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A JUST RUSSIA party took part in the Congress of the Party of European Socialists 03 марта 2014 February 28 to March 01 a delegation of party A JUST RUSSIA headed by Sergei Mironov, Chairman of the party and the leader of its Duma faction took part in the Electoral Congress of the Party of European Socialists (PES) in Rome. Natalia Velikaya, a member of the Central Council Presidium of the party and Roman Bernatsky, the International Department Head were also among the delegation members who visited the Italian Republic. In compliance with the common practice, PES Women (the leader – Zita Gurmai, , the Socialist Party of Hungary) held their annual conference The conference conducted a statutory meeting and discussed the issues of gender discrimination. The main topic of the PES Congress was election of Martin Schulz, the current Chairman of the European Parliament (the Social Democratic Party of Germany) as the common candidate for the head of the European Commission (the European Union’s top executive body). In addition, there was a full-scale discussion of the party manifesto for the elections to the European Parliament on May 22-25, 2014. In his opening speech to the Congress, Sergey Stanishev, PES Chairman said: "We think time has come for the Europe where solidarity, economic growth and jobs will be key priorities. We will be able to accept current challenges and regain trust of the citizens only being strong and united at the 2014 European elections." "The conservatives and the liberals brought to deadlock not only the governance of Europe but also crisis-fighting. It is well-known for every person who is unemployed, for every woman who is deprived of her rights and for every young man whose future is at stake. We must do our best to provide as high voting turnout as possible. With Martin Schultz as a common candidate and our Manifesto, we will obtain success at the European election," said Mr. Stanishev. Martin Schultz was elected by the majority of votes, 91 % of the congress delegates voted for his candidacy for the common candidate post of the party of European Socialists. After his election Mr. Schultz addressed the audience with a speech. He said:" I want to be the first Chairman of the Commission elected not in the result of a secret deal reached in the Brussels office but by a democratic election. There is only one deal that may be reached, that’s the deal with the European electors. If someone is going to vote for the first time or feels some doubt because the left have been losing firm ground during the recent years, please, remember that we need your help to move towards new Europe". Martin Schultz also concentrated on the priorities of his policy as the European Commission Chairman. "As the European Commission Head, my first priority will be creation of jobs, especially good ones. During the next five years, we must be able to answer a simple question that may arise in connection with any action we launch in the EU – how it may help job creation. I want us to have an opportunity to say In five years’ time that we have transformed Europe into a perfect place for doing business because new ‘clever’ products have been developed at the European laboratories, manufactured at the European plants by the European workers and shipped at the European ports for the whole world," declared the politician. Martin Schultz touched on the values of the socialist democracy and the necessity to provide equal opportunities for all Europeans. "I want us to be able to say in five years’ time that we have overcome the wage gap between men and women, that the number of women occupying higher positions has increased and our daughters have the same opportunities as our sons." The elections to the European Parliament are to take place in 28 EU member-countries, May 22-25. There will be elected not only 751 deputies of the European Parliament but also the European Commission Chairman who will be elected by the majority of the Eurodeputies and on the suggestion of the European Council. That is why the party of European Socialists is going to seek for getting the majority at the European Parliament to elect Martin Schultz as the next Chairman of the European Commission. A special significance was attached to the PES Electoral Congress by participation of the leaders of the center-left parties of Europe, some of the key figures (including some members of the coalition governments) and the top-ranking guests: Sergei Stanishev, PES Chairman; Sigmar Gabriel, Vice Chancellor of Germany, Federal Minister of Economics and Energy who chaired the Social Democratic party of Germany; Jean-Mark Ayrault, Prime Minister of France (the Socialist Party of France); Matteo Renzi, Prime Minister of Italy, National Secretary of the Democratic Party; Harlem Desir, the First Secretary of the French Socialist Party; Stephen Levin, Chairman of the Socialist Democratic Party of Sweden; the chairmen of the socialist and democratic parties of Austria, Hungary, Belgium, Moldova and other countries. Sergei Mironov, the head of the A JUST RUSSIA delegation held discussions and exchanged views on the topical international political issues with Martin Schultz, Sergei Stanishev, PES Secretary-General Achim Post, SocIntern Vice-President and the leader of the Democratic Party of Moldova Marian Lupu and Justas Paleckis, a member of the European Parliament from the Social Democratic Party of Lithuania. After the Congress was finished, Mr. Mironov gave an interview to an ITAR-TASS correspondent in Rome which also contained some comments he made on the latest events in Ukraine. During his visit to Italy, Mr. Mironov had a working meeting with Sergei Razov, the RF Ambassador to Italy.
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