From difficult and sad moments to celebrations and successes, the European liberal family experienced it all in 2021. But despite challenges, liberals have kept moving forward, stronger than ever.

Below we have recapped just some of this year’s key moments for the ALDE Party – make sure you follow us on social media and subscribe to our weekly newsletter to stay updated throughout 2022!

OUR YEAR IN REVIEW

January:

In January, we welcomed the new year by sharing some of our 2021 priorities. We also continued to fight for justice, calling for the release of Alexei Navalny, and welcomed the new chapter in EU-US relations with the inauguration of US President Joe Biden.

February:

With the COVID-19 pandemic continuing its spread across the globe, in February we tackled disinformation around vaccines by posing your questions on COVID-19 vaccines to some of our liberal leaders. We also celebrated a key milestone of the ALDE Party Individual Membership programme: 10 full years since the creation of the programme.

March:

In March, we reached another important milestone and celebrated the 45^th anniversary since our founding in 1976.

Moreover, the liberal fight for empowering women in Europe to lead and succeed took a big step forward with the launch of the Alliance Of Her programme on International Women’s Day.

ALDE Party members VVD and D66 became the two biggest parties in the Dutch parliamentary elections achieving a historic result. Find out more here

April:

April was marked by profound sadness when our President Hans van Baalen passed away following a short illness. A passionate and committed liberal, Hans served his country and global liberalism through a distinguished political career which spanned over decades and continents. Liberals across the world remembered Hans, thanking him for his dedication to the liberal cause and his tireless drive for democracy.

May:

In May, we looked forward to the future of Europe and launched our own website section dedicated to the Conference on the Future of Europe. Through this digital hub, we have provided citizens across Europe the opportunity to make their voices heard, and have shared our liberal vision for Europe’s future.

June:

The first ever virtual ALDE Party Congress took place in June, bringing together liberal leaders, European Commissioners, party leaders, decision-makers and other guests. Here, we adopted a range of new resolutions on topical issues which are available here under different categories.

We also launched an important call to stop the attack on LGBTIQ+ rights in Hungary, with over 6,000 supporters signing our petition. Our past petitions have helped the EU be declared a LGBTQI+ freedom zone, adopt severe EU sanctions against Belarus and stop the outlawing of abortions in Poland, and you can except us to continue the fight for a more just and free Europe also next year!

September:

Kicking off the autumn season, we hosted our 1^st Hans van Baalen town hall meeting to discuss the future of Europe and hear from citizens in September. Held in Sarajevo, this meeting focused on the role of the Western Balkans for Europe’s future. In addition, we spearheaded a petition to save media freedom in Poland and defend free speech – and it was a victory!

German liberals became the fourth biggest party at the Federal elections making them kingmaker in the coalition formation.

October:

In October, we took our town hall series to Madrid, where liberal leaders from our member Ciudadanos spearheaded an engaging discussion with citizens on our sustainable future and European Democracy.

November:

The month of November kicked off with a strong liberal presence at the United Nations Climate Change Conference COP26. Later in the month, we brought together liberal women for the inaugural Alliance Of Her Alumnae Summit.

December:

2021 concluded with our ALDE Party Council meeting, which took place in Rome, Italy and online. During the Council, liberals were able to connect and engage, and even take part in our 3^rd Hans van Baalen town hall meeting, hosted in partnership with ALDE Party member Più Europa.

2021 was a busy year for Europe’s liberals – we look forward to what 2022 will bring!

Please note that the listing above is by no means exhaustive: all our member parties have been working hard, winning seats in important elections, entering governments, starting initiatives at local, regional and national levels and promoting liberal values and priorities across Europe. You can find all our member parties listed on our website and follow them on social media with the help of our dedicated Twitter list.