Schmit Interview + Sánchez’s expensive re-election + Gas heating systems

Nicolas Schmit: ‘Using Covid billions for housing construction’

Commissioner, your term of office ends next year. Have you achieved what you set out to do in 2019?

This Commission has initiated a paradigm shift in social policy. If you had told me ten years ago that Europe would have a directive on minimum wages, I would not have believed it. But we have achieved it. Because Europe should not just grow closer economically. Europe must also grow closer socially. If we allow the social differences in the Union to become even greater, there will be enormous potential for conflict. This is another reason why the minimum wage directive is so important. The countries in Central and Eastern Europe have also understood this.

Has the exodus of young people from these countries stopped?

Emigration has not been stopped, but at least slowed down. Worker mobility remains a fundamental right and young people continue to leave these countries because they see few prospects for themselves there. Wages are sometimes so low that they cannot afford a decent life. This is precisely why we need this upward social adjustment to create a balance within Europe. There is also a geopolitical dimension: Without social cohesion, European societies are weaker. This is not a good prerequisite for competing with Russia or China.

Do you think that this also applies in a rich country like Germany?

We complain about a shortage of skilled workers. But at the same time, some people are completely excluded from the labor market because they have no education. And that, of course, has to do with the social divide in a society that often no longer offers opportunities for advancement. This is a major task that cannot be tackled by Brussels alone. Everyone has to think and act upon this.

No European social insurance

So why is there still no common system for the labor market and social security in the EU?

We will not have uniform European social insurance in the future either. We cannot enforce that at all. But we need insurance systems that can interlock when people are mobile across national borders. We need similar benefits to promote social convergence – rapprochement – so that all European citizens are guaranteed a minimum level of benefits.

Doesn’t that lead to an agreement on the lowest common denominator?

No. It is clear that countries with a high level of social benefits will always be “on top.” No one is calling for them to reduce their benefits. We can’t bring the social systems in Romania, for example, up to the same level as those in Luxembourg, Germany or Austria overnight. But we need momentum in this direction.

More money for social issues

What does that mean in concrete terms?

In concrete terms, we need to spend more money on social issues. In the coming years, we must not only transform the economy but also invest more in defense and security. But this must not be at the expense of social security. Otherwise, we will lose the basic consensus in our societies.

The EU Commission’s Directorates-General are currently working on the agenda for the next Commission. What should not be missing from the social portfolio?

We have adopted the so-called postage targets for 2021…

… containing the three points to be achieved by 2030. At least 78 percent of 20 to 64-year-olds should have a job; at least 60 percent of all adults should undergo further training every year; at least 15 million fewer people should be at risk of poverty or social exclusion.

This means we need to get more people into the labor market, especially women. This is particularly evident in the case of refugee women from Ukraine. They have difficulties entering the labor market. There are many reasons for this, but the most problematic cause is the lack of childcare. This affects all member states.

The second important issue is job mobility. Some countries say: it is unacceptable that our best-trained people leave and we have an incredible problem with the shortage of skilled workers. And if, in the end, only the elderly remain: Who will pay their pensions? Mobility within the EU remains a fundamental right, but we need to take stronger action against people leaving because they don’t see good prospects for themselves – keyword: minimum wage.

Mobility must not mean social dumping

What about mobility from outside?

We need workers from third countries. But this must not be at the expense of social standards. I spoke to people who negotiated for the striking truck drivers in Gräfenhausen: This is the worst social dumping imaginable. People are being exploited because they don’t know their rights. They think they are signing a normal employment contract. But in reality, they are signing: I am a self-employed contractor driving for company X – and if I want social rights, I have to organize them myself. The people had no health insurance and no pension insurance. It can’t go on like this. We have to get a grip on that.

Federal Minister of Labor Hubertus Heil is also calling for more co-determination for workers.

At the beginning of the German Council Presidency in mid-2020, we suddenly discovered the conditions in the slaughterhouses in North Rhine-Westphalia. Strangely, this hadn’t been an issue before. No one in politics had really talked about it. We then reacted relatively quickly in cooperation with Hubertus Heil and improved the rules. We need to regulate this even better and also strengthen the ELA, the European Labor Authority, which was created in 2019. If we have more mobility, especially from third countries, we have to ensure that this does not happen based on social dumping.

Explosives for social cohesion

Following the tightening of German laws, the problems in the meat industry have simply shifted to the Netherlands. How can this be prevented?

This can only be prevented if we treat social issues like the economy. Unfortunately, the following has often been the case so far: If a member state gives state aid to an economic sector, the EU Commission sometimes says: stop, that distorts competition. But if people are being exploited, the reaction is not the same and it is simply said: this is what competition looks like. An absurdity. This has to change because there is hidden explosive material in it that endangers social cohesion in Europe.

What do you think about the social policy debates in Germany? In 2021, the EU decided on a “child guarantee,” but the basic child guarantee is very controversial in Germany.

I’m not going to get involved in the national debate. But one thing is clear: we have all come to understand that child poverty is a problem that is inherited. So equal opportunities must start with children. That is why we in the Commission have adopted the recommendation on a so-called Child Guarantee. We are also constantly trying to get the Member States to implement this in practice. But unfortunately, we can only recommend, not prescribe.

The market does not regulate everything

You met with Federal Building Minister Klara Geywitz. As in the EU, homelessness is to be eliminated in Germany by 2030. Will that work?

I can’t say for sure. But we have to try. It is estimated that there are around 800,000 homeless people in Europe, and the trend is rising. We have to find solutions for these people. Several problems in Europe affect all member states to a greater or lesser extent. One is the shortage of skilled workers and the other is the housing shortage. The housing shortage can only be solved by building more homes more quickly. Public housing construction has been cut back in the past because people have succumbed to the liberal illusion.

What illusion?

For far too long, people thought: the market regulates everything, privatization solves everything. That was also the case in Germany. But the market did not regulate everything as we expected. So we need new rules here, too, so that investment in the construction of affordable housing is restored. We must not overlook this: Housing shortages no longer only affect people on low incomes. It is now spreading to the middle class. Unfortunately, the European rules on how to support investment in this area are unclear. We urgently need to change this and free up European funds. There are still several billion euros in the Covid Reconstruction Fund that have not been spent. We should use this money for housing construction.

Spain: Sánchez buys his re-election at a high price

By

Isabel Cuesta Camacho

Pedro Sánchez will very likely be sworn in for a new term of office this Thursday. However, Junts leader Carles Puigdemont already warned the current caretaker prime minister last week that the stability of the government depends on the fulfillment of the amnesty agreement, which the Socialists signed in return for the seven votes of the Junts party.

The amnesty is intended to benefit, among others, those independence supporters who took part in a failed secession attempt in 2017, such as the separatist leader Puigdemont, who is in exile in Belgium. What’s more, Sánchez will have to deal with a strong opposition. The latter even has an absolute majority in the Senate. In addition, there are protests from the economy, the judiciary and civil society against the amnesty law. 

Before Sánchez is sworn in, however, the inauguration debate will begin today at midday with an unlimited speech in which the PSOE leader will present his government program. This will be followed by contributions from representatives of all political groups. The tense political climate in the context of the amnesty law will set the tone for the debate.

PP and Vox try to stop amnesty law

On Tuesday, the majority of the conservative Partido Popular (PP) in the Senate approved the reform of the rules of procedure. This makes it possible to delay the processing of the proposed amnesty bill as soon as it is submitted by Congress. The Presidium of the Senate can decide whether the amnesty bill of the PSOE and the separatists will be processed in an urgent procedure (which takes 20 days) or in the regular procedure (maximum of two months).

For his part, the regional President of Andalusia, Juan Manuel Moreno (PP), has instructed his government’s legal experts to examine a complaint against the proposed amnesty law and submit it to the Constitutional Court (TC). Also on Tuesday, the right-wing nationalist party Vox denounced Sánchez and Puigdemont and their respective parties (PSOE and Junts) for “bribery, concealment of crimes, usurpation of judicial functions” and “prohibited negotiations with public officials.” Vox has also applied to the Supreme Court for the precautionary suspension of Sánchez’s inauguration.

Amnesty law ‘deletes’ judgments

The amnesty law is intended to “delete” the guilt for all acts classified as criminal offenses or administrative offenses in connection with the referendum in Catalonia on October 1, 2017. The independence referendum was declared unconstitutional. Disobedience, serious embezzlement, deception, falsification of documents, betrayal of secrets and up to a dozen other offenses in the context of the referendum would disappear from the criminal record with the amnesty. There had recently been mass protests against this in Spain.

The PSOE’s bill on the amnesty is to be fast-tracked according to the party’s own guidelines. Sánchez’s caretaker government argues that it is doing this “to promote coexistence in Catalonia.”

The plan has also brought the EU Commission, as guardian of the treaties, onto the scene. It is waiting to be informed of the details by the Spanish government, said a Commission spokesperson. EPP group leader Manfred Weber announced that he would put a debate on the threat to the rule of law in Spain posed by the concessions made by the Socialists to the separatists on the EU Parliament’s agenda next week.

International experts to accompany term of office

However, the election of Sánchez will not end the pressure on the socialists from the independence supporters. One of Puigdemont’s demands in the amnesty pact is the appointment of international auditors to monitor compliance with the conditions imposed by the separatists on Sánchez step by step throughout the legislative period.

In an interview with the radio station Catalunya Ràdio, Junts chairwoman Laura Borràs explained there would be four international monitors. Borràs said that Puigdemont will take part in these talks, which will take place monthly with representatives of the PSOE. The first meeting will take place outside Spain at the end of November.

According to Borràs, these are “high-level people who offer a guarantee in the area in which they are carrying out this consultation and examination.” One of the four will act as coordinator and reveal his identity. The other three auditors should remain nameless. The verification system is necessary because Sánchez has often broken his word. Borràs warns: Sánchez will only stay “as long as he keeps his word.”

Nicolas Schmit: ‘Using Covid billions for housing construction’

Commissioner, your term of office ends next year. Have you achieved what you set out to do in 2019?

This Commission has initiated a paradigm shift in social policy. If you had told me ten years ago that Europe would have a directive on minimum wages, I would not have believed it. But we have achieved it. Because Europe should not just grow closer economically. Europe must also grow closer socially. If we allow the social differences in the Union to become even greater, there will be enormous potential for conflict. This is another reason why the minimum wage directive is so important. The countries in Central and Eastern Europe have also understood this.

Has the exodus of young people from these countries stopped?

Emigration has not been stopped, but at least slowed down. Worker mobility remains a fundamental right and young people continue to leave these countries because they see few prospects for themselves there. Wages are sometimes so low that they cannot afford a decent life. This is precisely why we need this upward social adjustment to create a balance within Europe. There is also a geopolitical dimension: Without social cohesion, European societies are weaker. This is not a good prerequisite for competing with Russia or China.

Do you think that this also applies in a rich country like Germany?

We complain about a shortage of skilled workers. But at the same time, some people are completely excluded from the labor market because they have no education. And that, of course, has to do with the social divide in a society that often no longer offers opportunities for advancement. This is a major task that cannot be tackled by Brussels alone. Everyone has to think and act upon this.

No European social insurance

So why is there still no common system for the labor market and social security in the EU?

We will not have uniform European social insurance in the future either. We cannot enforce that at all. But we need insurance systems that can interlock when people are mobile across national borders. We need similar benefits to promote social convergence – rapprochement – so that all European citizens are guaranteed a minimum level of benefits.

Doesn’t that lead to an agreement on the lowest common denominator?

No. It is clear that countries with a high level of social benefits will always be “on top.” No one is calling for them to reduce their benefits. We can’t bring the social systems in Romania, for example, up to the same level as those in Luxembourg, Germany or Austria overnight. But we need momentum in this direction.

More money for social issues

What does that mean in concrete terms?

In concrete terms, we need to spend more money on social issues. In the coming years, we must not only transform the economy but also invest more in defense and security. But this must not be at the expense of social security. Otherwise, we will lose the basic consensus in our societies.

The EU Commission’s Directorates-General are currently working on the agenda for the next Commission. What should not be missing from the social portfolio?

We have adopted the so-called postage targets for 2021…

… containing the three points to be achieved by 2030. At least 78 percent of 20 to 64-year-olds should have a job; at least 60 percent of all adults should undergo further training every year; at least 15 million fewer people should be at risk of poverty or social exclusion.

This means we need to get more people into the labor market, especially women. This is particularly evident in the case of refugee women from Ukraine. They have difficulties entering the labor market. There are many reasons for this, but the most problematic cause is the lack of childcare. This affects all member states.

The second important issue is job mobility. Some countries say: it is unacceptable that our best-trained people leave and we have an incredible problem with the shortage of skilled workers. And if, in the end, only the elderly remain: Who will pay their pensions? Mobility within the EU remains a fundamental right, but we need to take stronger action against people leaving because they don’t see good prospects for themselves – keyword: minimum wage.

Mobility must not mean social dumping

What about mobility from outside?

We need workers from third countries. But this must not be at the expense of social standards. I spoke to people who negotiated for the striking truck drivers in Gräfenhausen: This is the worst social dumping imaginable. People are being exploited because they don’t know their rights. They think they are signing a normal employment contract. But in reality, they are signing: I am a self-employed contractor driving for company X – and if I want social rights, I have to organize them myself. The people had no health insurance and no pension insurance. It can’t go on like this. We have to get a grip on that.

Federal Minister of Labor Hubertus Heil is also calling for more co-determination for workers.

At the beginning of the German Council Presidency in mid-2020, we suddenly discovered the conditions in the slaughterhouses in North Rhine-Westphalia. Strangely, this hadn’t been an issue before. No one in politics had really talked about it. We then reacted relatively quickly in cooperation with Hubertus Heil and improved the rules. We need to regulate this even better and also strengthen the ELA, the European Labor Authority, which was created in 2019. If we have more mobility, especially from third countries, we have to ensure that this does not happen based on social dumping.

Explosives for social cohesion

Following the tightening of German laws, the problems in the meat industry have simply shifted to the Netherlands. How can this be prevented?

This can only be prevented if we treat social issues like the economy. Unfortunately, the following has often been the case so far: If a member state gives state aid to an economic sector, the EU Commission sometimes says: stop, that distorts competition. But if people are being exploited, the reaction is not the same and it is simply said: this is what competition looks like. An absurdity. This has to change because there is hidden explosive material in it that endangers social cohesion in Europe.

What do you think about the social policy debates in Germany? In 2021, the EU decided on a “child guarantee,” but the basic child guarantee is very controversial in Germany.

I’m not going to get involved in the national debate. But one thing is clear: we have all come to understand that child poverty is a problem that is inherited. So equal opportunities must start with children. That is why we in the Commission have adopted the recommendation on a so-called Child Guarantee. We are also constantly trying to get the Member States to implement this in practice. But unfortunately, we can only recommend, not prescribe.

The market does not regulate everything

You met with Federal Building Minister Klara Geywitz. As in the EU, homelessness is to be eliminated in Germany by 2030. Will that work?

I can’t say for sure. But we have to try. It is estimated that there are around 800,000 homeless people in Europe, and the trend is rising. We have to find solutions for these people. Several problems in Europe affect all member states to a greater or lesser extent. One is the shortage of skilled workers and the other is the housing shortage. The housing shortage can only be solved by building more homes more quickly. Public housing construction has been cut back in the past because people have succumbed to the liberal illusion.

What illusion?

For far too long, people thought: the market regulates everything, privatization solves everything. That was also the case in Germany. But the market did not regulate everything as we expected. So we need new rules here, too, so that investment in the construction of affordable housing is restored. We must not overlook this: Housing shortages no longer only affect people on low incomes. It is now spreading to the middle class. Unfortunately, the European rules on how to support investment in this area are unclear. We urgently need to change this and free up European funds. There are still several billion euros in the Covid Reconstruction Fund that have not been spent. We should use this money for housing construction.

Spain: Sánchez buys his re-election at a high price

By

Isabel Cuesta Camacho

Pedro Sánchez will very likely be sworn in for a new term of office this Thursday. However, Junts leader Carles Puigdemont already warned the current caretaker prime minister last week that the stability of the government depends on the fulfillment of the amnesty agreement, which the Socialists signed in return for the seven votes of the Junts party.

The amnesty is intended to benefit, among others, those independence supporters who took part in a failed secession attempt in 2017, such as the separatist leader Puigdemont, who is in exile in Belgium. What’s more, Sánchez will have to deal with a strong opposition. The latter even has an absolute majority in the Senate. In addition, there are protests from the economy, the judiciary and civil society against the amnesty law. 

Before Sánchez is sworn in, however, the inauguration debate will begin today at midday with an unlimited speech in which the PSOE leader will present his government program. This will be followed by contributions from representatives of all political groups. The tense political climate in the context of the amnesty law will set the tone for the debate.

PP and Vox try to stop amnesty law

On Tuesday, the majority of the conservative Partido Popular (PP) in the Senate approved the reform of the rules of procedure. This makes it possible to delay the processing of the proposed amnesty bill as soon as it is submitted by Congress. The Presidium of the Senate can decide whether the amnesty bill of the PSOE and the separatists will be processed in an urgent procedure (which takes 20 days) or in the regular procedure (maximum of two months).

For his part, the regional President of Andalusia, Juan Manuel Moreno (PP), has instructed his government’s legal experts to examine a complaint against the proposed amnesty law and submit it to the Constitutional Court (TC). Also on Tuesday, the right-wing nationalist party Vox denounced Sánchez and Puigdemont and their respective parties (PSOE and Junts) for “bribery, concealment of crimes, usurpation of judicial functions” and “prohibited negotiations with public officials.” Vox has also applied to the Supreme Court for the precautionary suspension of Sánchez’s inauguration.

Amnesty law ‘deletes’ judgments

The amnesty law is intended to “delete” the guilt for all acts classified as criminal offenses or administrative offenses in connection with the referendum in Catalonia on October 1, 2017. The independence referendum was declared unconstitutional. Disobedience, serious embezzlement, deception, falsification of documents, betrayal of secrets and up to a dozen other offenses in the context of the referendum would disappear from the criminal record with the amnesty. There had recently been mass protests against this in Spain.

The PSOE’s bill on the amnesty is to be fast-tracked according to the party’s own guidelines. Sánchez’s caretaker government argues that it is doing this “to promote coexistence in Catalonia.”

The plan has also brought the EU Commission, as guardian of the treaties, onto the scene. It is waiting to be informed of the details by the Spanish government, said a Commission spokesperson. EPP group leader Manfred Weber announced that he would put a debate on the threat to the rule of law in Spain posed by the concessions made by the Socialists to the separatists on the EU Parliament’s agenda next week.

International experts to accompany term of office

However, the election of Sánchez will not end the pressure on the socialists from the independence supporters. One of Puigdemont’s demands in the amnesty pact is the appointment of international auditors to monitor compliance with the conditions imposed by the separatists on Sánchez step by step throughout the legislative period.

In an interview with the radio station Catalunya Ràdio, Junts chairwoman Laura Borràs explained there would be four international monitors. Borràs said that Puigdemont will take part in these talks, which will take place monthly with representatives of the PSOE. The first meeting will take place outside Spain at the end of November.

According to Borràs, these are “high-level people who offer a guarantee in the area in which they are carrying out this consultation and examination.” One of the four will act as coordinator and reveal his identity. The other three auditors should remain nameless. The verification system is necessary because Sánchez has often broken his word. Borràs warns: Sánchez will only stay “as long as he keeps his word.”