The Alliance of Liberals and Democrats feels that the time has come to launch a campaign highlighting the value of civil liberties for the European Union and raising awareness about possible infringements of fundamental rights such as the freedom of speech, the right to privacy or the right to transparent law-making. Especially the value of human rights should be highlighted within this context - having in mind the role of Member States within the CIA renditions.

Liberals and Democrats want to alert, inform and raise awareness in societies that civil liberties are not at the disposal of states. Once citizens notice the loss of their liberty it will already be too late to act, seeing as freedoms are far more difficult to gain and easily lost.

Liberals and Democrats know of the necessity to protect our societies from the dangers of international terrorism. At the same time, we have always advocated and made it a leitmotiv of our politics that the fight against terrorism must never destroy the greatest achievement of modern civilisation: the freedom of our open society.

All measures to encroach on our freedoms are currently justified with the argument that they promote citizens' security. Liberals and Democrats doubt this is fully justified and during the seminar the following questions could be raised:

- How can citizens protect their personal data against possible mistreatment by the state or malpractice?

- Do we actually gain more security through the measures taken by governments?

- How much do government measures respect human rights and what do governments do to protect human rights?

- How can the rights of those be protected who seek asylum and help in the European Union?


To register please contact latifa.afafe(at)europarl.europa.eu