Status: 10/15/2022 4:31 p.m
Chancellor Scholz has once again spoken out in favor of EU enlargement. The fact that the network continues to grow towards the east is a win for everyone. He sees a need for reform in the unanimity principle.
Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz advocates a significant expansion of the European Union with a view to its geopolitical role. “An EU with 27, 30, 36 states with then more than 500 million free and equal citizens can bring their weight to bear even more in the world,” said the SPD politician at the congress of the party family of European Social Democrats (SPE ) in Berlin.
The concerns of the smaller member states in particular should not be overlooked. “In the future too, every country must be heard with its concerns, anything else would be a betrayal of the European idea.”
The EU currently has 27 member states with a total of almost 450 million inhabitants. “I am committed to the enlargement of the EU. The fact that the EU continues to grow eastwards is a win for all of us,” emphasized Scholz. However, accession candidates such as Ukraine, Moldova, the Western Balkan states and, in the future, Georgia would also have to meet the criteria for accession.
Scholz is committed to supporting Ukraine
He again assured Ukraine and Moldova as well as other candidate countries of support on their way to the EU. Like Georgia and the countries of the Western Balkans, the two states “belong to us, to free Europe,” said the Chancellor. He recalled the prospect of accession, some of which had been promised many years ago.
These words must now finally be followed by deeds.
Scholz also pledged to support Ukraine against the Russian war of aggression. The “brutal invasion” of Russia is “an attack on the European security order”. The European community of states will not accept this. The Chancellor referred to the military support, but also to the sanctions imposed on Russia.
Chancellor wants to gradually abolish unanimity principle
However, Europe must also strengthen its own capabilities and “take more responsibility for our own security,” said Scholz. He cited the recent initiative for a common European air defense as an example.
The planned rapid reaction force and a joint EU headquarters are also necessary. “Together and with self-confidence, we must advance European defense efforts,” demanded the Chancellor.
Scholz again pushed for reforms in the EU itself in order to “make it fit” for the future. In order to avoid blockages, “in foreign and financial policy, there must be a gradual transition to majority decisions”. He is well aware “that we still have a lot of convincing to do,” admitted the Chancellor. Ultimately, however, majority decisions mean gain and “no loss of sovereignty”. Unanimity is mandatory on some issues that Member States consider sensitive.
Internal conflicts in migration policy and finance
In addition, the EU must manage to overcome old internal conflicts. Specifically, he mentioned migration policy, but also different opinions on the subject of finance. Immigration must be about “preventing illegal migration and at the same time enabling legal migration of skilled workers from abroad”.
When it came to finances, he praised the European development program to overcome the consequences of the Corona crisis as a positive example. It is just as important to keep European societies together in the current crisis. “We have to strengthen social cohesion,” demanded Scholz. This must also include a “European pact for affordable energy”.
Social Democrats set election target for the 2024 European elections
As a further task, the Chancellor named “moving ahead on the way to more gender equality” in Europe. There have not only been setbacks here due to the consequences of the corona pandemic, but gender-based violence can also be observed again in the Ukraine war.
The PES is made up of 33 European parties. Already on Friday evening, the congress had elected former Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven as its new chairman. 255 of 262 delegates voted for the 65-year-old, who replaces the Bulgarian Sergey Stanishev after eleven years. There were seven abstentions and no dissenting votes.
At the congress, Löfven, Scholz and SPD leader Lars Klingbeil stated that the election goal for the 2024 European elections was for the Social Democrats to become the strongest group in the EU Parliament again. The conservative European People’s Party is currently the strongest party in the European Parliament – ahead of the Social Democrats and Socialists.