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Page 2 Table of contents Congress theme 001 Responsible and smart spending for sustainable growth & jobs ALDE Party Bureau European Democracy 002 On the Outcomes of the Conference on the Future of Europe European Liberal Youth - LYMEC 003 Promoting European public opinion and specific policy reforms for a successful Conference on the future of Europe Partido de la Ciudadanía | Spain ; Più Europa | Italy 004 A unique EU supranational citizenship Più Europa | Italy 005 Towards a true European party of citizens ALDE Individual Members EU Single Market and Economics 006 Open Hearts, Open Minds and Open Borders – The Core of the European Idea Freie Demokratische Partei (FDP) | Germany; D66 | Netherlands; VVD | Netherlands 007 Spending reviews as a path towards prioritizing durability Open Vlaamse Liberalen en Democraten (VLD) | Belgium; Mouvement Reformateur (MR) | Belgium Fundamental Freedoms and Rights 008 Religions and LGBTI Rights: A Liberal Perspective Più Europa | Italy; Mouvement Radical | France, Centar | Croatia, VVD | Netherlands, Liberalerna | Sweden; Freie Demokratische Partei (FDP) | Germany 009 Towards a more inclusive society: the role of Liberal Mayors in the eradication of LGBTIQ+ phobia Renew Europe (Committee of the Regions) 010 Strengthening the AI regulation proposal “A European Approach to Artificial Intelligence” by the European Commission to prevent surveillance and discrimination Det Radikale Venstre | Denmark 011 Levelling the Playing Field: Women’s Rights in Modern Liberal Europe European Liberal Youth - LYMEC 012 Expanding the EU Magnitsky Act Centerpartiet | Sweden 013 Restoring fundamental rights and freedoms in light of the pandemic Centerpartiet | Sweden Foreign Affairs 014 Corelation Between Enlargement of the European Union to the Western Balkans and Strengthening Europe’s Geopolitical Position Nasa Stranka | Bosnia and Herzegovina; LDP | North Macedonia; SAB | Slovenia 015 Creation of a Common European Army Più Europa | Italy Culture, Education, Health and Research Page 3 016 Freedom of bio-medicine research and its safe applications Più Europa | Italy 017 Strengthening the EU health system Freie Demokratische Partei (FDP) | Germany 018 Greater EU coordinating role for tackling healthcare emergencies Più Europa | Italy Agriculture, Environment and Energy 019 Climate Change - Expand ETS: include all emissions, reach net zero, and use market forces. ALDE Individual Members 020 Freedom of movement and sustainable mobility ALDE Individual Members 021 Innovation in sustainable agriculture: European Union needs CRISPR and cultured meat Più Europa | Italy 022 Offshore Wind Det Radikale Venstre | Denmark Page 4 Draft resolution 001 Title: Responsible and smart spending for sustainable growth & jobs Author: ALDE Party Bureau 1 Countries across Europe and the world have spent unprecedented levels on 2 fiscal stimulus to support the economy and protect jobs. Whilst further 3 acceleration of the vaccine rollout remains critical to re-start the economy and 4 boost jobs, government spending continues to have an important role to play. 5 As vaccination rates are picking up and our societies are re-opening, 6 government’s fiscal response must shift from rescue to recovery. 7 Prioritise job creation in the local communities 8 We, the member parties of the ALDE Party, believe that national and EU 9 recovery funds need to be prioritised and spent on projects that deliver jobs, 10 locally, in the immediate term, whilst contributing to the green and digital 11 transition and building a more resilient economy. 12 EU recovery funds should not be used to displace existing national funding or 13 plug holes in national budgets but provide an extraordinary, additional level of 14 funding to be spent on top of existing national budgets to kickstart the economy. 15 16 Foster the green and digital transitions 17 The ALDE Party fully supports the RRF spending targets of at least 37% and 18 20% for green and digital and encourage countries to increase these targets. If 19 done right, these projects will be win-win and deliver on jobs and the 20 green/digital transitions simultaneously. Such projects will also be important 21 contributors to support the economic development of rural areas. 22 Low carbon stimulus projects, i.e., infrastructure and construction investments, 23 should be central in national recovery plans as they create local jobs in the 24 immediate term and simultaneously are needed for the green and digital 25 transitions. Projects should be aligned with national climate and energy as well 26 as digital plans. E.g., energy efficient building renovations, creation of affordable 27 housing, road infrastructure works to accelerate e-mobility and automatic driving, 28 rail upgrades, renewable energy plants, 5G and gigabit broadband, investing in 29 new and emerging technologies such as AI etc. 30 We need the Digital Services Act and Digital Markets Act to update our rules 31 governing digital services and create a more level-playing field online. 32 Investments to heal socioeconomic divisions Page 5 33 The economic impact of the health crisis has exacerbated social divisions 34 demonstrated for instance by the increase in individuals and families turning to 35 food banks and relying on subsidies to pay rent. Loss of income and 36 unemployment have simultaneously hit those with lower income jobs and jobs in 37 the hardest hit sectors, including younger people, and small business owners 38 who have not just lost their jobs but their lifework. 39 The first step to heal this division is by restarting the economy to generate jobs 40 but investments are also needed to provide equal opportunities for everyone to 41 actively participate in the future digital and low carbon economy. The ALDE 42 Party therefore remains committed to remove barriers and boost investment in 43 education, skills, and vocational training, in STEM and digital skills as essential 44 to safeguard well-paid jobs for European citizens and help the youth find 45 opportunities and security in the European labour market. 46 We also need to ensure that cities and regions have the means to invest in the green 47 and digital infrastructure. After nearly a decade of austerity, their share of spending rose 48 during the pandemic while their revenues shrunk significantly. Governments should 49 therefore provide adequate financing and balance the subnational governments' 50 responsibilities with their ability to generate revenues and borrow sustainably. 51 No rule of law, no EU money 52 The ALDE Party’s lawmakers have been instrumental in creating the new tool to 53 make the EU recovery funds conditional on the respect for rule of law on all 54 levels of government. We urge the Commission to fully use this tool. 55 Structural reforms to return to balanced budgets 56 The ALDE Party continues to stand for responsible economic policy and 57 balanced budgets which means a return to the Growth & Stability Pact and 58 phasing out of quantitative easing in due course. Whilst we need to spend now 59 to get out of the crisis and create jobs, the current historically low borrowing 60 costs are not permanent and are already showing signs of change. Once our 61 economies have returned to growth and our citizens are back in jobs, we will 62 need to consolidate to make sure we have a cushion for future crises. 63 The economic stimulus therefore must be complemented by structural reforms in 64 line with the European semester and country-specific recommendations to 65 future-proof our public finances and make our economy more innovative and 66 dynamic to foster SMEs and entrepreneurship. Funds such as those from NGEU 67 shall only be disbursed if and when the country specific recommendations have 68 been satisfactorily implemented. In this regard, Liberals remain fully committed to 69 research and development and increasing spending on R&D to reach 3% of 70 GDP as well as curtailing red tape. 71 We also continue to stand for competition and the market economy, preventing 72 and tackling monopolies of any kind. We have had to take unprecedented 73 decisions to relax our state aid rules temporarily to face the pandemic. As we Page 6 74 return to growth, we must return to embracing the dynamics of competition. We 75 want European champions - because they are the best at what they do. 76 Europe’s prosperity remains dependent on open, global Europe & the 77 Transatlantic partnership 78 More, not less, free trade and diversifying supply chains will be key to help 79 Europe to recover from the financial crisis and to improve its resilience when 80 faced with future crises. Today, EU trade supports 35 million jobs and 16 million 81 jobs depend on foreign investment. Liberals will therefore continue to be staunch 82 supporters of free trade as a prerequisite for Europe’s future growth and 83 prosperity. 84 However, free trade does not and never has meant trade with no conditions. EU 85 values and geopolitical interests, and most importantly the respect for human 86 rights, will always remain at the core of any of our relations with third countries.