On 19 October 2016, the progressive family in Europe, on the initiative of the S&D Group, is launching an 18-month project designed to find answers to the problems the EU is facing. The project called 'TOGETHER - A new direction for a progressive Europe - Stand up for our future!' goes beyond a traditional political consultation: it means involving citizens in building a progressive Europe. 
 
TOGETHER is a joint project by the S&D Group and its partners, including the Party of European Socialists (PES), social-democratic representatives of national parliaments, the PES Group in the Committee of the Regions, Socialist Group in the Council of Europe, the Foundation for European Progressive Studies (FEPS), Global Progressive Forum (GPF), SOLIDAR, civil society and progressive NGOs. The project is open to the public and over the next 18 months, events will be held all across the EU encouraging people to contribute to this new direction for Europe. 
 
The TOGETHER event will take place at the European Parliament in Brussels on 19 October 2016 from 16h00 – 19h00 in room JAN4Q2 (access via the JAN entrance of the EP).  
 
Speakers at the event will include:
 
•    Gianni Pittella, S&D Group President 
•    Sergei Stanishev, PES President 
•    Jeremy Corbyn, Leader of the UK Labour Party
•    Elio Di Rupo, President of the Belgian Socialist Party
•    Bruno Le Roux, President of the Socialist Group at the National Assembly of France
•    Martin Schulz, European Parliament President 
•    Federica Mogherini, EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs 
•    Frans Timmermans, Commission first Vice-President 
•    Luboš Blaha, Chairman of the European Affairs Committee of the National Council of the Slovak Republic
•    Michele Nicoletti, President of the Socialist Group, Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe 
•    Massimo D´Alema, FEPS President 
•    Aurélien, Mauzy, President Rainbow Rose
•    Luca Visentini, ETUC General Secretary 
•    Jan Zielonka, Professor of European Politics and Ralf Dahrendorf Fellow, St Antonys College, University of Oxford
 
The full programme of the launch event can be found here
 
Please watch the TOGETHER video teaser here:

Seats will be reserved for the press in the room. EU accredited journalists will have free access. Those journalists not having EU accreditation, please register by Monday, 17 October 2016 with Cécile Etevenot at: cecile.etevenot@europarl.europa.eu
 
Please join us online using #EuropeTogether. 
 
The event will be live streamed at: http://www.socialistsanddemocrats.eu/europe-together