As expected (see EUROPE 13362/19), the European Socialists elected the current European Commissioner for Employment and Social Rights, Nicolas Schmit, a former MEP and formerly Luxembourg’s Minister of Labour, as the leading candidate (‘Spitzenkandidat’) of their political family in Rome on Saturday 2 March.
On this occasion, they launched their campaign for the European elections with a very clear objective: to do everything in their power to win, even if the polls predict that the European People’s Party (EPP) will remain the leading force in the European Parliament. How? By championing a new social Europe and a just environmental transition, and by confronting the EPP with its responsibilities, both on the European Green Deal and on possible alliances with far-right forces such as certain sovereignist parties from the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group.
It is no coincidence that the European socialists have chosen to meet in Rome, as the Portuguese MEP Pedro Marques explained to us (see other news), at a time when Giorgia Meloni’s party is leading in the Italian polls and the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, appears to be courting her to promote her reappointment as head of the Commission (see EUROPE 13355/4).
Freshly appointed by his peers, Nicolas Schmit explained on several occasions during this electoral congress that no alliance “will be possible with the far right”. He also explicitly mentioned the ECR family. The adopted ‘Manifesto’ also includes criticism of the EPP and takes aim at the Liberals, who have “enabled” far-right forces to enter government coalitions in some EU countries.
At this congress, which was attended by a series of European socialist leaders, including Pedro Sánchez of Spain, Mette Frederiksen of Denmark and Olaf Scholz of Germany, the Party of European Socialists (PES) set out its priorities: unwavering support for Ukraine and the need to supply the country with munitions, the need to put an end to “the human tragedy” unfolding in Gaza, but also in the West Bank, with “a call for a ceasefire and the resumption of peace talks”, as Mr Schmit said, and the duty to pursue the “Green Deal with a red heart”, i.e. by doing more to take into account the socio-economic consequences of this green transition.
The PES wants to redouble its efforts to prevent precarity and poor housing, and to promote quality jobs, particularly in the digital environment. Speaking about young people, who are struggling to enter the workforce, the current European Commissioner said he had “no taboos about the Working Time Directive”.
On the issue of job insecurity, the Socialist candidate also cited his fight for workers on digital platforms, hoping “that we will have an agreement next week” [at the meeting of employment and social affairs ministers on Monday 11 March - editor’s note] (see EUROPE 13359/6).
Earlier in the morning, Mr Sánchez had warned the EPP against “populist techniques” borrowed from the far right, and suggested that a large number of gains are now “at stake”, from gender equality to the just transition, workers’ rights and LGBTIQ+ rights.
The Socialists, for their part, are convinced that “the welfare state is a tool for equality and not an obstacle to competitiveness”, and that the ecological transition can be achieved “without abandoning people”, stressed the Spanish leader. He issued a reminder that European socialists had managed to save “millions of jobs in Europe during Covid-19”.
In a very sober speech, Olaf Scholz also reiterated the EU’s support for Ukraine, while issuing a reminder that no NATO country would be sending soldiers to Ukraine, in reference to the controversial remarks made by French President Emmanuel Macron on 26 February.
Also present for his last speech as outgoing Portuguese Prime Minister, António Costa emphasised the fight against climate change, but with the socio-economic impact in mind. He has been credited with coining the phrase “a Green Deal with a red heart”, and has also called for investment in skills and the development of a new system of European funds for European industrial policy, to create more quality jobs and enable socially just transitions.
Many MEPs also took the floor on Saturday 2 March. French MEP Raphaël Glucksmann also warned against “Putin’s allies inside the EU”, pointing out that the war against Ukraine “is also a war that targets us”. He pointed out that the PES is fighting “for the millions of platform workers who have no rights, for farmers who work 70 hours for €700 a month because of a CAP that rewards the richest, but also for women and equal pay”.
He insisted that ecology is not the enemy of farmers, that the enemy is “liberalism”.
A little earlier, his compatriot Christophe Clergeau had stressed the need to develop a new “Social Pact” of solidarity, redistribution and protection of workers’ purchasing power in the context of the green transition, in order to address the socio-economic concerns that are fuelling the vote for the extremes.
For Mr Clergeau, this will involve an in-depth reform of the energy market, with a return to guaranteed prices, particularly for very small businesses and SMEs. “We are also going to need to invest together with new own resources, such as European taxes on the richest”, so as to avoid investment disparities between Member States, he added.
We also need to reform the CAP and re-examine market mechanisms to guarantee farm incomes and combat food insecurity.
Reforming the CAP will be one of the first tasks to be undertaken after the elections, said the MEP.
Link to the PES Electoral Manifesto: https://aeur.eu/f/b41 (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)