Responding to Angela Merkel’s intervention on the Future of Europe in the European Parliament, S&D Group President Udo Bullmann said: “There is no doubt that the Chancellor Merkel is a pro-European. As expected, she underlined this in her address today to the European Parliament in Strasbourg. However, our expectations for Chancellor Merkel go beyond mere confessions of pro-European feeling. And where it matters most at the moment, Mrs Merkel has not delivered. She has not taken a clear position on her European family’s acceptance of right-wing populists like Victor Orbán, who reject the European ideal she believes in.”
Bullmann said Merkel should also support the strengthening of the Community method in Europe.
“Only if the house of European democracy, the European Parliament, is truly involved will we have a successful and democratic Europe. Merkel must also push for the European projects set out in the German coalition agreement to be realised. This concerns the Economic and Monetary Union, climate protection and the directive for better working conditions. For us Social Democrats, Europe is not a place on a map, but a state of mind to defend freedom and democracy. This is what we underlined in the debate today.”
