Martin Schulz, President of the Socialist Group
Should there be a “European tax” to boost the EU’s own resources?
The idea is good one but I don’t think it’s realistic in the medium term. The advantage would be that the EU would have a clear and predictable source of income and we would be spared the arguments over the financial perspective. There would also be a bit more democracy because the Union would have to justify its policies on spending and income to voters.
At the moment, we only have to justify spending policy and we have no influence on income policy. In a democratic parliamentary system I don’t think that’s right. It would also make more transparent how much each citizen actually pays for the EU. I think at the moment each German citizen pays just under €10 a month for the EU. If citizens could see how much they pay for the EU, compared to taxes for national governments, then the debate about the EU would be over very quickly.
With individual EU member states increasingly anxious about energy security, what course should EU energy policy be taking?
There are three points that need to be addressed. First, security of energy supply requires us to have a co-ordinated energy policy. Member states should agree common lines when formulating their energy policy strategies, so far as that is possible. Second, global energy companies have to be competitive. That means that the energy market in Europe should be opened so European energy companies that want to merge can do so to become more globally competitive. That links up to the first point. The more competitive the EU’s own energy sector is, the greater our security of supply. Third, we need to reduce energy consumption. We cannot let energy dependence increase further by not saving energy.
Islam: Is Europe at risk of a clash of civilisations?
Absolutely not. Europe is strong enough to allow people with different ways of life, different religions and different cultures to live together in an ordered society, provided everyone agrees to abide by basic rules. The basic rules are respect for other people’s cultures. I can see the risk of a clash, but there’s an increasingly large proportion of people who don’t want that. I find the idea of a dominant culture fraught with risk, because instead of operating under the principle of respecting others’ cultures I think it’s possible that radicals could win more influence, and that would put at risk our European culture of respecting other cultures.
Should democratisation of the Balkans, or in Turkey, be subordinated to the concerns of the European public, however legitimate they may be?
First, the democratic and civil development of Turkey is an important contribution to cultural understanding in Europe and its neighbourhood. An Islamic country that could anchor Europe’s democratic values would be an enormous advance. It shows that our democratic values do not exclude Islamic ones. Second, there are thousands of European soldiers stationed in the Balkans to guarantee peace. That shows that the process of democratisation in the Balkans is a fundamental interest of the EU.
Is there a lack of leadership that the European Parliament needs to overcome?
I find that difficult to judge, because I’m a member of the most influential group in the Parliament.
What is the key to reconciling European citizens to the EU?
The Social Democratic vision is that Europe must guarantee that Europe’s “recipe for success” in the second half of the 20th century is maintained in the 21st. That means combining economic and technological progress with more social security. There are ideologies that are in favour of less social security to obtain more economic progress; that is the neo-liberal philosophy. The Social Democratic vision is that economic and technological advances should serve the cause of greater social stability.
Who has won the debate on the Bolkestein Directive?
The Social Democratic group. I think that throughout the debate my group took the lead in developing thinking on this question. Thanks to the high level of unity in the group we managed to get minorities from other groups to join us. That way we managed to form a majority in the Parliament which turned the Bolkestein Directive into a more socially responsible services directive. I believe that we Socialists played a decisive role in this.
Considering the inevitable economic changes we are facing, how do you see the European social model evolving in the next decade?
We have to face up to world-wide challenges. Europe is no longer automatically the leading industrial and technological continent in the world. China and India, south-east Asia and the US aren’t sleeping on the job. Europe must survive in this inter-continental competition. That’s why we need flexibility and competitiveness. But to maintain our social model we need to ensure that this does not only benefit shareholders but social welfare altogether.
Does the EP have the power to change economic policymaking in Europe?
Because of the importance of the internal market to the economic success of Europe, Parliament has a key position as the main legislator. As the importance of the internal market grows, so too does the power of the Parliament.
Martin Schulz was interviewed for Europe’s World by European Voice journalist Simon Taylor. This section is supported by the Socialist Group (http://www.socialistgroup.org)