Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2012-05-09-Speech-3-027-000"
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"en.20120509.16.3-027-000"2
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"Mr President, you mentioned Europe’s changes, its challenges, but also its successes.
Thus, Europe once again faces the risk of political destruction. However, we Social Democrats, and I believe many of us, do not want a war between generations, or a war between nationals and migrants, or a war between social partners. On the contrary, we want social peace in Europe to be safeguarded and restored.
My group – and I have repeatedly made this clear – is not opposed to a policy of budgetary consolidation. What we are currently seeing in Europe, however, is an economy drive that often has the opposite effect. Key investments have been and are being neglected. The level of public investment has therefore fallen dramatically in recent years. What do the Heads of Government – and unfortunately also often the Commission – concern themselves with instead? With further budget cuts, instead of growth and investment. This policy only leads to even greater deficits.
Slowly, people are beginning to rethink. For us, however – and I will say this quite openly and honestly – it is far too tentative. We do not need lip service or sops; what we need is greater scope for public investment. We also need a new truly golden rule; that is, a rule for growth and employment that combines budgetary discipline with investments to generate growth and employment. We do not need a golden rule which, in reality, is nothing more than a stolid austerity policy and which makes false promises regarding growth and employment.
Above all – as you also mentioned, Mr President – we need jobs for young people. How can we expect young people to be enthusiastic about Europe if, at the same time, we are producing and tolerating mass unemployment in Europe? That is why the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament is calling for an employment and training guarantee for young people. Young people in Europe need to have jobs again. Only then will they be enthusiastic about Europe.
However, social Europe must include everyone who lives and works in Europe – including those who have come here from elsewhere. In particular, we need to address those who were actually born in Europe but are still considered foreigners or outsiders. Integration does not just mean integration between different countries; it also means integrating all our fellow citizens into daily life and into political decision-making processes. A crisis that threatens our social peace does not need barriers and exclusion, but rather openness and inclusion. In contrast to Geert Wilders, Marine Le Pen and the neo-fascist Chrysi Avgi party in Greece, we want to say clearly to these, our fellow residents, that the European Union is their home too, and that they, too, should feel at home here in Europe.
Ladies and gentlemen, today, our group invited some young visitors to join us in debating the future of Europe, and one person taking part expressed the opinion that the crisis was not a punishment from God, but was instead of our own making. That is why we must come out of the crisis together. This Parliament should recognise the signs of the times. We have many differences when it comes to details, but we need to fight the destructive forces in Europe together. Together, we must ensure that social peace can be restored in Europe. My group is prepared to defend and strengthen Europe. I hope that many will join us; that this Europe – of which you have spoken so positively, Mr President – is also our common Europe. For all of us.
There are also disappointments, however. The recent results of the elections in Greece were undoubtedly a bitter disappointment for us. The people of Greece are also disappointed in Europe, however. They are in despair. The elections were an expression of hopelessness and of opposition to social injustice. Europe failed to understand that as well as calling for the necessary reforms, it also needed to light a beacon of hope.
Yet there is hope:
There are already good signs of change. The French people have elected a President who represents social justice and European values. I should also like today to congratulate François Hollande on his election. I, too, think that ‘change is now!’
As Martin Wolf – no social democrat – wrote today in the
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Hollande ‘alone of European leaders has the desire and the ability to try’ to bring Europe out of the crisis.
We have to do so. Europe will only be a success if we are able to overcome this crisis. So that everyone understands this correctly, particularly those on the right – in Germany, for example – I will say that German is not the only language being spoken in Europe right now; people are also speaking French and, above all, they are speaking the language of social democracy – and not just in France, but in Romania and other countries too.
Ladies and gentlemen, Europe Day was originally supposed to make us remember the destruction of our continent by major wars and the reconstruction that was necessary. Millions of people had to die before we set about creating peace between the countries of Europe. This peace project remains inspirational even today. However, Europe has to offer more than just peace between its peoples. Particularly given the crises, we also have to defend and fortify the social peace that is currently in jeopardy. An austerity policy that mainly affects the weakest in society threatens this social peace, engenders resistance and unrest, and, as a result, the people of Europe feel insecure and do not feel confident that they are in good hands. The consequence is often support for extremist and frequently anti-European parties."@en1
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