State of the Union: we want a Europe of the people

“Europe is back. Europe is much more robust than four years ago. We overcame those tough times together. With your cool head, dear Jean-Claude Juncker, your determination and your sincere heart for Europe, you defended the unity of our continent”, said Manfred Weber MEP, Chairman of the EPP Group in the European Parliament, to the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, today during the debate on the State of the Union in Strasbourg.

"For the upcoming years, three points are crucial: security, democracy, and fairness.

This means ensuring people’s security. Strict border controls are key. We welcome the proposal on the strengthening of Frontex, which was initiated by the EPP Group. Strict border controls are the precondition for everything. We can only ask people in Europe to be ready to help real refugees if we make it clear that illegal migration will be stopped.

A Europe of the people is a democratic Europe. We should ensure that the European elections are safe. Russia, China, trolls, fake news or Cambridge Analytica will not decide Europe’s future. Only the people of Europe will do this.

A Europe of the people is a fairer Europe. With digitalisation, a revolution is ahead of us. We want a new fair deal for Europe, starting with fair taxation: digital businesses should contribute to social justice in our societies. Fairness also means ensuring the same level of living conditions and income to all the people in Europe.

A Europe of the people is also a Europe that has a strong European voice. Europe is still an economic giant, but a political gnome. Let’s change the decision-making process on foreign affairs in the Council to majority voting! Crisis times are over. Let's make this century a European one again", Weber concluded.