History : ELDR 1976 - 2008

Year 2008

30 ^th - 31 ^st October 2008

The ELDR Congress in Stockholm unanimously adopted the common manifesto for the 2009 European elections and elected Lena EK MEP (Sweden) as a vice president of ELDR and re-elected Sharon Bowles MEP (UK) and Vesna Pusic MP (Croatia) as vice presidents

The ELDR Council meeting that took place in Stockholm at the same time welcomed the Liberal Democratic Party (Serbia) and the People's Democratic Union as full members of ELDR. Existing affiliate member party, Yabloko (Russia) also became a full member.

15 ^th October 2008

ELDR prime ministers gathered for a lunch meeting prior to the European summit. The main topics of conversation were the Lisbon Treaty and the EU’s relations with Russia.

19^th June 2008

ELDR's prime ministers, commissioners, and party leaders convened in Brussels for the ELDR Leaders and Ministers meeting. The discussion focused on the economic crisis and the EU’s Energy and Climate Change Package.

11^th April 2008

The ELDR Council, convening in Tallinn, Estonia, welcomed ZARES (Slovenia); the Citizens Alliance for Democracy in Europe (France); and the recently merged Latvia’s Way/Latvia’s First Party as full members of ELDR.

6-7^th April 2008

At the invitation of Finnish Prime Minister, Matti Vanhanen, an informal summit of liberal prime ministers, ministers and commissioners took place in the Finnish town of Ruka. The main topic of conversation was ELDR’s preparations for the 2009 European elections.

13^th March 2008

ELDR Prime Ministers gathered for a lunch at the invitation of Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt. The main topic of conversation was the notion of a fifth freedom – the free movement of knowledge.

24^th January 2008

ELDR organised a conference on the future of EU-Russia relations. The conference was attended by a large number of ELDR’s member parties and interested stakeholders. The discussions focused on trade and business with Russia; civil society and political parties; and EU foreign policy with regard to Russia.