Milan, 09/07/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 9 July, the S&D Group hailed Jean-Claude Juncker's good start after they heard him on his proposed programme the previous day. Nevertheless they did not give him “a blank cheque”, stated the S&D leader, Gianni Pittella (Italy), in a press release.
“The negotiations are still far from finished”, he added. The Social Democrats found it hard to hide their satisfaction, however - especially as regards the assurance they say they received from Juncker on the next commissioner for economic and monetary affairs. “We are glad to know that the next commissioner for economic and monetary affairs will be a member of the Socialist and Democrat family. This is good news indeed. However, we also call for more clarity and detail on the so-called 'best use' of flexibility instruments set out in the Growth and Stability Pact”. The S&D Group also welcomed Juncker's ambition to make the troika more democratic and to dispense with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in the future.
A negative note was sounded on foreign policy, however, and Juncker's lack of proposals for immediate action to settle the immigration crisis. While Juncker speaks of his wish for a real common policy on immigration and thinks that the Frontex budget is too small (€80 million per year), his practical responses focused on development aid and working with third countries so that that they might develop their living conditions and eliminate any desire to leave for the EU. The S&D MEPs say that these objectives can only have an impact in the long term. (SP)