Debate contributions by Gabriele BISCHOFF

Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen! Today we are celebrating this anniversary, and it is not an exuberant birthday celebration, because we see what problems there are and that we are also in Europe in a dangerous downward spiral when it comes to child poverty. It is good that the Commission is providing a guarantee for children. They want to strengthen, but they need the means. That is why we are calling for 20 billion euros to finance the guarantee for children in order to lift them out of poverty. But we also need to increase the participation and visibility of children in politics here. That is why, in the last legislature, Parliament proposed that we proclaim a European Children's Capital every year, where we really talk about the rights and protections that are at the heart of it. I therefore call on the new Commission to: Take note of this suggestion. In fact, equip the guarantee for children in such a way that it can work, that we have 5 million children less in poverty, and at the same time set up a European Children's Capital. Let's put the kids first!

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen! In fact, this transformation will succeed if we take the employees here with us. And the Draghi report actually focuses on the need for further education and training, not only for competitiveness, but also for innovation. And it is good that this builds on the Pillar of Social Rights, which guarantees for the first time a right to further training – we must anchor this, this is a job for the next Commission. I am glad that the Commissioner has highlighted the role of the social partners because it is essential: that both sides that employers like trade unions, like works councils develop concepts together in the companies. And I am also happy – I have just come from a debate on ESF Plus projects, where both social partners in Germany, employers and trade unions, have developed a programme for advice and training. Please do not shorten skillsdebate, but see that we need a good basic qualification and actors in the companies that drive this forward.

Madam President and dear Enrico Letta, I think it is very important that we still keep a vision of what we could do and what is possible, but where we lack the courage so far to do so. Jacques Delors always said that no one falls in love with the common market. That was true in the past, it's also true today, but you show that it's not only a single market, but it is what it does for people, how it enables people. And therefore we really have to boost the common market indeed, but also – in the spirit of Jacques Delors – to always have in mind that this always needs a strong social dimension going for it, if we want to also convince the citizens that it's in their interest to do so. But I also have to say I could comment on many things, because your report is very rich. I want to highlight the fifth freedom, a fair mobility, a new push here for innovation, and to deliver for our citizens.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen! In fact: We are now talking about 100 million people at risk of poverty and social exclusion in Europe, one of the richest continents; Madam President has said: More than one in five people here in Europe. And this International Day for the Abolition of Poverty must really be a wake-up call here because we need more. Yes, we need a poverty strategy, but we also need concrete policies, and one of them is indeed that we need a fixed budget of 20 billion in our own ESF+ for the child guarantee to better protect the 19 million children – 19 million who have had the future stolen – from poverty, and we need action. But we must not only remain national, but, according to the Treaties, poverty reduction is also the main objective of European development policy. This must remain so and must be our compass for combating poverty around the world.

Mr President, Vice-President Schinas! You can kill a person with an apartment as well as with an axe. That was a winged word 100 years ago. We are seeing housing costs explode in Europe at the moment and in some regions it is no longer possible at all to find adequate and affordable housing, a roof over one's head. Homelessness is growing across Europe and the promise we made to end homelessness remains empty talk. That is why it is important not only to stand by saying that adequate housing is indeed a fundamental social right and that it is also enshrined in the European Pillar of Social Rights, but also to look at what we can do to ensure that people with low and middle incomes can find adequate housing. I would also like to mention in particular young people who are in education and work, who may want to start a family. If they don't have the means to find housing, it encroaches on a lifetime. That is why people are asking themselves, Mr Ferber, what can Europe do to end this crisis? And Enrico Letta, in his report on the future of the single market, strongly recommended that the EU urgently tackle the design and application of all EU rules, funds and policies that have a direct or indirect impact on national housing markets. We've got a lot of stuff. We are proud that we will now have a Commissioner for this, and that we have a special committee here in the House, which we have helped to enforce. It will not regulate the market. We need a coherent Housing‐Plan in Europe. We will put pressure, including on the Commission, to ensure that this happens appropriately. As far as resources are concerned, this has already been mentioned here: If you have REPowerEU, you should also Re-empower European citizens are struggling to find adequate housing.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen! I think Thomas Piketty sums it up very well: Inequality is not the result of pure coincidence or any inescapable necessity. It is always the result of specific political decisions. And that's what it's all about now. Because we are faced with a crucial question of social justice: Why do the richest pay much, much less tax than the middle class? Strong shoulders have to carry more than weak ones. This injustice not only leads to manifold problems, but also undermines trust in democracy. We live in a Europe where families and small businesses like the kiosk around the corner pay their taxes, while super-rich don't make an adequate tax contribution. We can't accept that. It's time for a fair tax system and time to make sure these strong shoulders carry more. This is what the people of Europe demand. They hope that politicians will finally dare to take responsibility for the wealthy worldwide. That is why we are not discussing an abstract issue of justice today. If everyone makes their fair contribution, we will continue to have more resources in the future to make the necessary investments for the future, for example in our infrastructure, and also to better combat poverty in Europe. We can then ensure that we can better equip schools and kindergartens so that all children, regardless of social background, have equal opportunities. Think about climate protection. We urgently need funds for transformation, and the CO2The footprint of the super-rich is a multiple of what ordinary taxpayers pay. We've had a lot of crises in recent years, and that's why it's important that we talk about it and change course. Julia Friedrich argues in her book “Crazy Rich” that we simply need to speak more openly about exorbitant wealth. Brazil's President Lula is doing it, IMF chief Kristalina Georgiewa is doing it, civil society representatives, economists and billionaires are all calling for a billionaire tax. The Brazilian G20 presidency has made a proposal for a global minimum tax of 2 percent on the wealth of billionaires. That could bring in $200 to $250 billion a year, and studies show countries are missing out on up to $4.8 trillion in tax revenue from tax havens. We also need to do more about it. Taxation is a crucial tool to achieve a fair, strong and sustainable Europe. That is why it is essential that nails are made with heads at the summit of the 20 most important industrialised and emerging countries in Rio on 18 and 19 November. We need a concrete roadmap for a mandate at the international level from the UN and OECD to negotiate concrete rules for a minimum tax for the super-rich, so that more tax revenues from the super-rich help to secure the urgently needed investments in infrastructure, climate protection, schools and education. Let's tackle it!

Madam President, dear Commission! It is an essential debate that we are having here, because we are actually talking about the existence of more than 14 million people. It doesn't help that you revel in yesterday's dreams or talk hoarse about having to go back now. Last week we went on a business trip to Audi in Brussels and talked to the people, to the management, to the works councils, to the trade unions. And the last thing – they told us – that should happen to us is to play a role backwards now. Instead, they pointed out how important it is, on the one hand, that the necessary investments are there and that one has a coherent industrial strategy and not individual elements that then do not work together, and that one has to make this huge change – people no longer like this term transformation at all – that one cannot make this giant change against the employees, but must do it with them. This also means that they must be involved at an early stage – which, incidentally, did not happen at Audi – and that democracy in the workplace must also be strengthened in order to involve them in this change. But I want to point out again: Where is Audi shifting its jobs? To Mexico. And why? Because the US, with its Inflation Reduction Act, has hired a giant vacuum cleaner to attract investment, and Europe does not yet have a coherent response, and it needs it very quickly.

Mr President, Commissioner! Indeed, this historic judgment is indeed a good message to citizens, to workers, but also to the many small and medium-sized enterprises, and it strengthens trust in democracy, but also in the institutions – and we know this is sorely needed. We really have to put a stop to such dirty tax deals, because they actually prevent us from having well-equipped schools that have digital infrastructure up to date, or from investing accordingly. And we talked about competitiveness here this week – a key factor in that. I would also like to thank the Commission for its tenacity, and of course – it has been stressed – this House has always been the engine behind it. But we need a systematic approach for the next Commission to close loopholes and really ensure that tax justice is everywhere and that we ensure that it further strengthens trust in democracy.

Madam President, What a signal! To come to Parliament, to the Chamber of the Heart of European Democracy, and not to stay in the debate, to hear what the Members have to say, I think it is a great pity, I would like to express here for this House. After Enrico Letta's report on the future of the single market, this report is the second report to provide a basis for the further development of Europe and the economy. Mr Draghi pointed out in his report that a core area for competitiveness is really essential: These are massive, massive investments, both public and private. This is important – as Mr Weber said – at a time when many workers fear for their jobs, where purchasing power has been declining for a long time and many workers are worried. That is why I would like to emphasize once again that we will never be able to cope with these enormous challenges of the socio-ecological, but also of the digital transformation without sufficient investments. We support the number given by Mr Draghi in his report, which ranges from 750 to 800 billion a year. This must be the first step we can take. But the ones behind it trickle-down economy, which shines through, which does not work; This has been shown. That is why we believe that one area is totally underexposed, namely that companies that have strong social dialogue, have employee participation, are more innovative – competitiveness – and that we also need to strengthen that.