S&D Group leader Udo Bullmann will travel to Athens to present the Progressive Society policy report on Sustainable Equality at an event on Monday, March 4, co-organised with the Athens office of Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung and the Athens Development & Governance Institute (A.D.G.I-INERPOST). The report was put together by a group of independent experts under the lead of former Greek minister of Labour and the Economy Louka Katseli and former PES-President and Prime Minister of Denmark Poul Nyrup Rasmussen.
“After our inspiring and successful visit last September, I am very happy to return to Athens now with our Sustainable Equality Report – our roadmap for a social and ecological revolution. Inspired by the 2030 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, we present a broad set of concrete proposals to change the course of the European Union towards a truly fair economic, social and environmental model that will achieve decent living conditions for the many, not just the few, while respecting the natural boundaries of our planet”, declared Bullmann.
“Athens is a perfect place to discuss our vision. No other country has suffered as much from austerity policies imposed by conservative and neoliberal forces as Greece. Even if the financial crisis is over, it has left many casualties, and the new economic growth is not felt by many citizens. At the same time, our societies need to adapt to globalisation, climate change, and the digital revolution,” he added.
“We can only tackle these complex and interconnected challenges if we introduce higher coherence between our economic, social and environmental policies. We need to transform our societies but its weakest members cannot shoulder the burden while the rich get richer and big companies pay almost zero taxes. Greening the economy has to go hand in hand with good jobs and fair taxation, for example. In order to carry this transformation, we need as broad an alliance of progressives as possible. Our common goals for Europe and its people have to be at the centre of our focus – rather than political power games or old anger. We owe this to our people,” concluded the President of the S&D Group.
