“I think we need debt relief, and it’s the first time we’ve discussed that” Mr. Schultz said in his interview, adding that “the Commission is not reluctant to discuss this, and even Germany is open to debate”.
Mr. Schulz noted that Greece’s international creditors “need to stop with this idea that we could demand more sacrifices. We can no longer cut wages and pensions. What we need is recognition – recognition that Greece, in 2015, has reached a primary budget surplus. That means that the sacrifices we demanded from the Greeks are now bearing fruit”.
When asked whether the austerity measures implemented in Greece were excessive, European Parliament President responded that he has “never been a supporter of these austerity measures. Cleaning up a budget, rearranging sovereign debt is necessary, but if you don’t have economic growth or employment to raise national income, you’re never going to fix a budget in the long run”.
In relation to the refugee crisis, Mr. Schulz argued that a refugee relocation system to include all 28 European Union members is necessary. When asked why such a system has not worked so far, the German politician responded that nationalist approaches from certain governments have caused an unprecedented, cynical crisis; on the one hand they refuse to participate in the relocation program and on the other they claim Europe is unable to address the refugee crisis.
Brexit is a scenario Mr. Schulz estimates the European Union and the Eurozone are not ready to deal with. “I think one of the problems of the euro zone is this macro-economic imbalance – in our jargon that means very uneven development within the euro zone. We must fix that, whether Britain stays or leaves. But I think if it left, that would force the other member states to realize: now is the time to act. And in any case, after June 23, we’ll need to discuss the future structure of the European Union” Mr. Schulz commented.
Regarding the refugee agreement with Turkey and the viza liberation process which depends on Turkey’s will to modify it counter terror laws, Mr. Schulz stood his ground: “What I did last week is that I stopped the plan for visa-free travel that the Commission put to the Parliament, because Turkey had in no way met the 72 criteria demanded in exchange. Among them is a reform of anti-terror legislation, a reform of data protection, and just as this man mentions, if Turkey continues on this path and says it won’t reform anti-terror laws, then we won’t begin these discussions on visa-free travel”.
You can read the full interview in Euronews here.