Ahead of Europe Day on Saturday, our colleagues from RTL Télé invited five Luxembourg MEPs for a roundtable discussion about the European Union.
Despite the current global tensions, the MEPs still found several reasons to celebrate.
Martine Kemp, who represents the Christian Social People's Party (CSV) in the European Parliament, mentioned a renewed sense of European unity as well as the electoral victory of Péter Magyar in Hungary. Charel Goerens of the Democratic Party (DP) highlighted the fact of living in a Union based on a solid foundation of values. Tilly Metz of the Green Party (Déi Gréng) said that cohesion is a reason to celebrate, adding that European countries can be strong together in a globalised world. For Fernand Kartheiser of the Alternative Democratic Reform Party (ADR), meanwhile, Europe Day is a moment to reflect on what should be achieved collectively and where the Union's weaknesses lie.
The five MEPs discussed various topics for around an hour.
Regarding the minimum wage directive, Marc Angel of the Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party (LSAP) expressed his shock that Luxembourg is finding it so difficult to implement. The panellists also discussed unemployment benefits, which the Grand Duchy will have to pay out to cross-border workers after a transitional phase, and the elections in Hungary, where Viktor Orbán's time as head of government has come to an end.
Orbán has made life difficult for many heads of government in recent years, as he often stood against the rest. Goerens said it is a good thing he is gone now, but Angel pointed out that "mini-Orbáns" have already emerged, who will not necessarily make things any easier.
Angel advocated for abolishing the principle of unanimity. He argued that the EU must prepare for the possibility that it could one day consist of 35 member states, and by then a solution must be found to ensure that no single country can block decisions on its own.
This is a demand that Goerens has also long supported. Tilly Metz further emphasised that autocrats must not be allowed to hold 450 million citizens hostage.
Martine Kemp advocated for first abolishing the unanimity principle in matters of foreign policy.
Fernand Kartheiser – who no longer belongs to a parliamentary group – underlined, on the other hand, that the ADR sticks to the principle of unanimity.
The discussions also covered the conflict between the US and Iran, as well as the energy transition. On the latter, Kartheiser repeated his view that the EU should resume buying cheap Russian gas, but he was contradicted by the other MEPs.
