Brussels, 16 October 2017

This week progressive leaders and forces will gather in Brussels for a prominent two-day event on 18 and 19 October 2017 on ‘Building the Progressive Future Together’. The event forms part of the Together initiative and will take place at The Square in Brussels. It will host the PES leaders pre-summit meeting in parallel, with various progressive prime ministers and party leaders joining.
 
Speakers include S&D Group president Gianni Pittella, PES president Sergei Stanishev, Jeremy Corbyn, UK Labour leader, Pedro Sánchez, secretary general of PSOE (Spain), Paul Magnette, mayor of Charleroi (Belgium), EU high representative for foreign affairs Federica Mogherini, commissioner Frans Timmermans, British journalist, broadcaster and author Paul Mason, professor of social sciences at Humboldt-University Berlin, Dr Naika Foroutan, professor of Economics and Public Policy at Oxford University Sir Paul Collier and many other stakeholders and youth representatives.
 
The entire event is open to the press. On Thursday, 19 October 2017 at 12:00 the Together initiative will also host the official media doorstepping for the regular European Council preparation meeting of the prime ministers and leaders from the Party of European Socialists. Additional accreditation for the doorstepping is required; you can apply for it here: https://www.pes.eu/en/press

Commenting on the upcoming Together event, S&D Group president Gianni Pittella said:
 
“The task ahead for social democracy in Europe is crucial – to redefine its identity and clearly – and better – show what we stand for. In this context the recent elections have sent a clear signal. Only if we show a clear alternative to the right can we be strong. And only if we work together with all progressive forces across Europe and open ourselves to new forces can we be effective and successful.
 
“We want to do this together – not only with our political family and stakeholders, but with all those who want to get involved. We want to be challenged, we want to discuss the most sensitive issues and we want to define what a fairer society looks like. I encourage everyone to join us – too much is at stake to just stand at the side. The future is yours – Together we can shape it!

PES president Sergei Stanishev added:

“Socialists and social-democrats know that we can only address the big challenges of the 21 century by working closely together. The current agenda of all citizens – their social rights, their rights to decent jobs and education, their rights to digital privacy, their rights to live in a clean environment – these form the agenda of the Socialists and Democrats. Only together can we make a difference for all Europeans”.  
 
The event consists of two parts: Day 1 focuses on discussions in an open plenary format; Day 2 includes concrete policy discussions in seven workshops, during which leading S&D MEPs, progressive commissioners and ministers, stakeholders, partners and citizens will debate on seven policy priorities. The event will conclude with a joint session of all participants and leaders and the adoption a final statement outlining the progressive agenda for the upcoming 2019 European Parliament elections.
 
You can find the full programme on the Together platform.
 
Note to the Editors:
 
The Together initiative was launched one year ago by the S&Ds in co-operation with their progressive partners. The aim is to bring policymakers closer to citizens and engage them in a debate, concluding each time with a statement adopted by the participants. These statements will provide a roadmap for the upcoming European Parliament elections in 2019.  For further information on the Together initiative, please visit our Together platform to discuss the challenges and opportunities for the future lying ahead.  
The event will be webstreamed and can also be followed live on our website and on our social media channels: #EuropeTogether.