{"id":287,"date":"2026-07-05T13:30:39","date_gmt":"2026-07-05T11:30:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vvd.nl\/groep-international\/?post_type=news&#038;p=287"},"modified":"2026-09-09T18:01:22","modified_gmt":"2026-09-09T16:01:22","slug":"alde-party-congress-2026","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.vvd.nl\/groep-international\/nieuws\/alde-party-congress-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"ALDE Party Congress 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"block content\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">The VVD took an active role at the 2026 ALDE Party Congress in Vienna, joining liberal parties from across Europe to shape the future direction of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party (ALDE).<\/p>\n<p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">The Congress and the ALDE Party&#8217;s 50th anniversary brought together political leaders, MEPs, ministers, MPs, regional representatives, and party delegates to discuss Europe&#8217;s security, economic competitiveness, democratic resilience, and the liberal response to today&#8217;s geopolitical challenges.<\/p>\n<h2>Elections to the ALDE Party Leadership<\/h2>\n<p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">One of the highlights of the Congress was the election of the new ALDE Party leadership and governing bodies. Delegates from member parties across Europe cast their votes for the Party Presidency and Bureau, reaffirming ALDE&#8217;s commitment to strong liberal cooperation ahead of the next European political cycle. The VVD delegation actively participated in these elections and congratulates those elected to serve the liberal family.<\/p>\n<h2>MP Bente Becker and MP Henrike Brandst\u00f6tter on the Fight Against Femicide<\/h2>\n<p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">VVD Member of Parliament Bente Becker together with NEOS Member of Parliament Henrike Brandst\u00f6tter, chaired by Liberal International Treasurer Lennart Salemink, held a session focusing on the fight against violence on women. With passionate remarks and personal stories from women in the audience the session showed how cooperation beyond national borders is essential to strengthen our shared fight against violence on women.<\/p>\n<h2>MEP Jeannette Baljeu Opens Discussion on Europe&#8217;s Economic Future<\/h2>\n<p>VVD MEP and European Liberal Forum Board Member Jeannette Baljeu opened an European Liberal Forum (ELF) policy session on <em>Future-proofing the EU Economy<\/em>, focusing on strengthening Europe&#8217;s competitiveness in an increasingly challenging global economy. The discussion explored completing the Single Market, boosting innovation, restoring competitiveness, and reducing strategic dependencies while maintaining an open economy. The session brought together policymakers and liberal experts to discuss how Europe can close the productivity gap and secure long-term economic prosperity.<\/p>\n<h2>Founding Secretary Florus Wijsenbeek: 50 Years Later<\/h2>\n<p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">A special moment during the Congress was the presence of former VVD MEP Florus Wijsenbeek as a distinguished guest. As the founding Secretary of the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party (ELDR), the predecessor of today&#8217;s ALDE Party, his attendance provided an important link between the party&#8217;s historic foundations and its continued development. He reflected on the evolution of European liberal cooperation over the past decades and shared his perspectives on the founding document of the ALDE Party, the Stuttgart Decleration.<\/p>\n<h2>Strengthening European Liberal Cooperation<\/h2>\n<p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">Throughout the Congress, the VVD delegation engaged with sister parties from across Europe, contributing to discussions on security, economic resilience, migration, innovation, and strengthening democratic institutions. Bilateral meetings and networking events further reinforced cooperation within the European liberal family.<\/p>\n<p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">The VVD remains committed to working closely with its liberal partners to promote freedom, democracy, the rule of law, and a prosperous Europe that is prepared to meet the challenges of the future.<\/p>\n<p>The VVD delegation thanks the ALDE Party, the Austrian hosts NEOS, and all participating member parties for a successful and inspiring 50th anniversary Congress in Vienna.<\/p>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"block gallery\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"swiper gallery--slider\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"swiper-pagination\"><\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"swiper-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"swiper-slide\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1500\" height=\"1000\" src=\"https:\/\/www.vvd.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/489\/2026\/07\/IMG_0406.jpg\" class=\"attachment-slider_image size-slider_image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"swiper-slide\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1500\" height=\"1000\" src=\"https:\/\/www.vvd.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/489\/2026\/07\/IMG_0399.jpg\" class=\"attachment-slider_image size-slider_image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"swiper-slide\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1500\" height=\"1000\" src=\"https:\/\/www.vvd.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/489\/2026\/07\/IMG_0394.jpg\" class=\"attachment-slider_image size-slider_image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"swiper-slide\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1500\" height=\"1000\" src=\"https:\/\/www.vvd.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/489\/2026\/07\/IMG_0398.jpg\" class=\"attachment-slider_image size-slider_image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"swiper-slide\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1500\" height=\"1000\" src=\"https:\/\/www.vvd.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/489\/2026\/07\/IMG_0385-2.jpg\" class=\"attachment-slider_image size-slider_image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"swiper-button-prev\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"swiper-button-next\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":248,"template":"","subject":[],"news_tag":[],"rubriek":[],"nationwide_theme":[],"local_theme":[],"location":[],"class_list":["post-287","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vvd.nl\/groep-international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/287","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vvd.nl\/groep-international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vvd.nl\/groep-international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vvd.nl\/groep-international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/248"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vvd.nl\/groep-international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=287"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"subject","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vvd.nl\/groep-international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/subject?post=287"},{"taxonomy":"news_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vvd.nl\/groep-international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news_tag?post=287"},{"taxonomy":"rubriek","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vvd.nl\/groep-international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rubriek?post=287"},{"taxonomy":"nationwide_theme","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vvd.nl\/groep-international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/nationwide_theme?post=287"},{"taxonomy":"local_theme","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vvd.nl\/groep-international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/local_theme?post=287"},{"taxonomy":"location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vvd.nl\/groep-international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/location?post=287"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}