The upcoming European elections as well as some of the most defining issues of our time were on the agenda when Europe’s liberals from across the continent gathered in Stockholm for the annual ALDE Party Congress. 

SOME OF THE EVENT HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE CONGRESS INCLUDE: 

Liberal leaders open ALDE Party Congress 

ALDE Party co-Presidents Senator Timmy Dooley and Ilhan Kyuchyuk MEP hosted the official opening ceremony of the 2023 ALDE Party Congress in Stockholm. 

Timmy Dooley on the road to next year's European elections: "United we make a profound impact. [...] Between 6th and 9th June 2024, every European member state will have a chance to vote, people will have a say on what type of Europe they want to live in." 

Ilhan Kyuchyuk MEP on the importance of upholding liberal values in these turbulent times: “We Europeans largely took peace and prosperity for granted. We thought that democracy was given, we thought that the only issues left for those of us in politics were those of economy, equality and climate change. But then, 24th February gave us a clear reminder that autocratic forces remain strong. A reminder that if you want our liberal, democratic values to exist, we have to protect them.”  

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his video message: “Time is now to change, but this is not for our Europe to change. Europe is to stay united, peaceful, free, showing respect to every person, every community and every country. The time is now to change for those who threaten Europe. They must step back and respect our common values.” 

“I am confident that this year is ripe and right for decisions. This year can and ought to do everything for our Europe to become the strongest. I thank everyone who is helping. Thank you all who trust in Europe, who make our unity stronger and who have no doubt that freedom must keep the global leadership.” 

Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said in her video message: "It has been over a year since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. This war has been a clear reminder that we cannot take our freedom for granted. It has been a reminder that the world has entered a new era. It has also reminded us of something many of us have said for a long time: that's today's struggle is actually very simple. It is a struggle between good and evil. A struggle for authoritarianism and terror on one side, and freedom and democracy on the other. Freedom will triumph over evil, sooner or later." 

Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said in his video message: "We have one year until the European elections. Let us be united and help each other, like we do with Ukraine. Let us be bold in our actions and truthful with our words." 

First Vice-President of the Renew Europe Group Malik Azmani MEP on the importance of looking ahead: "We have a future together, and that future is called Europe." 

Read the full recap here 

Commissioners highlight priorities ahead of EP2024 

European Commission Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager and Vice-President Věra Jourová shared their perspectives on the liberal footprints in the von der Leyen Commission and discussed the remaining priorities during this final year before the European elections as well as how to better engage with citizens. 

Commissioner Margrethe Vestager on the importance of the rule of law: "Rule of law is not just something that you sign. It is a living foundation of everything we do. That is a very strong liberal footprint."  

Commissioner Věra Jourová on the importance of communicating with citizens: "We should be able to sell better what the EU is doing. We need to make sure the product is relevant, it solves something for the people and that people understand it." 

Read the full recap here 

Swedish leaders share the country’s vision for future 

Swedish member party leaders Muharrem Demirok (Centerpartiet) and Johan Pehrson (Liberalerna) shared Sweden’s prospective towards 2024. 

Muharrem Demirok on the importance of cooperation between the EU and NATO: “We need to rely on a strong European Union, on a strong solidarity between us, and build it together with NATO, to safeguard our borders, to make sure that peace and prosperity grow all over the continent.” 

Johan Pehrson on Europe's road to a greener future: “We walk the talk. We will be able to do our share. And if we don’t take the leadership in Europe, who should take the leadership in the world then?” 

Delegates elect new bureau members 

During the Congress, the delegates elected three Vice-Presidents and one Treasurer to the ALDE Party Bureau. The new members of the bureau are: 
 
Malik Azmani (VVD, The Netherlands)  
Dan Barna (USR, Romania)   
Eva Kjer Hansen (Venstre, Denmark) 
David Burke (Fianna Fáil, Ireland)  

Click here for the full composition of the ALDE Party Bureau 

Liberals tackle the green transition and security issues 

Two high-level panels with a focus on Europe’s security in wartime and the liberal green deal took place during the congress.  

Olga Stefanishyna, Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine on the lessons learned from the war: "We managed to learn the new lessons of how to stay more resilient, how to stay more confident, how to realise the very fact that our values are something we need to fight for. Not only to cherish, not only to respect but also to fight for." 

Kajsa Ollongren, Minister of Defence (D66, the Netherlands) on the future of European security: "This momentum is important. It is important for Europe because we haven't talked for a long time about European defence and about our own security and our own safety. And for a long time we relied on the United States and NATO for that." 

Romina Pormoukhtari, Minister of Climate and Environment (Liberalerna, Sweden) on the urgency of the climate crisis: "We call it a climate crisis, and it is a crisis. But that word can't paralyse us. Instead, it must lead us to urgently act. [...] But when people talk about the climate, they talk about the future. They talk about it as if it's something happening somewhere else in another time. [...] But climate crisis is now." 

Jack Chambers, Minister of State Transport, Environment, Climate and Communications (Fianna Fáil, Ireland) on the possible opportunities provided by climate change: "Europe is on fire. We're seeing that through extreme weather events and across a whole range of policy areas. What we are keen to do from the Irish perspective is trying to seize the positive opportunity to build a new economy around taking the appropriate action on climate change." 

Full recap on panel on Europe’s security 
Full recap on panel on the liberal green deal 

New member parties join during Council meeting 

During the ALDE Party Council meeting, two new full member parties were welcomed to the ALDE Party family: Fokus from Croatia and Coaliția pentru Unitate și Bunăstare from Moldova.  

A full recap of the Council meeting is available on our website 

Several resolutions adopted during Congress meeting

During the last day's Congress meeting, several resolutions were adopted. All adopted resolutions will be available on our website.

You can find photos from the event on our Flickr account 
Recordings of some of the sessions are available on our Youtube channel 

For more information, get in touch with Iiris André, ALDE Party Head of Communications & Press at [email protected]