We, the Party of European Socialists, distance ourselves from the statements done by Eurogroup President Jeroen Dijsselbloem on 20 March 2017. His words by no means reflect the vision of our political family, the way we value people or the European project we are fighting for.  
 
PES president Sergei Stanishev said: "With just one sentence Dijsselbloem managed to insult and discredit so many people and spread divisions. His words were offensive to both Southern and Northern European countries, women and men. Dijsselbloem’s remarks are simply unacceptable, especially in such critical time for the European integration project. We are just a few days away from the 60 anniversary of the Rome Treaty, it is a real shame for a representative of our political family to contradict the very essence of the values of unity, respect and solidarity which are the foundations of the European project."
 
Solidarity, equality and non-discrimination are core historical values of the social democratic political family and they will continue to be. 

For more information, please contact Toby Wardman
toby.wardman@pes.eu, +32 491 86 97 48