Francis Wurtz, United European Left/NGL: “I think it’s vital that we do not give the impression that in one camp we have those that are solidly European, and in the other the anti-Europeans like Mr. Farage. It’s much more complicated than that. I feel absolutely pro-European, but I remain highly critical of the policies we currently pursue, the liberal policies that currently dominate in the EU. I also think that there’s a crisis of confidence in these ideas currently running through the legislature. It started with the very widespread revolt against the Bolkestein directive, then there were the three ‘No’s’ to the constitutional and Lisbon treaties, followed by the uproar at the Court of Justice’s rulings that justified “social dumping”, and limited trade union rights, which sparked fierce opposition amongst their members. Then there were flashpoints in society, the most emblematic being the dispute at Renault-Dacia in Romania, if you remember. For five weeks 10 000 workers campaigned against the “low-cost” vision of Europe, or in other words the Liberal model of enlargement. So I think there is a divide between pro and anti-Europeans, but within the pro-European camp there are many different opinions about which way we want the EU to go.”

Graham Watson, ALDE: “We have established, and I’m very proud of it, a very good social welfare state in the European Union. But what we have to recognize, and this is becoming increasingly apparent over the last 10, 15 years, is that we live in a world in which the economy, the contours of the global economy are drawn in the computer campuses of the West Coast of America, in the call centres of India, in the factories of China. And unless Europe is competitive in that world, then we’ve no chance of offering to our citizens the standard of living that they rightly seek. And that means, being competitive means a number of reforms, some of which the Socialists have opposed, reforms such as greater investment in research and technology, reforms such as deregulation of some of our labour market laws, reforms such as greater chance in the economy for entrepreneurs.”

Dulce Dias: “Madam Muscardini, a moment ago you wanted to say something…”

Cristiana Muscardini, UEN: “Yes, I think we have to be clear, because our citizens need to know what the reality is. I think that at the moment we are seeing a system in crisis. It’s in this mess because we haven’t been able at a world level to forge new rules for Globalisation. This is why I think that reform of the World Trade Organisation is very important for Europe if we want our citizens to be able to face up to China or India, or any other nation in the world. We have to set rules that are shared & respected by everyone, combined with sanctions for those who practice dumping. If we don’t, our economy won’t be able to compete.” Joseph Daul, EPP/ED: “We need a Social Market economy. I think that’s what’s important, what we need if Europe is to exist & flourish. There are a certain number of things we cannot deal with without a European context. We’ve seen that with energy & the climate; all the big issues are European ones. The economic crisis is a European issue that no one nation, even England, can manage alone. So we need a strong Europe, and in this strong Europe we need a social market economy. We will never be able to manage differences between members that are too great, so we need an economy that works and a jobs market that works. Then we can have social policies.” Sergio Cantone, euronews: “Monica Frassoni, you have 30 seconds to have the final word…” Monica Frassoni, Greens/EFA: “I don’t know what I can do in 30 seconds, but I’ll answer like the others have done. We have to be very clear that in this legislature all the proposals, on market regulation, on financial regulation, on making investments in green innovations for the future, in speeding up action against climate change and quantifying the changes, all this has been done. But then, they haven’t been adopted by the Council or Commission. So I think one of the reasons so many citizens are sceptical about the EU is that for years Europe hasn’t been seen as a body that provides positive answers. Even if the proposals, and we, have been up to the tasks, and we have been at the forefront of policy-making. So to say now that we need to draw up new rules is correct, yes, but we have already said that. What we had thrown at us was ‘yes, yes, but the market will manage all this’. So I think a little bit of a distinction has to be drawn between those who were wrong and who today should admit it, and those who were right to want regulation as the top priority.” Sergio Cantone, euronews: “Thank you everyone. This concludes the first part of our debate, The second part will concentrate on your visions of the future of Europe, and its possible direction under the new legislature.”More about: European elections

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