Conference
Lisbon Treaty: the real reasons the people say No
ASP 1 G 3, European Parliament
15 April 2009
The European United Left/Nordic Green Left (GUE/NGL) Group in the European Parliament is organising a conference The Lisbon Treaty: the real reasons the people say No to take place on Wednesday 15 April 2009 in the European Parliament in Brussels.
The conference will bring together progressive campaigners against the Lisbon Treaty and will look at the campaign against the Lisbon Treaty in the context of the European elections.
It will examine how the issues raised by the progressive No campaigns in Ireland, France and the Netherlands can be brought to the fore in the European elections in order to maximise the number of progressive opponents of the Treaty elected to the European Parliament from all countries.
It will allow for networking and informal contact between political parties, trade unions, peace movements, social movements and other campaigners against the Lisbon Treaty in order to show the breadth and depth of opposition to the Treaty in other EU member states during the second referendum campaign in Ireland. The Sinn Féin delegation in the European Parliament will bring a group of anti-Lisbon campaigners from different movements in Ireland to the Conference.
Programme
15.00 Ditching democracy: denying the French, Dutch and Irish No votes
Chair: Francis Wurtz MEP, President GUE/NGL
Speakers: Pádraig MacLochlainn, Sinn Féin (Ireland)
Erik Meijer MEP, Socialistische Partij (Netherlands)
15.30 EU superstate or accountability and democracy?
Chair: Tobias Pflüger MEP, Die Linke (Germany)
Speaker: Jonas Sjöstedt, Author, Former MEP, Vänsterpartiet (Sweden)
Debate
16.45 Economic Crisis: the failure of Lisbon
Chair: Eva-Britt Svensson MEP, Vänsterpartiet (Sweden)
Speakers: Fernando Maurício, CGTP-IN (Portugal)
Alain Obadia, Economist (France)
ETUC (person to be confirmed)
Debate
18.00 Conclusions: Key issues - Lisbon Treaty and European Elections
Chair: Kartika Liotard MEP, Socialistische Partij (Netherlands)
Conclusions: Tomás Sharkey, Sinn Féin (Ireland)
18.30 Cocktail
Simultaneous interpretation will be available in English, French, German, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Greek, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish and Swedish.
GUE/NGL press officer
Gianfranco Battistini + 32 475 646628
gbattistini@europarl.eu.int