2022 has been another intense year for Europe’s liberals. As we began to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, we woke up to the drums of war sounding in Europe. But once again, liberals have risen to the challenges. During the past year we have:

Supported Ukraine against Putin’s invasion from Day One

During the first week of Putin’s unjustified and unprovoked attack on Ukraine, liberals launched a petition to stop the war, called for sanctions against individuals and entities responsible for the invasion and granted Ukraine’s governing party, Sluga Narodu (Servant of the People), temporary affiliate status at an extraordinary ALDE Party Leaders’ Meeting.

Throughout the year, liberals continued supporting Ukraine. The ALDE Party Bureau met online with Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Olha Stefanishyna,  ALDE Party leaders held a Summit in Brussels and called for tougher sanctions on the Russian leadership and further humanitarian and military aid for the invaded country, and the ALDE Party Secretariat formed a team to take part on a month-long virtual solidarity race to assist the children of Ukraine and partnered with Promote Ukraine to collect donations for Ukrainians on the frontlines.

In addition, ALDE Party Co-Presidents Senator Timmy Dooley and Ilhan Kyuchyuk MEP travelled to Ukraine to meet with the people of Ukraine and held a series of meetings with Ukrainian government officials and members of the ALDE Party.

During the ALDE Party Congress in Dublin and Council in Bratislava, delegates approved resolutions to support granting EU Candidate Status to Ukraine, strengthen support to the invaded country, demand justice, rehabilitation and compensation for the victims of wartime sexual violence, and start using seized Russian assets for the reconstruction of Ukraine. You can find the resolutions here.

Stay up to date on what ALDE Party is doing to help Ukraine here

Elected new leadership

During the ALDE Party Congress in Dublin, Senator Timmy Dooley and Ilhan Kyuchyuk MEP were elected Co-Presidents of the Party in addition to 5 Vice-Presidents: Dániel Berg, Baroness Sal Brinton, Svenja Hahn MEP, Kira Rudik MP and Annelou van Egmond.

Welcomed new members

In 2022, ALDE Party welcomed several new full member parties: Lelo 2020 (Georgia), Partia Demokratike e Kosove (Kosovo), Pokret Slobodnih Građana (Serbia), and Sluga Narodu (Ukraine), the party founded by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Our members Centar (Croatia) and Iniciativa Liberal (Portugal) also transitioned from affiliate to full membership of ALDE Party.

We also welcomed two new affiliate members: Acció per Andorra (Andorra) and Girchi – More Freedom (Georgia). 

Started work towards the 2024 European Elections

In September, ALDE Party kick-started the work towards the European Elections in 2024 with the formation of the Manifesto Drafting Committee. The first virtual meeting of the Committee took place in October, followed by a questionnaire to identify member parties’ key priorities for the drafting process. In December, during the ALDE Party Council in Bratislava, the Committee met to discuss the results of the questionnaire and decide on themes for the Manifesto. 

Just 1.5 years to go until the 2024 European 🇪🇺 elections, and liberals are getting ready!

Find out how from #ALDEParty Vice-President @svenja_hahn MEP, our Manifesto Drafting Committee Chair ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/AOPcq3A7LJ

— ALDE Party (@ALDEParty) December 7, 2022

Engaged citizens on the Conference on the Future of Europe

In 2022, ALDE Party held three Hans van Baalen town hall meetings to gather citizens’ inputs on the future of Europe while continuing to gather citizens’ views and ideas through our digital hub. Then, to close ALDE Party’s action plan on the Future of Europe, we held a final Conference in The Hague, Netherlands.

We were delighted to see that many liberal ideas were reflected in the Citizens' final recommendations on the future of Europe. ALDE Party manifested its will to turn those ideas into reality during the event “Liberals on the future of Europe – From Conference to EU reform”.

Empowered women in politics with the Alliance Of Her

In 2022, the Alliance Of Her Academy held two classes, a youth class in partnership with LYMEC and an open class for women of all ages, with 36 women graduating from the programme. The Alliance Of Her also sent its first delegation to the United Nations General Assembly in September 2022.

Fought for our freedoms

Europe’s liberals carried numerous campaigns to fight for freedom and human rights around the world through our #ALDEAct campaigns this year, covering fundamental issues such as violence against women, standing with protestors in Iran, calling for a boycott of the Olympics in China, the fight for LGBTQIA+ rights and more.  

Gathered liberal leaders to align political positions

Throughout the year, ALDE Party not only held the first in person ALDE Party Congress and Council since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, but also organised seven Pre-EU Council ministerial meetings two meetings for ALDE Party international officers.

Built a stronger network of liberals across the continent

In 2022, we increased the emphasis on building a stronger network of liberals from across the continent with regular meetings of staff to network and get to know their counterparts in the liberal family. The ALDE Party Accelerator programme and a meeting of the ALDE Party Secretary Generals were instrumental in achieving more exchange between parties.

Developed liberal policy in key areas

ALDE Party created four Bureau policy advisory groups on Climate and Sustainability, Democracy and Security, China, and Jobs, Growth and Innovation. These groups’ mission is to facilitate learning and best practice sharing between member parties and to support the Bureau in fostering shared policy development.

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.