ALDE Reelects Lucia Plavakova of PS As its Vice-president in Vienna

Vienna/Bratislava, 4 July (TASR) – The Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) elected its new leadership on Saturday at the conclusion of its two-day congress in Vienna, with Lucia Plavakova, a Slovak MP for Progressive Slovakia (PS) and chair of the Slovak parliament's Committee for Human Rights and National Minorities, re-elected as one of ALDE's nine vice-presidents for a further two-year term, PS media director Alena Kuisova told TASR. "I appreciate the renewed confidence of our partner liberal parties. I am also pleased that Progressive Slovakia has a strong position within our European political family, which I will seek to use over the next two years as ALDE vice-president to strengthen relations with our partners across Europe so that together we can build a prosperous, secure, supportive and humane Europe based on the democratic values of equality and dignity for all," Plavakova declared shortly after her election. The ALDE congress was held at Vienna's Hofburg Palace to mark the party's 50th anniversary. According to the ALDE Party website, delegates confirmed German MEP Svenja Hahn as party president. Hahn, who was the sole candidate for the post, secured a second mandate after first being elected in 2024. "People sometimes ask me whether liberal ideas are still needed today, or whether liberal solutions still work in today's world. There is only one answer: yes, they do. Wherever liberals govern, things move forward and change for the better," Hahn said in her address to the congress. She highlighted Estonia's digital transformation, Ireland's open economy and Ukraine's technological innovation as examples of successful liberal policies. According to Hahn, liberal parties are currently part of 18 governments across Europe, including 12 in European Union member states. "We are the only political force in Europe that does not fall into the nationalists' trap and that guarantees a free, prosperous and peaceful Europe," Meinl-Reisinger said at the closing press conference. Delegates also adopted a series of resolutions covering energy security, the European budget, technological sovereignty, and support for Ukraine and its path towards EU membership. ALDE was founded in 1976 under the name Federation of Liberal and Democratic Parties in Europe. As of January 2026, the party had 55 full members and ten associate member parties from both EU and non-EU countries. In the European Parliament, politicians affiliated with ALDE sit in the centrist-liberal Renew Europe group, which holds 77 seats. mf