Your voice matters: President von der Leyen recognises the 10 Progressive Actions
Dear all,
We are delighted to share some great news with you!
The 10 Progressive Actions to Defend Democracy that you jointly developed and adopted during the #ProgressivesSpeakUp School: defend democracy, defeat hate in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria in January 2026, have received an official reply from European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen!
President von der Leyen welcomed your initiative and recognised its contribution to strengthening democracy across Europe.
Read more here about ​ President von der Leyen's reply
In her reply, she highlighted that your 10 Progressive Actions reflect the European Democracy Shield's "whole-of-society" approach and acknowledged that several of your proposals are closely aligned with the European Commission's priorities, including media literacy, citizenship education, access to reliable information, and civic and youth participation.
This is an important achievement. It demonstrates that the ideas developed by progressive young local and regional elected politicians can reach the highest European institutions and contribute to the debate on the future of democracy in Europe.
Congratulations to all of you for your commitment, ideas and teamwork. Your contribution has shown that young local and regional leaders have an essential role to play in defending democratic values
One of the participants in the School, Marco Mancuso, City Councillor in Vercelli in Italy, shared the news with regional media through a press release.
We look forward to continuing this journey together with those joining us at the next School in Athens from 9 to 11 September, and with all of you through future editions and initiatives.
With socialist greetings
The PES Group Secretariat
Vanessa Paget
