This year's Europe Day is particularly significant for the future of the European project since only few weeks separate us from the UK's EU membership referendum. On this 9th of May, all members of the PES Group will relay a loud and clear message for a stronger, more social and more solidary Europe when organising activities in their cities and regions to bring citizens together and celebrate the symbolic significance of this day.
PES Group President Catiuscia Marini, President of the Umbria region (Italy), underlined: “As Europeans, we share a common vision of peace and, as history has taught us, we can achieve it only if we act together. Yet citizens feel that Europe is too far away from their daily lives and that they are not sufficiently involved in democratic decision-making processes. This feeling of alienation from the European project of integration and solidarity gives rise to all kinds of populism, nationalism and the extreme right. It is local and regional politicians who are best placed to enter into dialogue with citizens and explain to them the EU's concrete added value."
She went on stressing that Europe Day is an occasion for a political debate about the EU's future direction, where listening to different voices, languages and point of views is a condition sine qua non. "Our political family will continue fighting at all levels for a Europe of decent jobs and growth, of fair wages and equal opportunities, of youth policies, comprehensive integration policies and universal access to quality public services. We believe in a Europe of solidarity, a Europe that puts social rights end economic sustainability before economic freedoms, and places people at its very heart. In the face of multiple challenges, this Europe needs more than ever all its 28 Member States to stand united in their diversity", she concluded.
