Restore European trust!
IN MY OPINION
Bye-bye, UK. We’re leaving … .The second-biggest mobile telephone company in the world is considering the possibility of moving its headquarters out of the UK following the Brexit. Should Vodafone decide to relocate, Düsseldorf in Germany could emerge as a top contender to host the head office. Vodafone already has a presence in the German city, where it employs about 5,000 people. Moreover, Germany is the company’s largest market.
Restore EU trust with pragmatism, urges Germany’s Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble. And he is very right.
Europe needs fast and pragmatic moves to demonstrate a strong EU to citizens stunned by the Brexit. Indeed, governments might need to override a sluggish Brussels.
Schäuble, Germany’s finance minister and long-time advocate of a “deeper” EU, has urged Europe’s governments to quickly tackle and solve “several central problems” to restore trust among its 508-million population. Also
Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative ally told newspaper “Welt am Sonntag” (WamS) on last Sunday that it was not the time for visions or treaty reforms.
Yes, “pragmatic” efficacy must be demonstrated by the remaining 27 governments – assuming Britain formally exited the bloc.
How about a shift to inter-governmental precept? “If from the outset not all of the 27 pull their weight, then start with a few less,” Schauble commented. “And, if the [European] Commission does not act jointly, then we’ll take the matter into our hands and just solve the problems between governments.” “This inter-governmental approach proved itself during the Euro crisis,” Schäuble added, mentioning Europe’s asylum and migration policies as issues to which EU citizens wanted answers.
Europe’s member states each needed to clarify what they could do at national level, and “what we can’t do ourselves must be done at European level,” he said. Carrying on as usual was untenable amid “growing demagogy and deeper Euro skepticism,” he added.
Yes, the “EU Brexit summit” closed with continued uncertainty about future. One example among many: the Greece Central Bank reports ‘brain drain’ of 427,000 young, educated Greeks since 2008.
Let’s be honest, the question of whether the European Parliament should get the deciding role or not is not one that especially moves the public. I strongly agree with Schäuble, who was one of the architects of German reunification in the early 1990s.
Schäuble told also that Europe’s current priority should be to prevent “wildfire” disintegration and to avoid “the usual rhetoric,” adding that dumping EU treaties was no immediate answer. “We have to stay serious,” he said, insisting that it was not the moment to concentrate on reform of EU institutions.
Asked whether Luxembourg’s Jean-Claude Juncker was the right person as current president of the European Commission, Schäuble replied, “I pushed for Juncker.” “A personnel debate doesn’t get us any further. The Brexit decision must be a wake-up call for Europe,” the cabinet veteran said. “That’s what it’s about,” the 73-year-old, who in the 1980s was ex-Chancellor Helmut Kohl’s chief of staff.
In her weekly video podcast on last Saturday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Europe should become the most “competitive and knowledge-based continent in the world.” Also on Saturday, Economy Minister and SPD (social demoratic party) leader Sigmar Gabriel said Europe must shift its emphasis to a “growth pact” based on investment programs and “active” policies to boost its labor market.
Why is being a competitive and knowledge-based continent Europe also important for the Philippines? I learned from the German Ambassador to the Philippines, His Excellency Thomas Ossowski, that the meanwhile frozen diplomatic relations between Germany and the Philippines should be restored as well as soon possible – as being discussed in a 40-minutes talk with President-elect Rodrigo Duterte.
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