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09 Nov, 2022

Liberals discuss solutions for the cost-of-living crisis

Representatives of ALDE Party policy advisory groups on Jobs, Growth and Innovation and Climate and Sustainability came together for a public event ‘Economic Drivers of Inflation’ to discuss solutions for the cost-of-living crisis, in particular the social impact of inflation and how to accelerate the green transition.

ALDE Party Co-President Senator Timmy Dooley and ALDE Party Vice-Presidents Dita Charanzová MEP and Henrik Bach Mortensen led the discussions held throughout the day.

ALDE Party and European Parliament Vice-President Dita Charanzová MEP, who is also the Chair of the advisory group on Jobs, Growth and Innovation, opened the event calling for a European coordinated response to the crisis.

Belgian State Secretary for Budget and Consumer Affairs, Eva De Bleeker, shared her views on the current energy crisis and stressed the need to support small businesses, the food industry and raw material processors to keep products affordable and economies resilient. She also underlined the importance of a change in the European energy mix:

“The high dependency on Russian energy is one of the key drivers of this inflation crisis. We need to put a strategy in place with more investments in our energy independency.”

Following her intervention, ALDE Party Vice-President Henrik Bach Mortensen took the stage to moderate the first panel debate on the social cost of inflation and how lawmakers can shield consumers from the direct impact of rising prices. 

The panellists brought a broad range of expertise to the table, and included Phil Bennion, Head of International Relations of the UK Liberal Democrats and Liberal International Vice President, Georgios Kyrtsos, Member of the European Parliament, Ruzanna Tarverdyan, City Councillor for the Free Democratic Party in Switzerland and Nicolas Jeanmart, Head of Personal and General Insurance of Insurance Europe. They agreed that subsidies are only a short-term solution and more European coordination is needed on fiscal and monetary policies. The speakers also highlighted the importance of continuous support to Ukraine and its people.

Senator Timmy Dooley, ALDE Party Co-President, moderated the second session focused on the short-term measures and investments needed to accelerate the green transition for a sustainable recovery and to meet Europe’s climate goals.

The speakers, Antonella Battaglini, Renewables Grid Initiative CEO, Richard Filčák, Head of Systems, Foresight and SOER in the Sustainability Transitions Programme at the European Environment Agency, Rasmus Grand Berthelsen, Director of Rasmussen Global and Mark Lynas, Research Lead at the Alliance for Science, agreed that investments in renewable energy, decreased energy consumption and data sharing must be prioritised. They also exchanged views on the role of different energies and technologies such as hydrogen and nuclear for an effective decarbonisation.

ALDE Party Vice-President Henrik Bach Mortensen closed the event stressing that governments need to address people’s needs immediately, in both theshort- and long-term.

“We need solutions that focus on the backbone of our economies: the middle class and SMEs. The middle class that is usually viewed as too  rich  from the  perspective  of   the  government, but   not rich enough to be certain about its future”, he said.

The event took place in Brussels, Belgium on 27 October and brought together experts from academia, civil society and businesses, as well as political representatives from national and European levels.

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