Debenelux Shared societies

Liberal cooperation across borders

An ALDE Party conference organised by D66 in cooperation with:

27 and 28 April 2013 Enschede, The Saturday 27 April 17.00 Welcome in Grolsch Veste, the stadium of football club FC Twente. Moderator: Michiel Scheffer, Vice-President of

the D66 association for political representatives and Leader of the D66 group in the Gelderland regional council

17.30 - 17.45 Opening of the conference by Jeroen Hatenboer (VVD) Alderman of Enschede and , Member of

Parliament VVD

17.45 - 18.30 Presentations of party history, identity and current politics by the participating parties

FDP: Alexander Plahr, Chair international OpenVLD: Hilde Vautmans, International Secretary

committee NRW Mouvement Réformateur: Jean-Philipp Rousseau,

VVD: Han ten Broeke, MP International Secretary (tbc)

D66: Piet Brouwer, President D66 Enschede Demokratesch Partei: Xavier Bettel (tbc)

18:30 Dinner reception, kindly offered by the city of Enschede and the ALDE Party

Sunday 28 April

9.45 – 10:00 Welcome by Mieke Damsma, Deputy-Mayor of the city of Maastricht

10:00 - 10.20 Opening of the second day of the conference by Otto Fricke, Member of the Bundestag and Treasurer of FDP

“Dutch – German relations”

10:20 – 10:30 Presentation of joint initiatives in the Overijssel – Bad Bentheim region by Marc Enschede (D66 Enschede) and

representative of FDP Bad Bentheim

10:30 – 10:45 Luc Willems, Secretary-General Benelux Unie

10:45 – 11:00 Break

11.00 – 12.30 First round of group meetings

Fringe meeting: Education and Labour Market ELF Seminar: Governing governance, developing a new paradigm

Introduction by: , Member of Parliament (D66) Introduction by: Gemma Kwantes, D66 Municipal Councilor in and former Chairman of the Spinoza community of colleges the city of Zaandam & speaker on behalf of the Mr. Hans van Commentator: Gerda Bruins, Leader of VVD in Hof van Twente Mierlo foundation (tbc) Commentator: Bart Lateur, Leader of OpenVLD in Zottegem and Moderator: Thomas Leys, President of the international working for the Liberaal Kenniscentrum federation of liberal youth (IFLRY) and former OpenVLD Councillor in the city of Leuven Moderator: David Weytsman, Mouvement Réformateur Councillor in Brussels, President Jeunes MR Brussels region (tbc) 12.30 – 13.30 Lunch

13.30 – 13.45 2013 Year of the European Citizen by , Leader of VVD

13.45 – 14:00 “The importance of liberal cooperation across borders, an European perspective” by Xavier Bettel, President of

Demokratesch Partei and Mayor of Luxemburg (tbc) or , Member of Parliament for D66

14.00 – 15.30 Second round of group meetings (coffee and tea are served in the rooms)

Fringe meeting: mobility and infrastructure Fringe meeting: Law enforcement cooperation

Introduction by: Bart Tommelein, Deputy-Mayor Oostende and Introduction by: Robert Orth, Chair of the FDP group in the member of the Flemish Parliament (OpenVLD) Dusseldorf municipal council (tbc) Commentator: Gerrit-Jan Kok, Governor Overijssel (VVD) (tbc) Commentator: representative of OpenVLD Moderator: Ivo Thonon, Member of the Utrecht provincial Moderator: representative of D66 council for D66

15.30 – 15.45 Closing speech by Bart Tommelein Deputy-Mayor Oostende and member of the Flemish Parliament (OpenVLD) (tbc)

15.45 – 16:30 Goodbye reception