A delegation from the S&D Group, led by vice-presidents Libor Rouček and Véronique de Keyser and S&D foreign affairs co-ordinator Ana Gomes, are taking part in the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, NC, this week.

The MEPs were invited to attend the International Leaders Forum organised by the National Democratic Institute (the NDI), a think tank chaired by former US secretary of state Madeleine Albright.

"In our contacts with Democratic Party leaders we expressed full support for the extraordinary campaigning effort and the activists' commitment to the re-election of Barack Obama as president of the US," said Libor Rouček.

Hannes Swoboda, president of the S&D Group in the European Parliament added: "Barack Obama is a guarantee for further improving relations between Europe and the US, particularly focusing on an active growth and employment policy, which is crucial for economic development."

"Regulation of financial markets, investment in growth, education, job creation, affordable healthcare: the US needs a Democratic president to finish the job. Progressive parties on both sides of the Atlantic must continue to join efforts to find a socially sustainable way out of the crisis and boost growth," he continued.

The S&D Group also joined a panel with Democratic congressional representatives on diversity and minority political inclusion, where parliamentarians from both sides of the Atlantic discussed the challenges to an inclusive society.

"Social justice, equality and fighting discrimination are core values that we all share and that are and have always been at the core of our long-term co-operation with the Democrats in Congress," concluded Rouček. "A Republican victory would be a step backwards. Europe and the US need to frame a robust transatlantic progressive agenda."

 News from the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists & Democrats in the European Parliament