The head of the Group of Socialists and Democrats (S&D) in the European Parliament, Udo Bullmann
will be travelling to Helsinki, Finland, this Friday to attend the
S&D Together event and the Congress of the Young European Socialists
(YES), where a new leadership for the organisation will be elected.
The Secretary-General of the organisation has since 2017 been Tuulia
Pitkänen from Finland.Bullmann will discuss the report of the Independent Commission for Sustainable Equality (ICSE)
and the rise of populism in Europe in a public debate with former
President Tarja Halonen, which is open to all. Bullmann will also visit
Vantaa with the Mayor of the city of Vantaa, Mrs. Ritva Viljanen, visit
Kartanonkoski school and meet the leader of the Finnish Social
Democratic Party, Mr. Antti Rinne.Ahead of the visit, S&D Group president Udo Bullmann said:“We are witnessing an extraordinary rise of awareness among young
people over the urgent need to finally convert our outdated economic
and social model into a more progressive, more equal and sustainable
one. In this context, I am excited to travel to Helsinki to meet young
and passionate activists in the framework of the Congress of the Young
European Socialists and to discuss with them, as well as with other
representatives of Finnish society, our vision for better Europe.“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. We are
convinced that this is also key in fighting the dreadful rhetoric and
fake recipes of populists and nationalists. Knowing that Finland is
considered a role model when it comes to ecological policies and
equality, I am eager to exchange, to listen and to learn from the
Finnish example.” The S&D member and head of the Finnish delegation, Miapetra Kumpula-Natri, commented:“I am very delighted to welcome Mr. Udo Bullmann, one of the top leaders of the European Parliament, to Finland.“I am also delighted that the Young European Socialists hold their
meeting in Helsinki, given that Finland will hold the Council Presidency
from July onwards. We need a change towards a more sustainable society
and place well-being of everyone at the heart of policy-making.
Without change and well-being, we cannot fight against the climate
change, which is the challenge of our century. However, it is important
that the transition is just, otherwise we will lack support of the
people and that will only lay ground for populist forces in Europe.”*Notes on the Programme:
The ICSE-Report will be presented on Friday, March 29, from 13.00-14.30 in the public debate: “Progressive Society, Sustainable Equality: How to Fight the Rise of Populism”.
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 and comprises more than 100 concrete proposals for the
future of Europe.Panel: S&D Group leader Udo Bullmann;
Mrs. President Tarja Halonen; Post-doctoral researcher from the
University of Helsinki, Mr. Niko Pyrhönen; Moderator: Ms Maria
PetterssonPlace: Tiedekulma (Fönster), University of Helsinki, Yliopistonkatu 4, 00100 HelsinkiAt the S&D Together seminar
which takes place between 15.30 and 18.00 at the fringes of the
Congress of Young European Socialists, Udo Bullmann will intervene in
the debate “Empowering Youth – Our role in the decision making process”, where Miapetra Kumpula-Natri, will give the opening speech.
Place: Paasitorni, Paasivuorenkatu 5 A, 00530 Helsinki —————————————————————————————————————————–
