Yesterday, members of the Party’s delegation to next month’s ALDE Party Congress in Warsaw, Poland, met to discuss the draft resolutions as submitted from liberal parties across the European Union and beyond.
Naturally, there will be much discussion on the future of the European Union post-Brexit, and resolutions on the subject have been submitted not only by the Liberal Democrats, but by our sister parties in Germany, the Czech Republic and Sweden, amongst others. It is noteworthy that Liberalerna (Sweden) call for;
a balanced deal for both the EU and the UK… which does not involve the introduction of unnecessary barriers to trade and mobility (my emphasis)
However, it does appear that there is an acknowledgement that, with or without the United Kingdom, the European Union needs to evolve further as an entity. The resolution proposed by VVD (Netherlands), FDP (Germany), ANO (Czech Republic) and Venstre (Denmark), calls for;
an EU that focuses on cross-border issues such as controlling migration, fighting climate change, protecting external borders, finishing the internal market, improving security and combating terrorism; in order to regain the trust of European citizens
All in all, there is a sense of sorrow rather than anger, although whether or not that will survive any post-Article 50 negotiations might be questionable.
Otherwise, there are resolutions on building a more effective Europe, looking at the sharing economy, the circular economy and calling for more innovative industrial policy and the completion of the Digital Single Market, whilst the FDP seek agreement on their call for improved transport infrastructure.
There are a series of resolutions linked to enhancing European democracy, with calls from the Party’s Individual Members for a European Convention based on the will of the citizens, and for the introduction of transnational elections to the European Parliament, something that will warm the cockles of Andrew Duff’s heart…
Finally, amongst the other highlights are resolutions on;
Liberal Democrat Voice will be looking at the resolutions more closely over the coming month, and will be covering the Congress, which takes place between 1-3 December.
* Newshound: bringing you the best Lib Dem commentary in print, on air or online.
Follow @LibDemVoice on Twitter
Like us on Facebook
Subscribe to our feed
Sign-up for our daily email digest
Dundee Chess Congress 2024 #dundeewestend
GUEST POST No sign of an end to defections in local government
Monday night is Parish Council night...
Latest voting intention and leadership ratings opinion polls
Welsh Labour hospitality row
Nonconformistradical
Jenny Barnes
Mick Taylor
Mark Frankel
SteveTrevethan
2 Comments
in column 1, above the Alex cartoon, in the Daily Telegraph of 25/10/2016 the headline says “Sweden urges friendly deal with Britain” and quotes Swedish finance minister Magdalena Andersson as representing a view of “the shared view of the Nordic bloc”.
“There is nothing to be gained by a fractious divorce between Britain and the EU”.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magdalena_Andersson
Swedish exports to Britain are in freefall, with a drop of 19pc over January to July compared with the same period last year. Pharmaceuticals fell 38%, chemicals 23%, paper goods 15%. “If this persists it will lead to viewer jobs in Sweden”. The squeeze would be even more severe if a hard Brexit led to an weaker pound and to the erection of tariff barriers. There are over 1,000 Swedish companies operating in Britain, employing 100,000 people, including SAAB, Scania, Electrolux, IKEA and H&M.
I understand the High Court has ruled there must be a Commons vote on Article 50. It is more than ironic that the Brexiteers want to take back powers from Europe – but not apparently to accept the sovereignty of the elected House of Commons. Seems May and co want to rule by decree rather than democrat debate and that the Government is to appeal o the Supreme Court.