Juncker calls for ‘more Europe and more unity’

In the first State of the European Union speech by an elected Commission President, Jean-Claude Juncker today admitted that Europe “is not in a good place” and called for more unity and solidarity as the continent faces a humanitarian crisis.

“The Europe I want to live in is illustrated by those who are helping refugees. The Europe I do not want to live in is represented by those who refuse to help those in need,” he said in a forceful and poignant address.

Admitting that his speech was conditioned by the refugee and humanitarian crisis in Europe, Juncker noted that he had already presented a list of 10 priorities for the EU in writing.

Underlining the importance of Europe’s social dimension, Juncker said the “time has come” to deal with “a lack of Europe and a lack of union in this European Union. We have to work together to change this now.”

He said the first priority which has to be dealt with is the refugee crisis which he said demands a concerted effort by all nations.

“It’s a time to take fright, now is the time for humanity and human dignity,” he said to the applause of great part of the European Parliament.

Despite the continuous interruptions of UKIP leader Nigel Farage, Juncker stressed that Europe is a continent of migration, with millions of Europeans migrating to all corners of the world over the centuries.

While stressing “Europe is a continent where almost everyone has been a refugee,” he said Europe today is a beacon of hope for millions outside Europe.

“This is something to be proud of and not something to fear,” he added.

In response to criticism that Europe cannot host all refugees seeking safety in Europe, Juncker pointed out that as long as war and violence in Syria and Libya continue the crisis will not end.

Insisting that Europe has the means to provide shelter to refugees, he noted that refugees only make up a tiny fraction of the continents population.

Current refugees represent some 0.11% of the total EU population.

“Its high time to act to manage the refugee crisis because there is no alternative to this,” he said, adding that there has been too much “finger pointing” towards Brussels.

The Commission, he said, could be justified in being angry at individual member states but playing the blame game would not be of any help to the refugees and anyone else.

Hitting out at countries who refuse to cooperate, he said “we are legislating but member states are not implementing.”

Juncker said that the bloc was providing millions of euros in aid to Syrian refugees in Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon and thanked these neighbouring countries for their immense efforts in welcoming millions of refugees.

“Our efforts are modest when compared to the Herculean efforts of Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan,” he said, he called on Europe to do more.

He proposed the relocation of an additional 120,000 refugees from Italy, Greece and Hungary, which would bring up the number of refugees to be resettled in EU countries to 160,000.

"To me it is clear that member states where most refugees first arrived, Italy, Greece and Hungary, cannot be left alone in this enormous challenge."

 “We are talking of human beings not number…I hope this time everyone will be on board,” Juncker said, urging member states to look beyond ideology and creed.

Stressing that “asylum is a right,” Juncker warned EU member states “no more rhetoric, action is what is needed."

Calling for managed and limited legal channels for migration, Juncker said “we need more Europe in our asylum policy, more union in refugee policy. Solidarity needs to be permanently anchored.”

“Migration must change from a problem to be tackled to a well-managed resource…migration has to be legalised, it's not sufficient to protest against illegal immigration, we have to organise legal ways to Europe,” he said while adding that Europe needs to tackle the root causes and this requires finding solutions to the Libyan problem and the Syrian crisis.

He proposed creating a €1.8 billion emergency trust fund which would be invested in developing countries.

Grexit was not an option

Confessing his affection for Greece, Juncker said that he is profoundly disturbed by comments that the troubled country should leave the euro or the EU.

"The Commission did what it thought was right," he said.

“I would like for the Greek government and the future Greek governments to respect the agreed-upon programme," he said, stressing that it was absolutely necessary for the EU to make it clear that Grexit was not an option.

 “If we hadn't said that loudly and clearly, Grexit could have happened."
Turning to the bloc’s economic policy, Juncker said the European Parliament should be more involved in the economic governance of Europe.

Recording his support for an EU treasury which he said would guarantee greater stability, Juncker said "we need to return to a situation of full employment, this is far from impossible. Of course, this will presuppose that we continue to consolidate our budgets, work on structural reform and invest."

He added that the economic crisis was far from over and said there are over 17 million people in the Eurozone who are unemployed.

The economic recession, he said, “will only be over once we have full employment in Europe."

Fair deal for the UK

On the impending UK referendum on EU membership, Juncker said “I'm totally convinced we will have a fair deal with Britain."

While saying that better regulation should not mean destruction, the Commission chief said “I’m in favour of TTIP but I’m not prepared to give up on European standards and principles.”

In anticipation of the Paris Climate Change Summit, Juncker said “we have to act now, we don't have much time to spare, that's why I want the EU and member states to be as ambitious as possible for Paris. We have to fight for a binding model. Europe cannot be neutral when it comes to climate change, it has to be an example to others."