Europe has steered the course for years, but is austerity the right way forward? Can Juncker's €315 billion plan produce results? We asked German MEP Michael Theurer.

Austerity – time to move on?

https://api.multimedia.europarl.europa.eu/documents/20125/11923079/n004-0015-en.srt

In many EU countries, as here in Belgium,

unions are calling strikes  against austerity.

For years, austerity was seen as a panacea.

But whether it has yielded positive results  remains doubtful

as does the trumpeted investment  of billions of euros.

We transmitted viewers' questions  to German MEP Michael Theurer

Our first question  comes from BusinessEurope.

At BusinessEurope we recognise that  some Member States may take more time

at the same time with  wide-ranging structural reforms,

but our own reform barometer  analysis has shown

the implementation of structural reforms  to be very poor in many Member States.

Thus my question to you is, what role can  the European Parliament play

in improving the implementation  of the European Semester?

So what role can the Parliament  actually play in this?

The Parliament can influence  the Commission only indirectly.

Our concern is preventing the euro  from getting into trouble again -

certain Member States adopting  an expansive fiscal policy

and harming others by undermining  the stability of the currency.

That's why the European Semester  was introduced.

But we'd like you to  take a closer look at France or Belgium,

where the deficits  are worse than declared

but they are signed off anyway.  Why don't you act?

If some now want to combat  the economic crisis by incurring new debt,

we Liberals ask ourselves how large debts  can be fought with even larger ones.

It's our view that we should address  the causes of the crisis,

these being a lack of competitiveness  and sluggish growth.

We believe that Europe will prosper  and create jobs

only if we are more innovative  and have more technology

and if conditions for SMEs are improved  so that there are more business start-ups.

Many are concerned about their existence,

for example in Belgium,  where unions have called for strike action.

I would like to know how the focus  can be placed on social issues

and how people's welfare  and that of the poor can be taken care of

when the majority of governments  in Europe are right-wing.

Today, salaries are subject  to a race to the bottom.

How can you ensure  that everyone receives better salaries?

The social aspects of Europe have been  neglected, that's what we see here.

What are you doing for the people  who are taking to the streets

not only in Belgium but in France  and soon in Germany as well?

We can only allocate means  that exist in the first place.

This means that we need competitive  businesses, with competitive jobs,

that can then afford to pay  high taxes and fees

The French policy of constant tax raises

has brought businesses to their knees  and forced them to leave the country.

Let's move on to Toulouse  and proposed solutions.

A question by a professor  from the Toulouse Business School.

We know that investment in  infrastructures is currently being neglected

by EU states facing  high public debt and deficits.

There is also little investment in sectors  deemed unprofitable in the short term

such as education, research  and renewable energies.

In these areas, the EU could play  a key role in this time of recession.

But how could this be financed?  Should EU tax revenues be increased

or could a big loan be the means  to finance concerted investment

Taking out a loan could be one solution.

Is Europe currently investing in the  wrong way to leave this crisis behind?

If you look at the amount of funds  that are available worldwide...

There are private investors with money,  but they aren't investing it in Europe.

Why? Because the market is saturated,  we're lagging behind in terms of technology,

the population is decreasing, so  Europe's prospects for growth are limited.

With a decreasing population, to think that  you can finance this through public debt

What I'm missing are investment  and innovation programmes

or the kind of cooperation  that we have with Airbus,

supporting a successful European  business that is globally competitive.

This brings us back to the issue  of Juncker pledging 315 billion euros,

300 billion of which he still needs to find,  at the moment he only has 21 billion.

Is the European Investment Bank supposed  to finance the whole lot and back it all?

I'm glad that Jean-Claude Juncker  announced a programme

enabling investment in infrastructure,  technology and innovation.

Public guarantees and mobilising private  capital is the right way of financing this,

since otherwise this capital  would go elsewhere, to Asia.

Here it shows that  the EU is no centralised state.

It can help its Member States, but  the crucial impetus must come from them.

And for me, this issue is missing  from the current debate:

Can we ease the strain on citizens  in the countries undertaking reforms

through less bureaucracy, less complex  regulations and more freedom?

I think that it could save money  and that it's the right way to go.

Thank you for talking to us.  -Thank you.

Austerity – time to move on?

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