year economic, social, employment and environmental long term recovery and development programme for the EU.

At the same time, the strategy should be embedded in a policy-mix that would include active labour market policies. What is more, all European programmes should be examined – in the context of a European Pact for the Future of Employment – to see how jobs can be safeguarded and created.

Our political family has a unique burden of responsibility: we are the only political family in Europe that has recognised the grave danger of increasing unemployment with all its human, social, economic consequences, and has at the same time put forward a realistic framework for a solution. I invite you to read our discussion paper on the entry strategy into the labour market and share your views with us.

G20: 'It's the jobs, stupid!'

Poul Nyrup Rasmussen — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 14:14:33 +0200

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. Here is the message I conveyed to our American friends:

The outcome of the upcoming G20 summit will be judged on what it can do to create jobs. Whether we take our cues from the OECD's warnings, from top mainstream economists, or simply from observation, the unfolding menace to our economies is one: the financial crisis has been transformed into a jobs crisis.

This makes talk of an ill-thought "exit strategy" all the more dangerous. We must be honest: we are not confronted with a U-turn into growth simply because some journalists choose to talk about "green shoots". Unemployment remains alarmingly high. If we are to avert the prospect of seeing the number of unemployed climb even higher, we must remain firm. This is no time for pulling back from stimulus and investment.

If our economies were to plunge into a protracted slowdown, there is no telling when we would emerge and at what cost for our societies. One thing is for certain: we do not need an "exit strategy" from the stimulus packages - we need an "entry strategy" for the labour market. The primary goal for the G20 should be a commitment to creating sustainable jobs.

Afterall, it is also a matter of fairness, and justice. We will not allow workers to pay for this crisis twice: first by bailing out banks, and then by suffering cuts in public services and social protection.

The second commitment therefore, should be to ensure a decent life for workers as we come out of the crisis.

Finally, we must insist on proceeding all together. In an interconnected globe, a decision by some countries to go another way would spell trouble for everyone.

Of course, the G20 summit will also be about reforming our financial systems. The purpose of these reforms should be to avoid another such financial crisis in the future.

Industry lobbyists and the media are announcing that finance is 'back in business'.

But finance shouldn't go back to business as usual. In the absence of reform, even more crippling crises may develop in the years to come.

It is time to say openly that as things stand, finance just doesn't work. Not without consumer protection, to protect families and their homes. Not without regulation of bonuses and renumeration, to protect our economies from short-termism and excessive risk-taking. Not without strong direct supervision of banks, hedge funds and private equity to prevent speculation and the reckless behaviour that brought us to where we are today.

It is time for brave measures that can ensure that financial services serve the real economy, such as a financial transaction tax. We are well-prepared for it, with a comprehensive study: a 0.05% share of financial transactions would allow for fair burden sharing and would by itself finance thousands of new jobs.

President Obama with a clear message

Poul Nyrup Rasmussen — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 15:10:44 +0200

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 very clear and firm. Nobody can do it alone. We must cooperate. And permit ourselves to create more jobs, to make it sustainable, to unite climate policy and smart green growth. That is why Europe must support the US president during the G20 here in Pittsburgh. When Obama talks about the necessity for sustainable growth and new jobs, we should make a clear new common commitment. We must support him from the European side. On behalf of the PES, I fully agree with him.

That is why the European governments should abstain from pulling back their financial packages and stimulus. We do not need an exit strategy to be implemented now. The risk for further increase in unemployment would be alarming. What we need is an entry strategy for the labour market, for the millions of unemployed people.

His second message was on financial reforms. We must also here be united, to create a new fundamental set of rules to limit greediness, irresponsibility, shadow banking asset stripping of our companies, tax avoidance. This has to be done in strong cooperation on both sides of the Atlantic. When I look at the lobbyists in Europe, especially hedge funds and private equity managers, I am only confirmed in the necessity of a strong progressive cooperation between the PES and Europe and our American labour unions and democrats.

Reading the papers over here, listening to the debates, I wish so much that we could help the president and all progressives in the US in their struggle for the health care reform. In a sense, this has to be done in our common interest but also as a new step forward on the road to change: Climate, energy, jobs and financial reforms. We must go on telling the American middle class that this health care reform will not increase but lower their health costs and that they will have a better society.

Barroso programme: more business as usual

Poul Nyrup Rasmussen — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 16:57:14 +0200

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 to convince MEPs that he’s the right person to lead Europe in these times of crisis.

But on the evidence of his programme, Barroso has stumbled on the first hurdle. A close analysis shows that 95% of its statements and proposals are taken from old Commission initiatives. It is business as usual, with no European vision on how to tackle the massive challenges we’re facing.

We’re facing a historic economic crisis: eight million people have already lost their jobs and 30 million Europeans could be unemployed by 2011. But Barroso thinks we can continue as before, with an outdated recovery plan and no new European initiatives. There’s no commitment to an ambitious, new strategy to fight mass unemployment for our citizens. There’s no vision of how to avert a catastrophic decline in Europe’s prospects and living standards for years to come.

Where is his vision for a new economic paradigm to replace the mistaken policies of the past?

What we do in the next five years will be the difference between success and failure for the entire European project and – I fear – the future welfare of our societies. Europe’s citizens deserve better than business as usual.

We need real commitments and leadership now, not the same old warm words. Barroso has his work cut out tomorrow.

Read PES President assessment of José Manuel Barroso's programme

Les étapes du changement

Poul Nyrup Rasmussen — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 15:40:52 +0200

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 progressiste de son histoire, dominé par une droite plus eurosceptique et nationaliste que jamais, ce qui risque d’entraîner la nomination d’une Commission européenne très à droite – mais nous ferons face ! Nous avons déjà obtenu qu’il y ait une véritable consultation, comme nous l’avions demandé, avec le Parlement pour la nomination du Président de la Commission européenne.

Notre groupe au Parlement européen a renforcé sa position en tant que deuxième force la plus importante en accueillant le nouveau Partito Democratico italien, créant ainsi un nouveau groupe : « L’Alliance Progressiste des Socialistes et des Démocrates au Parlement Européen ». C’est une bonne décision, que je soutiens sans réserve, et à laquelle j’ai travaillé ces derniers mois. Clarifions une chose qui, apparemment, a engendré un certain malentendu chez les militants : la décision du groupe ne remet en aucune manière en question ni le nom ni l’identité du Parti Socialiste Européen. Nous sommes toujours engagés politiquement à bâtir un PSE plus fort avec le soutien des militants du PSE, et à définir un projet politique clair et fort pour répondre aux défis sans cesse plus importants qui se posent aux citoyens. Comme je l’ai déjà dit, nous avons besoin de plus de PSE, pas moins de PSE.

Je ne suis pas d’accord avec l’analyse selon laquelle le résultat aux élections européennes serait la preuve d’une crise inéluctable de la social-démocratie, même si la social-démocratie doit indubitablement se renouveler. Les valeurs sur lesquelles nous avons fondé plus d’un siècle de luttes et de victoires politiques doivent rester notre source d’inspiration. Nous devons apprendre à être encore plus proche des citoyens, de ceux qui se sentent exclus et désillusionnés de la politique, qui ne répond pas à leurs peurs et à leurs rêves. Nous, partis socialistes et sociaux-démocrates de toute l’Europe, devons, comme jamais, travailler ensemble. Et nous devons nous ouvrir aux idées progressistes qui existent en dehors des limites formelles de nos partis. A ce sujet, je te conseille la lecture de mon article qui a été publié dans le journal français Libération et le magazine flamand De Morgen.

Un premier pas sur le chemin du renouveau, après avoir pris à bord les démocrates italiens, sera notre Forum des militants du PSE à Dublin, où plus de 250 membres de notre Parti de toute l’Europe se réuniront pour débattre du futur de la gauche en Europe, y compris de comment accroître le nombre de militants du PSE. Je ne saurais dire à quel point les militants du PSE sont importants pour construire un avenir progressiste. Les militants du PSE sont la base sur laquelle nous devons construire un parti européen plus fort.

Un autre pas sera fait lors de notre Congrès à Prague en décembre, où nous lancerons une nouvelle phase de réflexion sur le PSE et son renforcement.

Mais il y a d’importantes batailles à gagner dès maintenant. La crise économique s’aggrave : la croissance est revue à la baisse chaque mois un peu plus, et le chômage augmente de façon dramatique. Parler de reprise est prématuré. Le Premier Ministre suédois Frederik Reinfeldt a déclaré au tout premier jour de sa Présidence du Conseil de l’UE qu’il ne devrait pas y avoir de nouveau plan de relance pour combattre la récession. Il y aura donc 27 millions de chômeurs l’année prochaine – 10 millions d’emplois perdus en 2 ans ! Notre priorité doit être l’emploi, l’emploi, l’emploi. Nous devons concentrer nos efforts sur la relance, et réclamer un plan de relance européen plus fort.

Elections européennes : nous avons besoin de plus de PSE !

admin — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 16:53:49 +0200

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 droite, plus eurosceptique et plus nationaliste qu’au cours de la dernière législature.

Le faible taux de participation a représenté un énorme problème, en particulier pour nous. Nos partisans et sympathisants ne se sont pas rendus aux urnes. Ils n’ont pas saisi l’importance de ces élections. Ils n’ont pas compris les choix politiques à faire au niveau européen – ce qui en soi est peut-être peu surprenant puisque la campagne s’est articulée autour de contentieux nationaux.

Nous représentions une alternative au niveau européen mais nos propositions ont manqué de visibilité. L’Europe a pourtant bien besoin d’un nouveau sens. Nous sommes en plein dans une récession, qui ne disparaîtra pas de sitôt. Alors qu’ils ne sont en rien responsables de cette crise, les salariés pourraient tout de même en payer le prix fort. A moins que l’Europe ne consente un effort de relance renouvelé et renforcé, nous pourrions nous retrouver avec 27 millions de chômeurs l’année prochaine. Nous continuerons donc notre lutte en faveur de davantage d’investissements et d’investissements mieux coordonnés afin de préserver l’emploi et de créer de nouveaux postes de travail. Nous continuerons à défendre la justice sociale et l’égalité. Nous continuerons notre combat pour un nouveau deal mondial, axé notamment sur un nouvel accord mondial fort sur le climat dans les mois à venir.

Nous essuyons une défaite mais nous sommes encore et toujours le deuxième groupe au Parlement européen. Nous avons perdu 3% au total mais nous avons progressé dans 10 Etats membres, parmi lesquels la Tchéquie, la Suède, la Grèce et l’Irlande où nous sommes dans l’opposition, et la Slovaquie et la Slovénie, où nous sommes au gouvernement.

A présent, il est important que nous entamions une réflexion afin de permettre à notre parti européen de présenter une stratégie renouvelée et de nouvelles idées. Mais à ceux et celles qui annoncent une crise profonde du socialisme européen, je réponds : les citoyens européens ont encore et toujours besoin des valeurs sociales-démocrates en faveur du travail décent, d’une éducation de qualité, d’un bon système de soins de santé et d’un environnement propre. L’Europe a encore et toujours besoin d’une société à laquelle chacun puisse participer et contribuer et de laquelle chacun puisse tirer parti. Le temps n’est pas au démantèlement de nos Etats-providence mais bien à leur renforcement.

Le centre-droit ne peut se targuer d’avoir remporté ces élections grâce à ses politiques. Les citoyens s’inquiètent de la crise et la crise reste notre première priorité.

L’extrême-droite a fortement avancé lors de ces élections, ce qui ne manque pas de nous inquiéter. Les citoyens ont encore et toujours besoin de nous afin de garantir le respect et la tolérance pour tous et afin de continuer à lutter pour protéger tous les travailleurs contre la récession.

Nous avons besoin de plus de PSE. Nous fournirons de nouveaux efforts pour renforcer notre parti européen parce que plus que jamais, notre engagement est requis au niveau européen.

The PES continues to oppose Barroso - and a rushed decision on the Commission President

Poul Nyrup Rasmussen — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 10:30:53 +0200

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 election, the PES is the second largest group in the European Parliament, and we are by no means the only ones who oppose another five years of Barroso. He is the candidate of the EPP and now, as before, his reelection is far from being a ‘done deal'.

Things must be done properly, transparently, and in full respect of the European Parliament. An early appointment would undermine both the next Commission and the next European Parliament:

We must remember that parliamentary ratification of the Lisbon Treaty has been completed in 26 member states. Taking decisions on the next Commission and its President before the autumn Irish referendum would mean doing so under two different treaties - Lisbon and Nice - seriously damaging its legitimacy.

Meanwhile this would also mean total lack of respect of the European Parliament: the European Council needs to postpone its plans to make a decision at the June 18th - 19th summit in order to respect the role of the Parliament - democratically chosen by millions of European voters just days ago - in the composition of the new Commission. After all, in its resolution of 7th May 2009, the Parliament (led by EPP rapporteur Jean-Luc Dehaene) clearly states that it insists on being fully consulted prior to any European Council nomination of a President to the European Commission. That's why we must allow time: for the new Parliament to be established, for likely candidates to emerge, and for the treaty under which the next Commission will operate to become clear.

So let's do things correctly, democratically and coherently - with full democratic legitimacy.

Final call to vote

Poul Nyrup Rasmussen — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 10:35:10 +0200

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 that will vote on the next President of the Commission.

A vote for the Conservatives is a vote for business as usual. It is a vote for not doing enough to fight the crisis. It is a vote for the current European Commission President, José Manuel Barroso, a conservative, to get another five years in charge of the European Commission. A prospect which even one well-respected Financial Times columnist described as ‘very depressing’.

A vote for the Socialists is a vote for a change, a vote for a new direction for Europe. It is a vote for a new recovery plan for Europe, which is plainly not possible with the current Commission President. It is a vote for a new majority in the European Parliament: a majority that will ensure a new leadership and a new direction. The PES is the only party that can deliver this change, the only party around which a new majority can be built. The PES has set out a number of steps it wants to take in the first hundred days of the new Parliament including a strong, new recovery plan, an Employment pact to safeguard jobs, and action to prevent a rise in poverty and inequality.

Don’t believe those who say that Barroso’s second term is a ‘done deal’. The conservatives cannot get a majority on their own, and no one has ever suggested they could.

So there is still everything to vote for. Don’t stay at home. Your vote really does count!

You choose - but please don't throw your vote away!

Poul Nyrup Rasmussen — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 16:05:07 +0200

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 Hall, regional government, national parliament and the European Union with its directly elected European Parliament.

You probably feel more attached to your national parliament than to the European Parliament. But ask yourself: can your country tackle the economic crisis on its own? Can your country combat climate change on its own? Can your country fight the trafficking of women, children, drugs and arms on its own? These problems need action at every level - local, regional, national as well as European. Like it or not the European Parliament makes laws affecting our everyday lives, laws that change the world around us.

So the European elections on 4-7 June are your chance to influence how Europe - the largest economy in the world - develops over the next five years. And what a five years it is going to be! We are in the deepest global recession since the 1930s: unemployment will reach 27 million in 2010 with dramatic consequences for people all over Europe. We need to start getting serious about the global climate and energy crisis, and address urgent humanitarian crises in the developing world. These are all areas where Europe can make a difference.

Don’t be fooled by those who say that Europe is a bureaucracy you can’t influence. It’s simply not true: all the decisions are all taken by elected politicians – directly-elected national governments who make the decisions in the ‘European Council’ and the directly-elected European Parliament. The European Commissioners are chosen by those governments and voted on by the European Parliament.

The last five years have, at European Union level, been conservative years – with conservatives as the largest force in all EU decision-making bodies. My view is that they were failed years but it is up to make your own mind up.

The direction offered by us socialists and social democrats is clear. We have set out steps to fight the recession we want taken in the first hundred days following the European elections, including:

1. A new, strong recovery plan for Europe, with coordinated investments in jobs and green growth.
2. A European Employment Pact to safeguard employment, and strengthen workers’ rights, working conditions and equal pay
3. A new Women’s Rights Charter to improve all women’s rights and opportunities
4. A Social Progress Pact to tackle the social consequences of the crisis, preventing a rise in poverty and inequality
5. Effective regulation and supervision of the financial markets
6. New mutual solidarity across European member states

And the elections are not just a choice about the make up of the next Parliament. If the conservatives form a majority after the election, José Manuel Barroso, the current President of the European Commission, will get a second five-year term. If we can form a progressive majority in the European Parliament he will not.

So there is a good reason to vote: you are faced with a real political choice.

It may be tempting to stay at home. Going to the voting station takes time and effort. But don’t think that not voting makes no difference. By staying at home you give the extremists a better chance of being elected and you could end up with an MEP who in no way shares your values, and who will not represent you. The racists, the nationalists and the anti-Europeans have contributed nothing to the important decisions that the European Parliament has taken in the past, and won’t in the future. They are marginalised and isolated by their inability to cooperate across national boundaries.

A vote for the extremists is a wasted vote, and a wasted vote is a vote for the extremists.

So I appeal to all women and men - please don’t stay at home on European elections day. Use your vote to make your choice of the direction you think Europe should take over the next five years.

Campaigning in Frankfurt with Udo Bullmann

Poul Nyrup Rasmussen — Wed, 27 May 2009 17:46:40 +0200

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 dealers in these skyscrapers have been able to play roulette with the jobs and livelihoods of millions of people. That’s why the PES is campaigning for more effective regulation, particularly on private equity and hedge funds. Don’t get me wrong: financial markets have an important role to play in the economy, but as the servant of real people, not their master.

But there is a different, social side to the Frankfurt too. The local branch of the German Social Democratic Party (SPD) is impressively active and enthusiastic about taking Frankfurt, Germany and Europe in a new direction. They are working hard to make the local SPD MEP, Udo Bullmann, part of a new progressive majority in the European Parliament.

On Monday I went to Frankfurt to join Udo on the campaign trail. I laughed when I saw that all over the financial district, amongst the banks and investment funds, there were posters with my name on announcing the meeting on the social democratic answer to the financial and economic crisis which Udo had invited me to address. I don’t think the bankers will have been very happy to see that I was coming to town: the hedge fund and private equity industry has already decided that I am Public Enemy Number One for trying to regulate their activities.

At the Trade Unions House in the city centre we had an excellent discussion, involving Udo and around 70 local activists and covering a broad range of topics, including the role of the European Parliament and smart green growth. Udo tackled a number of the myths surrounding the EU, explaining that the right-wing regional government is using Europe as a scapegoat for its own failings. Over twenty activists had painted their faces with the flags of EU countries that have a minimum wage. The German flag was conspicuously missing: the SPD is fighting very strongly to change this, both in this European election and in the national election in September.

European conservatives and liberals often criticise minimum wages, saying they distort the market. And yet they remain strangely quiet when bankers in their skyscrapers pay themselves millions in ‘bonuses’ regardless of how well they have done. Why is it acceptable for unaccountable executives to earn thousands of times what they pay their workers, but unacceptable for ordinary people to be paid enough to live on?

In contrast, the PES manifesto sets out quite clearly “the need for decent minimum wages in all EU Member States”. We put people first.