by Keith Richmond
Claude Moraes, Labour MEP for London and what he self-deprecatingly described as “deputy leader of a reduced group” of Labour MEPs in the European Parliament, has called for a continuation of the “progressive narrative” in Europe.
Speaking at the Compass conference, during a seminar called “After the Euro election: What now for Social Europe”, chaired by the historian Tristram Hunt, Mr Moraes said: “There is a tendency to think the European Union is the problem, that it’s a neo-liberal construct, and the election results showed it was difficult for us to get through the white noise of Euro-scepticism, but it is important for us to continue to make the case for a progressive agenda in Europe.”
Sylvia-Yvonne Kaufmann, a German MEP who last month left the Left Party for the Social Democrats, argued that although the European election results were disappointing for the left, socialists had managed to achieve much in the EU – and now it was their job to defend those achievements in the European Parliament.
She said the European Citizens’ Initiative will enable people to put pressure on the Commission and added: “The struggle will not be easy – it never is – but we have to keep fighting, especially to tackle the rising gap between rich and poor.”
