Ahead of the celebrations of the 60th anniversary of the Rome Treaties and of the 'March for Europe', the PES Group President Catiuscia Marini intervened in the "Europe Together –Shaping the future of Europe" event, organised by the Socialist Group in the European Parliament, and which is part of a fundamental reflection process on the future of the EU.
Among the key speakers were Giorgio Napolitano, President Emeritus of Italy; Federica Mogherini, High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy & Vice-President of the European Commission; Gianni Pittella, S&D Group President; Pierre Moscovici, European Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs; Thomas Oppermann, Chairman of the SPD Parliamentary Group German Bundestag; and Sergei Stanishev, President of the PES.
The PES Group President Catiuscia Marini made a clear case for a bottom-up driven progressive Europe. "To restore citizens' confidence in their future and in the one of their children, we have to change the dynamic. Each of us must bear a sense of responsibility. We need to be inspired by the values which led to the achievements of these 60 years of integration and give ourselves new goals which will allow us to improve the living conditions of citizens as well as their rights" she said. "The battle against xenophobia, populism & racism can only be won by working on a local level. The decisive challenge is to overcome social disparities. We need the EU's support for investments in the social field and in strong public services more than ever", she urged.
During the event, a ‘TOGETHER ROME Declaration’ was adopted. It will feed into the debate around the European Commission’s White Paper on the Future of Europe.
On the same day, the S&D Group also launched its TOGETHER online platform, an interactive space destined to engage with European citizens. Following the concept of e-democracy and e-participation, the platform will allow users to debate and vote on the different topics that will be covered at the upcoming TOGETHER conventions ahead of the EP elections in 2019.
