ALDE Party Liberal Bulletin 03 2016 by ALDE Party

liberal Reinventing a Europe that works A new hope for Polish people Interview with Nowoczesna leader Ryszard Petru Working for a market where everyone has a fair chance A chat with Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager 1976-2016 - Happy 40th birthday ALDE Party Liberals lead the way! A mid-term review with ALDE Group Leader Guy Verhofstadt

Third issue 2016

third issue 2016 01 liberal bulletin

calendar 1-3 December 2016 Warsaw, Poland ALDE Party Congress 5-6 December 2016 Brussels, Belgium Liberal International Human Rights Committee meeting 11 December 2016 Legislative elections in Romania 15 December 2016 Brussels, Belgium ALDE Party Pre-Summit meeting 15 March 2017 General elections in the Netherlands 17-19 March 2017 York, United Kingdom Liberal Democrats Spring Conference 28-30 April 2017 Berlin, Germany FDP Congress

Save the date ALDE Party Council 2017 June 2017 Ljubljana, Slovenia

editorial

contents Editorial by ALDE Party President Hans van Baalen

Interview Ryszard Petru Leader of Nowoczesna

Get to know our new member parties

Interview Margrethe Vestager European Commissioner for Competition

Celebrating 40 years of European Liberal Democrats

Article Thalia Ntoka Individual Members Steering Committee Member

Interview Guy Verhofstadt Leader of the ALDE Group in the European Parliament

Update from our 2016 European Women’s Academy

Best from social media

Opinion by LYMEC President Sissel Kvist 40 years of LYMEC, 40 years of making Europe a more Liberal continent

Movers and Shakers

The Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) Party is the party representing liberal democrat values across Europe. In conjunction with our liberal member parties throughout the European continent, we are translating the principle of freedom into politics, economics and across all other areas of our societies. The ALDE Party provides an increasingly vital link between citizens and the EU institutions and is continuously growing in size and significance. The ALDE Party is made up of 61 member parties and many individual members from across Europe. Liberal Democrats created their political family in 1976, ahead of the first European elections. ALDE was established as a truly transnational political party in 1993. Liberal Bulletin is a publication of the ALDE Party. It is published three times a year. Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party Rue d’Idalie 11 – box 2, 1050 Brussels Tel. +32 2 237 01 40 – Fax. +32 2 231 19 07 Editors: Daniel Tanahatoe, Adriana Diaz, Andrew Burgess, Laura Owen ALDE Party Publisher: Didrik de Schaetzen, ALDE Party Layout: Mardi.be Printing: ZwartOpWit.be

This year, ALDE Party celebrates its 40th anniversary. Founded with nine member parties in 1976, we now have over 60 member parties and many individual members from across the European continent. What brought us together back then and continues to do so today is our strong belief that united we are stronger to defend our values of freedom and democracy. Based on the Stuttgart declaration, we make the case for a Europe that works. And that is needed now more than ever.

Hans van Baalen MEP ALDE Party President

Hans van Baalen (Rotterdam, The Netherlands, 17 June 1960) studied International Relations and International Law at Leiden University. He was drafted in the Royal Netherlands Army and has now the rank of Reserve Colonel. He joined Deloitte in 1989 and became Managing Partner for Deloitte Public and EU Affairs. From 1999 until 2009, he served as Member of The Netherlands House of Representatives. In 2009 Van Baalen was elected for the European Parliament and re-elected in 2014. In the European Parliament he co-ordinates Foreign Affairs and Security & Defence on behalf of the ALDE Group. He is substitute member of the International Trade Committee. He is leader of the VVD Delegation in the EP. Between 2009 and 2014, he served as President of Liberal International, and is President of Honour of LI since 2014. Van Baalen was elected as ALDE Party Vice President at the 2014 ALDE Party Congress in Lisbon. At the last Congress in Budapest in November 2015, he was elected as ALDE Party President with 70% of the vote. His motto is: Liberals Must Unite! Hans married to Ineke Sybesma who chairs the Board of the Victim Support Fund Netherlands. Their son Robert is 10 years old. @hansvanbaalen

In this Liberal Bulletin you can read all about the history of our political movement, from the Federation of European Liberals and Democrats to the ALDE Party. Did you know that this year our youth organisation LYMEC also celebrates its 40th anniversary? LYMEC too was founded in 1976. In the ALDE Party Bureau, I work closely together with Sissel Kvist, the LYMEC President, and I am happy to see her write about how LYMEC fights for the four freedoms in the European Union, which are the very essence of what unites Europeans. The results of the referendum in the United Kingdom on the country’s EU membership, the concerns in parts of the European Union on free trade agreements such as the one with Canada, and the concern of many citizens around Europe on the continued flow of refugees and the lack of a shared vision whom to accept and how to integrate these people in our societies are crucial matters for the EU to consider. One leading ALDE personality that tackles citizens’ concerns in her daily political action is European Commissioner for Competition, Margrethe Vestager. In an exclusive interview in this Liberal Bulletin she explains how her work is making sure that the market works in a fair way and emphasises how crucial she finds it that European citizens can feel that they live in a community where they have a fair chance. Another influential Liberal figure in the European political sphere is the leader of our group in the European Parliament, Guy Verhofstadt. In his mid-term review of the current mandate of the European Parliament, he highlights the ALDE Group’s role in mounting the pressure on the conservative governments in Poland and Hungary, making sure Europe is ready for the digital future and advocating for a genuine European migration policy. This summer, together with the leader of our new Polish member party Nowoczesna, Ryszard Petru, I hosted a Liberal summit ahead of the NATO summit in Warsaw to discuss the future of the EU and NATO with Liberal Prime Ministers, Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Defence Ministers from Belgium, Estonia, The Netherlands, Denmark, Slovenia and Georgia. I agree with Ryszard that the Alliance remains our guarantee of security in Europe. In this Bulletin’s interview, he tells us about how Nowoczesna has brought new quality to Polish politics and new hope to Polish people and shares with us what his party’s plans and ambitions are to build a modern Poland for everyone. Yet, the situation is ever changing. Therefore, I am looking forward to returning to Warsaw for the ALDE Party Congress where amongst other discussions we will have the chance to initiate a serious debate on strategic issues affecting the future of freedom, democracy, the European Union and the relationship with our neighbours. I invite you to join me in this debate!

With the support of the European Parliament. third issue 2016 03 liberal bulletin

Ryszard Petru Leader of Nowoczesna interview

Ryszard Petru is the leader of Nowoczesna, a centrist political party in Poland with 30 MPs in the Polish Parliament that joined the liberal family at the ALDE Party Council meeting in June 2016 in Vilnius, Lithuania. In this interview, Petru offers an overview of the current political situation in Poland, host country of the ALDE Party Congress 2016. He also shares with us what his party’s plans and ambitions are to build a modern Poland for everyone as well as some tips on what to see in Warsaw. © Nowoczesna

Nowoczesna was founded only in May 2015 and already obtained 28 seats in the Sejm in the same year’s parliamentary elections in Poland. What do you think has been the key to Nowoczesna’s success? Nowoczesna has brought new quality to Polish politics and new hope to Polish people. After eight years of government of Civic Platform, Poles were disappointed and were looking for a party that can stop Law and Justice. Whereas Civic Platform symbolised indolence and nepotism, Nowoczesna presented a new liberal agenda for Poland. Our lead candidates were professionals with experience in business, local government and NGOs liberal bulletin 04 third issue 2016

and, as they were new in national politics, they brought great energy to the campaign. We won 28 seats in the Polish Parliament and now we are at 30. However, it feels like our group is much bigger because our MPs have to work twice as hard as other parties’ MPs and that is something that people appreciate. Media and commentators see Nowoczesna as the leader of the Polish opposition. In fact, according to polls, over 3 million Poles want to vote for us in the next parliamentary elections. This is very important trust and support that encourages us to work even harder in the Parliament and in our constituencies.

policies together undermine the country’s young parliamentary democracy.

elected offices to two, including MPs and Mayors.

The Law and Justice’s majority in power fears an independent judicial system and will do everything to subordinate it. The rule of law foresaw the division of government into legislative, executive and judiciary, and under the current system, the government is unable to exert control over the Constitutional Tribunal. The government has repeated many times its refusal to publish the constitutional court’s ruling in an official journal and aims to have a Tribunal with their own judges. We can’t accept this and we won’t accept it. Nowoczesna, together with other opposition parties and group protests, have shown in the streets of Polish cities that we can’t accept the way Law and Justice treats democracy.

Poland must be a better place for business and life and education must be in connection with the labour market. Schools should have a more practical approach and cooperate with business.

On top of this, the ongoing constitutional crisis has enabled the current Polish government to shadow their incompetence in economic and social policy.

In September 2016, your party launched its new programme under

the title “A Modern Poland for Everyone.” What kind of Poland does Nowoczesna envisage? First of all, I would like to stress that we wrote this programme in a very unique way: our members and supporters are the ones who did it. Before the creation of the programme, we launched a nationwide network of experts called “Better Poland” which was responsible for organising debates and discussions in every region in Poland about our values and the kind of country we want to build. Based on the outcome of these events, we proposed our solutions.

You are currently a strong opposition force in Poland challenging the government led by Law and Justice. What does your party think of the current status of rule of law and democracy in Poland?

In our programme, we declare we want a strong Poland in the heart of a strong Europe. We want patriotism that connects and not divides, with optimism and faith that Poles can do great things when they’re together.

Instead of rule of law, now we have rule of Law and Justice. Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the current leader of Law and Justice, is demolishing Polish democracy piece by piece. He has no idea about what democracy is and how it works: Kaczynski breaks the law, calls for a dictatorship and builds an empire of nihilism and cynicism while enforcing unlawful political bills not included in the party’s election promises. All these

Our programme is coherent and complete. We want an efficient and effective administration, where citizens know who takes responsibility for decisions. That is why we want to limit the President’s role and empower the Prime Minister instead. In our vision, the President will no longer be able to block the government and hide behind the Prime Minister’s back. We also want to limit the number of consecutive terms in

We want more decentralisation. We would like to grant higher Personal Income Tax (PIT) and Corporate Income Tax (CIP) to local governments so that they can take more decisions closer to their citizens. Our programme wants to limit the number of ministries and employees of the public administration and to connect the salaries in the administration with the efficiency of clerks. We want a comprehensive family and social policy because the new social benefits introduced by the current government are inefficient. We need more nurseries and pre-schools so that it will be easier for women to go back to work. Finally, we also call for a separation of the Church and the State.

When you presented the programme, you clearly stated that you believe that Poles can achieve great goals together and that “we know how to translate dreams into reality.” What are Nowoczesna’s ambitions for the future? Our first goal is to bring the current Polish government to its end and, to achieve that, we have to win the next parliamentary elections. It is still a long

“Nowoczesna has brought new quality to Polish politics and new hope to Polish people. After eight years of government of Civic Platform, Poles were disappointed and were looking for a party that can stop Law and Justice (PiS).”

way ahead of us and we must work hard to win the trust of people. Once we win a majority and form a new government, we will start with annulling all adverse laws, which are lawless and were introduced by Law and Justice. We also plan to reinstate the Constitutional Tribunal’s position, therefore we will restore liberal democracy and rule of law in Poland. All decision-makers, including Ministers and the President, who were responsible for violating laws and constitution should suffer legal consequences. We would like to fix the relations with our foreign partners showing that Poland can be a reliable ally again. Then we will show that a new style in politics is possible and that is why we would start by implementing our programme making Poland more modern, more prosperous and more European.

Recently Polish women intensively demonstrated under the movement called “Black Protest” to reject the bill proposed by the Polish government for a near total ban on abortion. Do you see a growth amongst the Polish people to stand up for their rights and freedoms also in other areas? The “Black Protest” was a great victory for Polish women. I wish they would have never had to protest on the abortion ban, because the ban itself is inhumane, but they had to and succeeded in doing so. We supported them, both in the Parliament and in protests. In fact, Poland has a long tradition of mass protests when the government has tried to take away our rights and freedoms. Polish people know they can win and “Solidarność” or “Black Protest” are the best examples of it. The current government with its irresponsible and provocative decisions makes the Polish society mobilise every day. For instance, massive marches for democracy have gathered tens of thousands of people. The one organised by Nowoczesna mobilized 50,000 people. The “Black Protest” spread to over 140 cities, towns and villages of Poland, but currently teachers and farmers are also protesting and there will be even more to come. Poland is making a peaceful and democratic revolution to replace this appalling government. third issue 2016 05 liberal bulletin

Nowoczesna joined the ALDE Party this year at the ALDE Party Council in Vilnius in June 2016. Why did you decide to join the European Liberal family? Nowoczesna was created as a liberal party with the support of liberal-minded people, some of whom were active in Polish liberal NGOs. Our programme is based on liberal ideas and principles. A liberal economy was the main platform of our party’s programme in the 2015 election campaign.

our new member parties Get to know

The ALDE Party now consists of 60 member parties and many individual members from 40 countries across Europe. Alongside Nowoczesna, get to know the other three new members that joined at the ALDE Party Council in June 2016.

That is why the ALDE Party was our natural choice. In other words, we were part of the liberal family since the very beginning and the ALDE Party Council in Vilnius only confirmed it.

On a less political note, the capital of your country, Warsaw, is the host of this year’s ALDE Party Congress. Could you give us some tips on what to see in the city?

Warsaw is a dynamic and vibrant European capital. The energy of Varsovians changed the urban space and filled it with new places, events and culture. I recommend a walk in the Old Town, Krakowskie Przedmieście and Nowy Świat streets. For museum fans, I recommend Polin Museum of the History of Polish Jews. If you would like to see something more off the beaten track, cross the bridge and visit Praga with its charming but rough pre-war streets and the excellent Praga Museum. You can’t leave Warsaw without trying some traditional Polish dishes. And if you want something more hipster, visit Koszyki, an excellent food market, and later grab a beer on Plac Zbawiciela. You will fall in love with Warsaw.

“Instead of rule of law, now we have rule of Law and Justice. Jaroslaw Kaczynski is demolishing Polish democracy piece by piece.” liberal bulletin 06 third issue 2016

Ciudadanos (C’s), led by Albert Rivera, is a new liberal-centrist force in Spain. In the latest general elections in Spain in June 2016, Ciudadanos obtained 32 of the 350 deputies of the Spanish Parliament, positioning itself as strong fourth political force in the country. C’s is currently the main opposition party in the Catalan Parliament as they emerged as second force in the latest elections in Catalonia.

Naša Stranka (NS) is a social-liberal political party from Bosnia and Herzegovina, led by Predrag Kojović, with one seat in the Federation House of Representatives, three seats in the Cantonal Assembly in Sarajevo, as well as three seats in the two chambers of the Federal Parliament. Naša Stranka is building in strength as a progressive force for a pro-European future for Bosnia and Herzegovina and a society of equal opportunities for its citizens.

Civic Position is a political party in Ukraine registered in March 2005 and led by former Ukrainian Minister of Defence Anatoliy Hrytsenko. Civic Position is a party with a liberal and forward-looking vision for Ukraine and it is one of the few political parties free of oligarch influence challenging the nepotism in Ukrainian politics.

interview

Margrethe Vestager

European Commissioner for Competition © Trine Sondergaard

Margrethe Vestager is currently serving as the European Commissioner for Competitition and her much-talked about antitrust charges against large companies have made her be considered “the political queen of Brussels.” She has previously served as a Member of the Danish Parliament representing ALDE Party member Radikale Venstre, which she led from 2007 to 2014. She has also been Danish Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economic Affairs and the Interior from 2011 to 2014. In this interview, we get to further understand her work as Commissioner and why she is indeed one of the women who shape the European Union.

One of your core tasks as European Commissioner for Competition is monitoring the market and assessing competition issues. This probably sounds rather abstract to ordinary people. What does it mean and how do you put this into practice? Well, I have been a politician for over two decades or more and I have come to realise that some people don’t think about politics every day and some don’t even do so at election time. What is undeniable however is that everyone of us is in the market every day, from shopping groceries for dinner to looking for a new job. That is why, my work of making sure that the market works in a fair way is an everyday issue for everyone. If there are no national competition authorities or European competition authorities like us monitoring the market, then there is a risk that some companies would agree on prices in the back office or would split the market to their benefits, which would lead to higher prices, less innovation, lower quality and less choice than you would have otherwise.

You have stated that “Europe is open for business, if you want to do business, but maybe not so open if you want to come for tax avoidance.” What can you, as European Commissioner, do to prevent tax avoidance? I can do something when tax is used to give state aid to specific companies. I think our founding fathers knew very well that this could happen so, like in the United States, they established rules to fight cartels or monopolies. But in fact, we also do something else third issue 2016 07 liberal bulletin

that they don’t do in the US, which is to prevent tax payers’ money from being used to promote one or some businesses over others. This means that due to European legislation it is illegal to give selective benefits to certain companies and the consequences of it might come in the form of tax rulings. If we, as the European Commission, find out that this is happening, we will investigate and if we find that something is wrong, then indeed these businesses must pay their unpaid taxes.

Your antitrust charges against Google or your investigations into Ireland’s tax benefits for Apple have been some of your much-talked about cases. In what ways do you think such measures contribute to build a Europe that works? I think a lot of people and companies are aware that there are national competition law forces, which work very well in local markets. However, it is very hard and challenging for individual Member States to apply these rules towards the biggest companies. That is why Member States and citizens have given quite a lot of competences to the European Commission to make sure that there is someone monitoring the largest companies and to guarantee that no company is too big to be overseen.

POLITICO Europe considers that you have helped to reshape how the European Commission is viewed by citizens and business. What have you achieved to make the European Union understandable to EU citizens in the past 2 years? It is too early to draw conclusions about this, but I do hope that, when the mandate is over, the work done with all my staff and cabinet is seen a hands-on approach. I hope that European citizens can feel that they live in a community where they have a fair chance, that their little business or the mediumsize business can have a high chance of suceeding if they work hard and offer quality products and competitive prices. It is important that they don’t feel that the largest companies have not closed the market or have decided that they are the ones who set the rules. I would be very liberal bulletin 08 third issue 2016

glad if we can achieve that by the end of my mandate, as it is crucial and positive to live in a community where you think you have a fair chance of making it.

In your interviews and social media presence, you often praise inspiring powerful women. As a woman and as a politician who has been Deputy Prime Minister of Denmark and now European Commissioner, how do you see the status of gender balance currently in European politics? Do you see any new developments? I think we have indeed reached many important milestones because nowadays you can see women in any sort of occupation and that is good for both men and women, but there is still a lot to do in advancing gender balance in Europe. The European Commission works very actively so that gender balance improves, but I think that culturally there is still a lot of work to do in Europe to make sure that we do not have an underlying bias towards some occupations being for men and some occupations being for women.

What fields of your work as Commissioner will you focus on in the upcoming months? My focus is still in the basics: to make sure that I get my job done so that Europeans can live in a Europe with a fair market place. This means, amongst other things, to guarantee that we work as fast as possible with the Google cases or that we try to make progress in the gas front cases.

“I hope that European citizens can feel that they live in a community where they have a fair chance, that their little business or the medium-size business can have a high chance of succeeding.”

Celebrating 40 years

“My work of making sure that the market works in a fair way is an every day issue for everyone.”

Next to my own portfolio, I also spend a lot of time working with other Commissioner colleagues. For instance, I am currently cooperating with other Commissioners in two fields. On the one hand, I am working with Commissioners Maroš Šefčovič and Miguel Arias Cañete on the energy market, including proposals to allow electricity and gas to freely flow over national borders and to have affordable prices. On the other hand, I also cooperating with my colleague Pierre Moscovici, who has recently tabled proposals for Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base (CCCTB), which is crucial for citizens to know that not only do most companies pay their taxes but that all of them do. This is something that can be achieved through our work at the European Commission, but also through the Council. So to conclude, I greatly cooperate with other Commissioners, but as we say in Denmark, “I will keep my nose in the track”, which means that I will get my job done so that Europeans can live in a fair market place.

of European Liberal Democrats Although 1976 was the year when the European Liberal Democrats were officially established, cross-border liberal cooperation in Europe had started several decades before. In 1951, within the structures of Liberal International (LI), a “European affairs committee” was established, as an answer in the post-Second World War period to the challenges of European integration. In June 1952, Ll’s Executive Committee established a “Liberal movement for a united Europe.” At its Congress in 1969 in Munich, Germany, Liberal International spoke out in favour of the principle of direct elections to the European Parliament, which until then was composed of members of national parliaments. In 1972, at the Congress in Paris, France, Liberal International asked for increased powers and direct elections to the European Parliament. The perspective of those direct elections, and the need to coordinate liberal policies, strengthened the belief that a “federation of liberal and democratic parties of the European Community” should be created, empowered by a secretariat of its own. The 1973 LI Congress in Luxembourg set up a working group to draft a statute for the future organisation.

Upon invitation of the then Prime Minister of Luxembourg, Gaston Thorn (Demokratesch Partei) and the then Minister of the Interior of West-Germany, Hans-Dietrich Genscher (FDP), fourteen liberal parties from the then nine Member States of the European Economic Community gathered in Stuttgart, Germany on 26-27 March 1976. Nine political parties established the “Federation of liberal and democratic parties of the EEC”. In alphabetical country order, these parties were: • Parti Libéral Bruxellois (Belgium) • Parti de la Liberté et du Progrès (Belgium) • Partij voor Vrijheid en Vooruitgang (Belgium) • Venstre Landsorganisation (Denmark) • Parti Radical Socialiste (France) • Freie Demokratische Partei (Germany) • Partito Liberale Italiano (Italy) • Demokratesch Partei (Luxembourg) • Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie (Netherlands) As such, Liberals were the first to create a pan-European political family by adopting the Stuttgart Declaration, based on the Oxford Manifesto of 1947. The Declaration is not only the founding act of the Federation, it also outlines the values of the organisation as

What are you specifically looking forward to in your participation at the 2016 ALDE Party Congress and is there any particular issue that you would like to raise with your Liberal colleagues across Europe? Above all, I am very much looking forward to spending some time with many Liberal and Social Liberal friends. But I am also looking forward to finding inspiration from speeches and to discovering the look of the new ALDE logo. I think the ALDE Party Congress is a very important milestone for Liberals across Europe and an inspiration for many more to get elected.

1 1. 1976 - The first Executive Committee on the train to Bonn

4. 1979 - Electoral Rally in Luxembourg

2. 1976 - The founding meeting in Stuttgart

5. 1984 - Martin Bangemann, Simone Veil and Willy De Clercq

3. 1976 - Delegates attending the Congress in The Hague 3

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In her opening speech as President of the European Parliament, Veil highlighted the three key challenges that are reflective of the founding years of the Federation:

well as the belief in European integration. The key elements of the founding “Declaration of Stuttgart” read as follows:

01• The supreme task of the European Union must be to

guarantee human, civil and political rights on the European level.

“Whatever our political beliefs, we are all aware that this historic step, the election of the European Parliament by universal suffrage, has been taken at a crucial time for the people of the Community. All its Member States are faced with three great challenges: the challenge of peace, the challenge of freedom and the challenge of prosperity, and it seems clear that they can be only met through the European dimension.”

02• The European Union needs a free democratic constitution based on the principles of division of powers, majority voting and protection of minorities. 03• The European Union must assure steady and balanced economic growth, thus creating for the citizens the conditions for effective social protection in the vicissitudes of life (…)

In 1980, the first President of the Federation, Gaston Thorn, was nominated as President of the European Commission. Belgian Liberal Willy De Clercq succeeded Thorn in-date.

04• The European Union needs a common foreign policy covering both the external relations of the European Community (…) and designed to serve the freedom and security of Europe and peace in the world, side by side with our partners in the Atlantic Alliance, notably the United States, and in the United Nations.

At the second European elections in 1984, the European Liberal Democrats secured 9.7% of the votes and 31 seats out of an enlarged European Parliament of 434 MEPs, following the accession of Greece.

05• The European Union must be founded on the common conviction that the freedom of the individual, equal opportunities for all and the free competition of ideas and parties are indispensable elements of a democratic society.

In 1985, President Willy De Clercq was succeeded by Luxembourg Liberal Colette Flesch. In 1986, Portugal and Spain joined the European Communities and the Federation changed its name to Federation of Liberal Democratic and Reform Parties, or ELDR for short.

The other parties present in Stuttgart did not at this time join the Federation.

At the third European elections in 1989, ELDR scored 10% of the votes and 49 seats (out of a total of 518 MEPs). Following the fall of the Berlin Wall, the 1990 ELDR Congress in Shannon, Ireland, welcomed guests from Central and Eastern Europe. President Colette Flesch was succeeded by Willy De Clercq. In 1991, the Congress in Poitiers, France, changed the ELDR statutes and modified the Executive Committee in a more flexible Council, introduced the membership status of “Observer” and “Affiliate” and anticipated the introduction of a statute for European political parties.

Ahead of the European elections scheduled to be held in 1979, the Federation adopted its first manifesto at its Congress in Brussels, Belgium in 1977 under the title of “European Liberal Democrats”. In 1979, 1200 delegates from the then 12 member parties gathered in Luxembourg for the first electoral rally. In 1979, member parties of the Federation collected 14% of the votes and established a parliamentary group of 39 Members of the European Parliament (out of a total of 410). Whilst German Liberal Martin Bangemann was elected as the Leader of the Liberal Group, the first plenary session in Strasbourg of the directly elected European Parliament chose Liberal Group member Simone Veil from France as its President.

In 1992, the Treaty of the European Union was signed in Maastricht, The Netherlands. Recognising the importance of European political parties, the Treaty introduced, in article

List of Presidents:

138A, for the first time European political parties. As the first President of the ELDR Party Willy De Clercq emphasised: “The political parties at the European level are recognised as an essential element for European integration. They contribute to the European spirit and help to express the political will of the citizens of the European Union. The political parties at the European level will offer a complementary option for citizens to participate in European integration and to promote our objectives, that is to say the realisation of a democratic, decentralised and federal European Union.”

1976-1980

Gaston Thorn (Luxembourg)

The ELDR Congress in Torquay of 1993 changed the statutes and reformed the Federation into a European political party. The main objective of the Party, as outlined in the new statutes, was to bring together political parties from the Member States of the European Union who are inspired by liberal, democrat and reform values and want to contribute to the European Union. The possibilities of membership of the ELDR Party were extended to liberal parties from states that are not yet members of the European Union. The Congress also adopted the electoral manifesto for the 1994 European elections. In those elections, ELDR secured 43 seats out of an increased total of 567, following the reunification of Germany. In 1995, Danish Liberal Uffe Ellemann-Jensen succeeded President Willy De Clercq.

1980-1985 & 1990-1995

Willy De Clercq (Belgium)

1985-1990

Colette Flesch (Luxembourg)

In April 1999, the German liberals of FDP hosted the ELDR Congress in Berlin. The ELDR Party adopted the manifesto: “Making the Difference. Unity in Freedom: the Liberal challenge for Europe”. In the 1999 elections, which were the fifth direct elections to the European Parliament, ELDR secured 11% of the votes and 51 seats out of an increased total of 626, following the accession of Austria, Finland and Sweden in 1995. In 1999, at the ELDR Council, the European Liberal Women Network was launched to promote equal opportunities in all spheres of public and private life.

1995-2000

Uffe Ellemann Jensen (Denmark)

2000-2005

In 2000, ELDR member parties gathered on the Spanish island of Tenerife under the title of “Preparing for enlargement”. The Congress elected German Liberal Dr Werner Hoyer to succeed President Uffe Ellemann-Jensen. In 2001, ELDR celebrated its 25th anniversary and for the first time held its yearly Congress outside of the European Union, in Slovenia.

Werner Hoyer (Germany)

2005-2011

Annemie NeytsUyttebroeck (Belgium)

2011-2015

Sir Graham Watson (United Kingdom) 12 6. 1992 - Congress in Copenhagen

9. 2000 - Leaders meeting

7. 1992 - East West Conference in Warsaw

10. 2000 - Congress in Puerto de la Cruz, Tenerife, Spain

8. 1993 - East West dinner on the fringe of Congress in Torquay 7 liberal bulletin 10 third issue 2016

11. 2001 - The Liberal caucus at the European Convention 12. 2002 - ELDR VP and leading ELWN personality Maria Kaisa Aula

2015-

Hans van Baalen (Netherlands)

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In 2004, days ahead of EU enlargement of ten new member states, ELDR Party adopted new statutes and becomes an international non-profit association under Belgian law, in short ELDR Party AISBL, to pave the way for the entry into force of the EU Regulation 2004/2003 on the statute and financing of European political parties. More than 1,000 Liberals from across Europe gathered in Brussels for the electoral rally. In the enlarged European Parliament, Liberals and Democrats secured 86 seats in the 2004 European elections. The name of the Liberal group was changed into Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe while the name of the party remained as ELDR until 2012. At the ELDR Congress in Bratislava, Slovakia, in September 2005, Annemie Neyts-Uyttebroeck succeeded President Werner Hoyer. In March 2006, Liberals and Democrats returned to Stuttgart, Germany, to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Stuttgart Declaration. In 2007, ELDR Party established its European political foundation, the European Liberal Forum, which brings together foundations and think tanks from the European liberal family. At the start of 2011, ELDR introduces “associate membership for individuals”, designed to allow individual involvement of European citizens in EU liberal politics. At the end of the year, at the ELDR Congress in Palermo, Italy, British Liberal Sir Graham Watson succeeded President Neyts-Uyttebroeck. At the 2012 ELDR Congress in Dublin, Ireland, member parties approved a change of name. Henceforth we are known as the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party, in short the ALDE Party. The European Liberal Women Network was also renamed the Gender Equality Network. At the European elections in 2014, ALDE secured 67 out of 751 MEP seats. At the 2015 ALDE Party Congress in Budapest, Hungary, Dutch Liberal Hans van Baalen succeeded President Watson and Congress approved a change of rules which allows delegates of the individual members of the ALDE Party to have voting rights at Congress. In 2016, ALDE Party launched the European Women’s Academy to support and train Liberal women to win elections. On the date of publication, the ALDE Party consists of 61 member parties from 40 countries. A new EU Regulation 1141/2014 has been adopted and will enter into force in 2017 foreseeing a true European statute for parties at European level. At the 2016 ALDE Party Congress in Warsaw, Liberals celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Stuttgart Declaration.

List of Congresses 1976 Stuttgart, Germany

1977 1978 1980 1981 1982 1983 1985 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1993 1995 1996 1997 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

The Hague, Netherlands Brussels, Belgium London, United Kingdom Paris, France Copenhagen, Denmark Venice, Italy Munich, Germany Groningen, Netherlands Catania, Italy Lisbon, Portugal Luxembourg, Luxembourg Shannon, Ireland Poitiers, France Copenhagen, Denmark Torquay, United Kingdom Stockholm, Sweden Vienna, Austria Brussels, Belgium Berlin, Germany Tenerife, Spain Ljubljana, Slovenia Bath, United Kingdom Amsterdam, Netherlands Brussels, Belgium Bratislava, Slovakia Bucharest, Romania Berlin, Germany Stockholm, Sweden Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain Helsinki, Finland Palermo, Italy Dublin, Ireland London, United Kingdom Lisbon, Portugal Budapest, Hungary Warsaw, Poland

13 13. 2008 - Liberal leaders meeting at Palais Egmont in Brussels 14. 2012 - Delegates voting in favour of the party’s name change to ALDE Party 15. 2014 - Electoral Rally in Vienna 16. 2015 - Bureau meeting in Oslo 17. 2016 - LYMEC and ALDE Party President Hans van Baalen MEP at Congress in Budapest 14

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Being an Individual Member is more than a membership fee

It’s about our progress! It was a year ago when the newly elected Steering Committee of the Individual Members set out the goals for the future development of Individual Membership in the ALDE Party. Those objectives were pretty ambitious since back then, we had no budget, we were not a political party but still, we had two important things: our members and our strong will to succeed! We will meet again in Warsaw attending the ALDE Party Congress. Last year the feeling was the excitement for a new beginning and now it is definitely the pride of our achievements, because in just one year we have made history:

01• We promised ourselves to increase our membership and we

did it - we now have more than 2,300 members across Europe (a 35% increase over the last year). In each country, a team of highly motivated coordinators are in charge of organising events and guide our members to achieve their goals.

02 • Thus, we managed to organise a successful cross – border

event in Düsseldorf (Germany) with special guests such as Alexander Graf Lambsdorff (FDP), Vice President of the European Parliament, and many more. Our message was #RebootEurope, meaning preserve the open society of individual freedoms and the rule of law. One of our highlights was also the Greek workshop held in Athens in October with the Chair of the Individual Members Steering Committee, Julie Cantalou. The aim of this project was to equip a group of individual members with the tools they need to build networks locally, so that they can transfer this experience to other members as well. And we did not stop there. Many liberal events across Europe have taken place in Spain, Italy, Portugal, Greece, Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark and many other countries.

03 • Our presence in the ALDE Party Congress in Warsaw will be stronger than ever, since our voice is much louder thanks to our three elected delegates. Enrico, Sid and Daniel will represent us all and promote our ideas with amendments on various resolutions. Also, Julie Cantalou was elected to the ALDE Party Council with 93% of the votes. 04 • Our increased presence at this year’s Congress was a result of our increased payment rate of membership fees. This in turn has resulted in higher contributions to the budget and success of the ALDE Party and in the individual members being granted a project budget for activities for the first time.

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05 • We all got involved with various initiatives against #Brexit movement, supporting our liberal friends in the United Kingdom. We also lost battles and maybe we could have done more. This will precisely be our goal for the new year: to achieve more, to prioritise our initiatives and become stronger. There are many things to be done. We promised our members better communication tools and we will work for that. We promised not only to give hope to our members across Europe, but through more events, workshops and higher involvement, we will set the base so that our liberal voices will be louder and stronger. We also know that we cannot do that alone, the ALDE Party is our home and our members are our powered force. We need each other and we need to stick together and work harder to set new targets and get things back on track again. Despite the obstacles we face as European citizens, despite our lost battles, despite the fear, despite the problems in the whole world, we choose to stay calm and keep working on the right direction, which is Liberalism. Being a liberal is a gift, because it means courage, open-minded citizens and open societies. Being an Individual Member of ALDE Party means we have the opportunity to use all those tools to make our world free from hate and fear and work for freedom and for Liberalism. Thalia Ntoka ALDE Party Individual Members’ Steering Committee Member third issue 2016 13 liberal bulletin

interview

Guy Leader Verhofstadt of the ALDE Group

in the European Parliament Guy Verhofstadt is the Leader of the ALDE Group in the European Parliament, the fourth largest parliamentary group, since 2009. He was the ALDE Party’s nominee for President of the European Commission in the 2014 European elections. In this interview, Verhofstadt offers a mid-term review of the current mandate of the European Parliament, highlighting the greatest achievements of Liberal MEPs so far and their future challenges. He also shares his opinion on the current State of the Union and explains why he thinks it is time to reform. © European Parliament

of a European border and coast guard. But this doesn’t mean the work is done. The EU needs more structural reform if it wants to deliver and we absolutely must use the Brexit negotiations as an opportunity to do so.

They say “always look on the bright side of life”. What have the greatest achievements of the Liberal MEPs in this mandate been so far?

“We were the driving force behind a wide range of actions: from abolishing roaming to the establishment of a European border and coast guard.”

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The current mandate of the European Parliament following the European elections in 2014 is almost mid-term. Liberals campaigned for a Europe that works. What is your balance? Do our Liberal MEPs make the EU deliver? As the pro-European force in the Parliament we successfully pushed for initiatives that make a difference on the ground. We were the driving force behind a wide range of actions: from abolishing roaming to the establishment

I see three domains in which the liberals lead the way. First of all, we mounted the pressure on the conservative governments in Poland and Hungary. We made it very clear that values such as freedom of speech, press freedom and an independent judiciary are core European values that must be guaranteed everywhere in the union. Secondly, we make sure Europe is ready for the digital future. Applications such as Uber, Airbnb or Deliveroo change the way our economy is wired and we strongly believe that Europe can’t miss this train. Instead of seeing the digital revolution as a threat, we prepare Europe to embrace it as a new source of job creation.

Last but not least, we advocated since the beginning of the refugee crisis for a genuine European migration policy. The establishment of a European border and coast guard, one of our key demands, is an important first step. We will continue this fight for a humane and sustainable European migration policy.

In recent years, it seems that the economic crisis, the rise of populism, the refugee crisis and Brexit have been on the spotlight of European politics. How do you see the current state of the Union? The European Union faces a polycrisis. Our economy still hasn’t recovered from the 2007 financial crisis, the refugee crisis is ongoing, and we are geopolitically weak. The reason why we fail is that we always act too little, too late. Take the financial crisis. In the US, they solved their problems in eight months with a three-step plan: cleaning up the banks with the Troubled Asset Relief Programme (TARF), launching a 900 billion dollar investment program and supporting it with quantitative easing. In Europe, we still haven’t started with step one. We see this behavior recurring everywhere. We outsourced our refugee crisis to Turkey and let the Americans and the Russians decide on Syria. Europe is carrying the burden because we show no unity and no leadership. Only a European defence, with unity in command, will increase our capacity to defend ourselves, to have an impact on the international stage and to be less dependent on the US. Populists and nationalists use this situation for saying we should retreat behind our national borders. But that is a fake solution. These crises transcend national borders so we need the European Union to tackle them, but a different, more effective Union.

Time to reform: You are a leader who advocates the need to reform the European Union. In fact, over the summer you have presented through online videos your proposals. What are your key ideas? These videos explain that the difficult situation Europe is in today is not irreversible. The EU can again become a driving force behind job creation, security and prosperity.

Europe is too bureaucratic today with too many regulations and not enough politics. The European Commission should be reformed in a small European government, with a reduced number of ministers: 12 instead of the 28 we have today. We also need to end with the “Europe à la carte”. Our Union is not a real Union: it’s a loose confederation of Member States, based on the unanimous consent of each of them. If one blocks something, nothing happens. The endless list of optins, opt-outs, and rebates has led us to the inefficient system we know today. My proposal is to radically simplify this system. Again: Brexit can serve as an opportunity to shift to a two-track Europe. Countries can choose between a full membership, with the obligation to participate in all the policies and all the benefits and rights, or an associated status, mainly limiting the cooperation to the internal market, with less obligations, but also less rights. Secondly, the recent terrorist attacks in Europe show we need stronger Union “at home” so to speak. Europol should become a full-fledged security agency, able to conduct real investigations, and set up real police operations, as the FBI does in the United States. Schengen provided us with an unprecedented freedom, but we can’t enjoy it without protecting us from those who intend to abuse it. Thirdly, in order to restore confidence in the European economy, we need a brand new governance for the Euro: one minister of finance, a new budget and a proper treasury. We also need to complete the single market as soon as possible. This is yet crucial to provide our businesses, SMEs and citizens with opportunities. Europe is so rich in brain, but so poor in innovation. This must change now.

Probably one of your most iconic moments as leader of the ALDE Group has been your address to Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras at the European Parliament regarding the economic and political situation in Greece. More than a year after that speech, what has changed and what has remained the same?

What is the situation today? In theory, half of the reforms and new laws asked by the Commission should be implemented, but reality shows it is merely 15%. It is time for the Commission, the member states and the Greek government to stop burying their heads in the sand. Alexis Tsipras is continuing the policies of his predecessors: increasing the taxes for families and small business, producing a lot of laws but failing to implement them. In the meantime, corruption is not tackled and the Greek economy is not made more competitive. The clientelistic system continues to thrive just as under the previous governments. I don’t see any difference. It’s at a complete standstill.

Looking at the future, what will in your view be the main challenges that the European Parliament will face from now until the 2019 European elections? First, we will have to make the Brexit negotiations a success for all parties. The negotiations need to be finished before the next European elections. I cannot imagine Mr Farage coming back to the European Parliament in 2019. The new EU-UK relationship will have to be a close one, both in our interest and for the sake of 48 percent of British citizens who voted to remain in the Union. But, whatever the new relationship involves, it can never infringe on the four fundamental freedoms. European values will never be up for negotiation. We must also urgently put an end to the Syrian conflict and stop Assad and Putin’s crimes. The European Parliament has backed calls for EU enforcement tools to be prepared, which would pressure Russia to comply with the UN Security Council resolutions they have signed. The indiscriminate use of chemical weapons and barrel bombs against civilians in Aleppo must end. Unfortunately, the European Council once again showed its lack of political consensus, by failing to provide a common response. We can no longer accept this.

More than one year ago, I urged Alexis Tsipras to be a real leader, one who would come forward with reforms that the Greek society desperately needs. One which opens the many professions which are still closed for the average Greek. third issue 2016 15 liberal bulletin

Viktorija Cmilyte-Nielsen MP, Liberalai, Lithuania – Now elected as MP “I am different to most of the EWA participants here – I came to politics at a relatively later stage as I started a career as a professional Chess player. That is why I consider myself very lucky to have been part of the EWA program- it gave me a unique chance to get expert political advice and fill in some gaps. Just recently I was elected to a high up position in my Party and the journey there was a lot more straightforward thanks to what I learnt at the European Women’s Academy. I feel I can go into the national elections in Lithuania in October with confidence. I am convinced that the European Women’s Academy can make a difference to hundreds of women in politics so I hope to see it continue.”

Update from our

2016 European Women’s Academy

Our 2016 European Women’s Academy has come to an end – and here are some of the highlights.

Judith Raab, NEOS, Austria – Standing in Austrian national elections in or before 2018

The EWA was created by the ALDE Party this year and is a programme of three three-day long courses with online tutoring in between, training Liberal female candidates who have elections within the next 2 years, how to be successful in their elections as well as in their future political careers.

“EWA definitely changed my whole future life as a woman in politics: It sharpened my understanding of political structure and processes, it supported me in finalising my positioning and definitely opened the door to strong female leaders all over Europe. Now I am hot for running a campaign and also for passing over my new experiences to other women. Thanks to ALDE and all the Liberals over Europe!”

Over 9 months, our candidates heard from leaders from all over Europe such as Taavi Rõivas, Prime Minister of Estonia, on values, targets and strategy as well as campaigning tactics and image building. We are now delighted to announce that all of the candidates on the 2016 programme passed the European Women’s Academy and received diplomas from the academy. This was a huge achievement and no easy feat – to be able to graduate candidates had to put everything they learnt over the 9 months into practice and perform a campaign speech to an audience of friends, teachers and campaign experts. With the 2016 programme only finishing in August 2016, it is good news that two of our graduates have already been successful in elections. Vikki Slade, of the UK Liberal Democrats has just been selected as a councillor in a by-election last week and Viktorija CmilyteNielsen of the Liberal Movement Party in Lithuania has just been selected as a MP. With 11 EWA graduates yet to stand in elections, we are confident that this success will be repeated.

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q We are in the final stages of planning our European Women’s Academy 2017 – Get in touch with Laura Owen on lowen@aldeparty.eu for more information on ways that you can support the programme. Are you passionate about gender equality in parliaments? Do you want to help us train even more women through our EWA in 2017? Donate now at www.donate.aldeparty.eu or scan the QR code below!

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Social media highlights

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40 years of LYMEC 40 years of making Europe a more Liberal continent

2016 marks the 40th anniversary of LYMEC, since the organisation was founded in 1976. Looking back at the history of the young liberals of Europe is also looking back at the history of the European Union. LYMEC, like the EU, grew from just a handful of member organisations coming only from EU member states in Western Europe. From this it has transitioned through the fall of the Berlin wall and the continued expansion of the Union as well as through the neighbourhood policy reflected in opening up membership from non-EU countries and also opening up a section for individual members. The history of LYMEC and the EU is an intertwined story of growing freedom, peace and prosperity. It is therefore a little bittersweet to celebrate the anniversary, in the shadow of the current state of affairs on our continent and in the EU. While LYMEC is stronger than ever, the same cannot be said about the EU. The far-left, the far-right and populists are uniting in a quest to build walls to restrict the movement of people, good, capitals and services from outside of the EU; sometimes even the best liberal governments have to compromise on these core values. As a youth organisation, LYMEC enjoys the privilege of not being bound by everyday political pragmatism, instead we can take a firm stand on the principle of freedom, dream big and insist that liberty should never be compromised. We therefore insist that the four freedoms are the core of the European Union, that these are the very essence of what Europeans are united around, but also that these freedoms must be expanded to the widest extent possible in our cooperation with the rest of the world.

ALDE Party Congress on social media:

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Of the four freedoms, the freedom of movement for individuals was and remains LYMEC’s cornerstone. 10 years ago, one of the biggest campaigns in LYMEC’s history was launched under the slogan “No visa, Europe is our home”, referring to the fact that most people from countries in the EU neighbourhood had to apply for a visa. 10 years later, we have made it very far, but our friends and members from countries such as Kosovo and Ukraine are still waiting for the possibility of visa-free travel. When it comes to the other three freedoms, free movement of goods, capital and services, LYMEC has worked very hard on promoting free trade, especially in the past few years. From

busting myths on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnernship (TTIP) to simply putting up pictures on social media posted by members hailing from all over our continent saying ”I free trade”. In other words, after 40 years LYMEC is still fighting for freedom in all aspects, and will continue to do so over the next 40 years. Looking back, young liberals, like the rest of Europe’s youth have been growing up enjoying more freedom than any generation before us. On the one hand, we hope that 2016 will prove not to be a turning point when it comes to freedom of movement for the individual, but that the reintroduction of border control in some areas of the EU will simply be a comma when those coming after us will look back. On the other hand, when it comes to the freedoms connected to free trade, we hope 2016 will be a turning point, marking the beginning of truly free trade, not just within the EU and its direct neighbours but with countries from all over the globe. Some will attribute it to the naivety of youth that we hope that the seed of freedom that we plant in our members today, at our congresses, trainings and seminars, will continue to grow. But, for the sake of future generations, let’s hope we are right. And if you are reading this, thinking that you miss your good old LYMEC days, there is also hope. We are happy to announce that, as part of our 40-year celebration, we will launch an alumni network, making sure that previous LYMEC members and friends can stay in touch, and we can continue to learn and inspire each other across the generations. Sissel Kvist President of LYMEC third issue 2016 21 liberal bulletin

Movers & Liberal movers and shakers shakers Anna-Maja Henriksson Anna-Maja Henriksson is the new leader of ALDE Party member Svenska Folkpartiet (SFP), elected in SFP’s Congress in June 2016 in Turku, Finland. Henriksson celebrated being the first female leader of SFP and regarded her election as a positive step towards gender equality: “I am glad to see that my party made this step towards more equality in our society.”

Kirsty Williams Kirsty Williams is the new Cabinet Secretary for Education in Wales and former leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats. Speaking after her appointment to the cabinet in May 2016, Kirsty Williams said: “The Welsh LibDems will now play our part in delivering real change in the way government works for the people of Wales. I will be in government as a Welsh Liberal Democrat, guided by our values and commitments.”

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INDIVIDUAL MEMBERS

Andrej Babiš Andrej Babiš is the Deputy Prime Minister of the Czech Republic and the leader and founder of ALDE Party member ANO 2011. In October 2016, his party won the most votes and seats in nine of the 13 regions being contested in the Czech regional elections, confirming their long-standing position as the leading party in the opinion polls and paving the way for the 2017 legislative elections in the Czech Republic.

INDIVIDUAL MEMBERS

Jürgen Martens Jürgen Martens, from German ALDE Party member FDP, is the newly elected President of our political foundation, the European Liberal Forum (ELF), succeeding Felicita Medved. Following his election, Martens spoke about his ambitions: “The goal of the new ELF Board is to push forward a truly liberal agenda for Europe. Not only through politics but more importantly with the European citizens.”

More and more citizens think and act across borders. ALDE Party’s individual membership allows us to engage and involve individuals to help us build a stronger pan-European party. Join us today! www.aldeparty.eu/joinus

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Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) Party Rue dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Idalie 11 - box 2 | B-1050 Brussels, Belgium Tel: +32 2 237 01 40 | Fax: +32 2 231 19 07 info@aldeparty.eu | www.aldeparty.eu /aldeparty @aldeparty ÂŠ ALDE Party aisbl - Design: Mardi.be - Produced: December 2016 - With the support of the European Parliament

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