Brussels, 22/04/2014 (Agence Europe) - At an event in Paris on Thursday 17 April, Martin Schulz launched the election campaign of the European Socialist Party, PES, for the European elections on 25 May, with a speech promising much, not all of which appears doable.
The European social democrats' candidate to become the next president of the European Commission used the terms of François Hollande in the battle against Nicolas Sarkozy for French president in 2012, “moi président.” He said he wanted to be the first elected president of the European Commission (in fact the majority obtained by a political party at the EP will be decisive for the future president of the Commission). Apart from becoming president, Schulz' other priorities include fighting against social and fiscal dumping. He pledged to adjust the EU directive on secondment of workers and defended the idea of a minimum European salary, saying it was possible to achieve. Schulz defended the introduction of a tax on financial transactions. In order to tackle tax evasion he recommended a simple system - the country of profit will be the country that pays the tax. Schulz said that tax havens should be closed down, both within and outside Europe.
The main message of the socialists' campaign will be the need to change tack in austerity policies. Schulz said it wasn't possible to consolidate a budget without economic growth. He said he was in discussion with France over the Maastricht criteria, but at present, the 3% cut-off point for the public deficit and 60% for public deficit had to remain.
Schulz said he wanted to see an end to the pay gap between men and women and for a charter of digital rights to be introduced to protect personal privacy.
Schulz concluded by saying that the populists are able to make use of the frustration and legitimate anger of the French people, but they have nothing to offer. Their proposals are simply empty phrases because they won't change Europe. He said the real programme for change was in the hands of the social democrats and it was time to vote socialist. (LC)