The European Union must respond to the concerns of its citizens, who feel threatened economically, socially and in terms of security, said the Latvian Prime Minister, Krišjānis Kariņš, who often cited the Russian threat, on Wednesday 17 April in Strasbourg during a debate on the future of the EU in the European Parliament.
For Mr. Kariņš, successive banking, public debt and migration crises have caused citizens to "lose faith" in the European project, turning in an "understandable" way to populists. "There is no point in fighting populists”, he said, adding that it is better to tackle the causes of their concern: jobs, the European "way of life" in the face of the influx of migrants, environmental issues, and finally, safety and security.
Regarding jobs, Mr. Kariņš said that obstacles must be removed in the internal market, particularly in the "digital sphere like in the services sphere". The internal market must also be protected from unfair competition from third countries such as China and erratic behaviour by the United States. For the Latvian Prime Minister, contrary to the Franco-German concept (see EUROPE 12220/3), there is no need to "artificially" create European industrial champions, because they can emerge through free competition.
A liberal response would also be the most appropriate to address environmental issues, according to the former MEP from the EPP group. But how? Fully opening the market to competition would allow the "price signal" to vary much more strongly between off-peak and peak hours, forcing citizens to adapt their behaviour.
“Europe’s healthiest and most resilient banking system”
Two points were particularly highlighted during Mr Kariņš's speech: the fight against money laundering and the fight against disinformation, an important issue a few weeks before the European elections.
Co-rapporteur on several financial legislative dossiers (see EUROPE 11905/22), the Latvian considered that the main challenges facing the Banking Union were the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing.
Russia is a major provider of illegal funds, he said. Criminal funds are said to move from one EU country to another thanks to certain loopholes in the European banking system. Mr Kariņš acknowledged that his country had deficiencies that he intends to address quickly.
“I am cleaning up my house, we are going to have the cleanest and the most resilient bank system in Europe”, he promised, referring to the money laundering scandal involving the Latvian branch of the Danish bank Danske Bank (see other news). For the Prime Minister, all Member States must "clean up their house", calling for he establishment of centralised European supervision in the fight against money laundering.
The revision of the European financial architecture has given the European Banking Authority a leading role in this fight, without paving the way for a European entity with specific competences (see EUROPE 12219/6).
On the fight against disinformation, the Latvian Prime Minister pointed to Russia as one of the first active sources of disinformation in the EU as part of a strategy to "make their enemies weaker”. In his opinion, social networks must be held accountable. "It is a slippery slope, I admit, because it is a fine line between looking for responsibility and introducing censorship", he acknowledged.
As for the migration issue, Mr Kariņš does not have a "simple answer". For him, there will be a call to increase migratory pressure in light of the emergence of autocracies at the gates of the EU. The only viable response is the integration of new arrivals and the reduction of flows by acting upstream, outside European borders, with the help of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (ex Frontex).
During the debate, some MEPs sought to make the Prime Minister face his contradictions. Latvia is reluctant to welcome migrants, said Greens/EFA Group Co-President Philippe Lamberts of Belgium. S&D Group Chairman Udo Bullmann of Germany questioned Mr Kariņš about the position of the ‘Christian Democrat family’ on the actions of his Hungarian counterpart, Viktor Orbán. These are all questions that remain unanswered. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)