Saturday, May 05, 2012

ELDR: Rene Magritte would have approved...

I'm back from my foray to the capital of Europe, laden down with good things for other people. And, before you ask, it was nice to be back in a city I know better than most.

I am better informed than I was when I set off on Thursday, in that I now know what ELDR's Financial Advisory Committee is for, and better still, that this is a committee designed for a faceless bureaucrat. How things work, how the numbers stack up, these are issues that I can cope with, and contribute too.

So, what does this newly reconstituted pillar of European liberal organisational architecture do? Our role is to look at ELDR's finances, ensuring that we adhere to the various rules, regulations and directives, exploring new means of increasing the resources available to the organisation, and examining existing arrangements. And now you understand why a faceless bureaucrat is an entirely reasonable person to represent pan-European verwaltung.

I have already 'made a contribution', initiating some research into a revised model for affiliation fees, and suggesting that the associate membership scheme might benefit from some of the experiences gleaned by Democrats Abroad. And the chocolate was very nice...

Admittedly, ten hours of travelling and an overnight stay, all for a meeting lasting less than ninety minutes, did seem a might ludicrous, maybe even surreal (well done if you now 'get' the title). However, I now know how the Scots feel about attending Federal Executive and the rest of the Party's committees. At least they don't need a passport (yet)...

We next meet in September, when we will be considering the applications for project grant funding from the various member Parties. Given that the available pot of money is €300,000, this could be interesting. Which reminds me, I really need to talk to a few people...

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