Mr Wieland, the issue of tax justice is to become the EU citizens is a Central concern, not least because of the “yellow West” in France. Do you believe that this question threatens the European Cohesion?
There, where the established forces have begun to be populist, the populist Problem is greater, because it is a promise competition is established. And in a the populists are better than the established parties: in the promise. The Populist is a political promise of competition still loose one on top of it. But if you need to deliver, then come in fix. In General, I believe that we have to make policy step-by-step, and less about the world as we would like, the should talk. The example shows the ‘Gilets jaunes’. They are the reaction to a fuel issue, I had to explain to me, in retrospect, so that public transport means are designed in France is much weaker than in my country. That is, if cars could not drive and the individual traffic is greatly reduced, people living in the area, concerning the cost of mobility is much more sensitive than elsewhere, and fight back, of course against an increase in the price of gasoline.
we Stay with the issue of tax justice. What financial policy changes at EU level would be most useful?
There is the question of what is tax justice. I would say that it would suffice for a first step, if the assessment were standardised basis. Thus, a certain amount of visibility it would, which is taxed at all. It is of little use, if a country has a tax rate of X, and another country will be applied a tax rate of X plus 10, but have completely different factors on the basis of the taxation. The basis of assessment must be to the ‘Level Playing Field’, and then you could turn to the amount of the Tax. I do not believe, however, that we will agree on uniform tax rates. More likely a control corridor. This would more correspond to reality.
President of the Bundestag Wolfgang Schäuble has called for the departure from the unanimity principle in the EU. How are you?
I insist. At the same time, however, must be clear to everyone that different member States may well have different ideas about which fields of policy, unanimity rules, and should be abandoned. When we say of a country where the taxes are relatively high, other countries, that there the taxes are to be raised, then the enthusiasm will be very limited. They will say: ‘This is damaging to our location advantage. If we do this at all, then only under the condition that we also introduce a majority decision on other political fields‘. It may then well be that the Germans, the French, or both, are so enthusiastic about majority decisions on a variety of other fields.
there is Currently a debate about the next EU budget period, between 2021 and 2017. How about the seven-year financial framework?
We need to get away from the seven-year financial framework. Of course this will not happen from today to tomorrow. EU budget Commissioner Oettinger has made the attempt, a five-year financial framework. That doesn’t seem, at least currently, not successful, although to me, this Initiative seems to be as a first step, overachieving. I could imagine that a five-year period always starts in year N+2 or N+1, i.e. always in the first or second year after a European election. This would mean that the newly elected Commission could make with the newly elected European Parliament together. To plan the world seven years in advance is absurd. In Germany we have one – or two-year budgets, and I would consider as an appropriate term for a budget that is deposited by a flexible medium-term financial framework. Another question seems to me much more important and urgent: We are making all of us seven years of a Bazaar, which the member States organise. You don’t need to have a maths degree to know that the equation, ‘I want to pay less, but get more’, will not work. Understand every school child. I don’t understand why some behave so, as if that could work.
Rainer Wieland (CDU) since 1997, member of the European Parliament and has held there since 2009, the Post of Vice-President. He is also President of the non-partisan Europa-Union Deutschland.
Published by EurActiv.
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