Ahead of the upcoming 2024 European elections, the ALDE Party Council has approved a proposal for a lead candidate selection procedure. This consultative procedure will culminate in a formal election of the lead candidate at the ALDE Party’s extraordinary congress, which will take place in March 2024. 

During the ALDE Party Council meeting, which took place in Bucharest on 20-21 October, the delegates also welcomed two new full member parties from Italy to the ALDE Party family:  

Azione, led by Carlo Calenda, current member of the Italian Senate and a former Minister of Economic Development and MEP. Azione was founded in 2019 and vows to promote the values of liberal democracy, free market economy and social solidarity. 

"As of today, we are officially a member of ALDE Party, together with +Europa and the European Liberal Democrats. We are very pleased about that," said Azione leader Carlo Calenda. 

Liberali Democratici Europei (LDE), founded in 2023 by Giuseppe Benedetto, Alessandro De Nicola, Oscar Giannino and Sandro Gozi, and led by Andrea Marcucci and Piero Cecchinato, aims to offer a credible alternative to the destabilising forces of populism, and advocates for a European vision that's liberal, progressive, and committed to ecological sustainability. 

The Council also confirmed the decision of the ALDE Party Bureau to appoint the new ALDE Party Secretary General. The Brussels-based secretariat will be led by Didrik de Schaetzen, who held the role on an ad interim basis from May to October 2023. With over 10 years of experience working for the party, under the leadership of Mr. de Schaetzen, the ALDE Party secretariat will be ready to run in the upcoming European elections. 

“The role of ALDE Party Secretary General is to unite and foster cooperation between our members to bring positive change across the continent. I look forward to working with our members and other key stakeholders in the run up to the next European elections and beyond. We have a lot of work to do ahead of 2024, but Europe’s liberals are ready and united.” 

Several resolutions were also adopted during the Council meeting, including on removing the veto on Bulgaria's and Romania’s accession to the Schengen Area as well as on Hamas attacks and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. All adopted resolutions will become available soon on our website. 

For photos from the ALDE Party Council, visit our Flickr. You are free to use the photos with (c) ALDE Party.

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