• 2022-08-26

About EU integrations, regional collaboration and the fighting the ‘captured state’

‘Recover, Restart, Retool 2022’ (Korčula School Think Tank)

Nataša Vučković, Secretary General, Center for Democracy Foundation, participated in a gathering on 26 August 2022 entitled ‘Recover, Restart, Retool 2022’, as part of the Korčula School Think Tank (Transforming Politics Through a Gender Lens).

Focus of the discussions was on the following: Participatory democracy; Sustainable development; EU integration, the crisis in Ukraine and regional trends; Present and future socialdemocracy; Gender equality, sexual and reproductive rights; Inclusivity and Social Justice, etc.

At the panel: Socialdemocracy - Present and Future in the Region, held within the thematic part: Politics, Ideology and Socialdemocracy in the Region, Nataša Vučković estimated that today’s issues are complex and require complex solutions and it is questionable as to how socialdemocrats will be able to respond to them.

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Economic growth has become the main narrative. Democracy and the fight against poverty are rarely mentioned, governments negotiate at the service of investors, the people see this and are expecting us socialdemocrats to respond differently.

Vučković confirms the importance of economic growth but this cannot regulate social processes alone. The concept of having general social goals cannot be abandoned, the erosion of social rights cannot be accepted, the quality of public protection and public services cannot be weakened through the privatisation of healthcare, the cost of education increased, public transport abolished, etc.

Socialdemocrats must be the bearers of the pro-European narrative, regional collaboration and the ones to fight against the captured state; to work together with our colleagues from the EU and together to reignite the passion of the people for the EU, said Nataša Vučković.

The Korčula School Think Tank gathers women and men leaders from South Eastern Europe and beyond to discuss political, economic, social and cultural aspects of gender equality, as well as women’s political leadership in the broader context of social democratic and progressive politics.

The 2022 Korčula School Think Tank is organised with the support of the Olof Palme International Center and in cooperation with PES/PES Women, the Foundation for European Progressive Studies (FEPS), SOLIDAR, FES, the European Forum for Democracy and Solidarity.

Center for Democracy Foundation