European Liberals unveil 2009 election manifesto

The European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party (ELDR) became the first EU party to launch an electoral plan for the 2009 European Parliament elections, unveiling their manifesto at a two-day congress in Stockholm last week.

Launching their twelve-point manifesto “for a more liberal Europe,” attendees called for renewed respect for civil liberties across Europe, a competitive EU with open and regulated markets, continued reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and a push towards new ‘green’ technologies, as well as the creation of a professional European army. 

Going green and reforming the CAP 

Liberal politicians aggressively promoted an increase in renewable and ‘green’ technologies to make the EU the world’s foremost low-carbon economy. The ELDR urged member parties to stress “the need to invest in renewable technologies in order to secure Europe’s energy reserves”. 

Indeed, German delegates urged governments to bolster Europe’s ailing auto industry by giving car manufacturers tax breaks to build green cars and drivers tax breaks to buy them. 

Meanwhile, Danish Commissioner for Agriculture Mariann Fischer Boel urged liberals to push for continued reform of the CAP, comparing the EU’s unwieldy agriculture budget to a huge oil tanker that is “slowly being turned in the right direction”. 

The ELDR wants to reduce the CAP after 2013 and replace it with new common food, rural and sustainable land use strategies. 

A natural alliance with the centre-right? 

On the whole, European liberals are optimistic ahead of the 2009 European elections. Prominent liberal politicians, tellingly, did not deny recent speculation that they may form a post-election pact with the centre-right EPP-ED Group. 

It is likely that the liberals will attempt to install themselves as kingmakers in the next European Parliament, cooperating with the EPP in exchange for ALDE Group President Graham Watson being offered the Parliament presidency. This happened during the presidency of Irish Liberal MEP Pat Cox between 2002 and 2004. 

Swedish Education Minister Jan Björklund described a pact with the centre-right as his “preferred” alternative, while Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen said this was the “natural cooperation” in the Parliament. 

A pan-European campaign? 

Though the liberals appeared confident ahead of the elections, they remain reluctant to fully engage in a truly pan-European party campaign. While the manifesto offers a common platform, Annemie Neyts made it clear that it is up to member parties to select the topics they wish to use for their national campaigns. 

Rasmussen admitted that the party “could go further” in developing a pan-European campaign, though he stressed that this was something for the future. “There are still so many differences between member states that each individual member party of the ELDR should organise its own campaign based on national issues and interests.” 

Responding to the financial crisis 

The financial crisis permeated and overshadowed all debates and discussions at the ELDR congress. A recurring theme among speakers and participants was the need to resist protectionist and “socialist” tendencies in responding to the financial crisis. 

Danish Prime Minister Rasmussen urged EU leaders to “stick to free market principles,” while British MEP Sharon Bowles warned about excessive state intervention in the economy: “We’re seeing lots of countries nationalising, and some nationalising more than they should.” 

Participants also hailed the strength of the single currency in providing the euro zone with a vehicle for “economic solidarity and stability”. Indeed, perhaps due to its location in Stockholm, the congress witnessed repeated claims from Swedish and Danish liberals that they hoped to hold new referenda on joining the euro in the near future (see EURACTIV 31/10/08). 

ELDR president Annemie Neyts caused controversy when she attacked Commission President José Manuel Barroso’s “painfully missed voice” in failing to tackle the crisis on a common European level. Neyts claimed Barroso had “once more missed an opportunity to put his Commisson in the lead of EU affairs,” alleging that his deference to EU Council President Nicolas Sarkozy was comparable to Tony Blair’s deference to outgoing US President George W. Bush. 

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