Thank you Mr Juncker for listening Newropeans!

Yesterday, March 17th, Jean-Claude Juncker, Luxembourg Prime Minister but also chairman of the Eurogroup, gave an interview in a German newspaper, die Welt[1], , warning against mass unemployment in the EU. This warning sounds like familiar to you? Thank you Mr Juncker for listening Newropeans!

In December 2008, Newropeans[2], the only political movement in Europe which has regularly relayed since 2006 the analyses anticipating the current crisis, has published its 1st European Socio-Political Alert warning about the outburst a massive burst of unemployment in Europe for the 3 years to come. a massive burst of unemployment in Europe for the 3 years to come. The fact that Juncker today dares to pull the same alarm confirms the accuracy and legitimacy of all these political expectations.

Newropeans’ first alert, "unemployment burst", is set at the crossing of two major concerns of Newropeans, democratising the EU and giving Europeans a strong voice in the world, since this is indeed a global crisis started out of Europe, in the United States, but which triggers a massive rise of unemployment in the UE which in turn poses a potential threat for democracy as history already showed.

More precisely, despite the conservative estimates made by the Member States and the European Commission, which a couple of months ago were still denying the existence of the crisis itself, Newropeans is now convinced that unemployment within the EU will reach historical levels in the course of the years 2009/2010. Over this period, one should expect almost a doubling of the number of unemployed, up to approx. 30 million people (versus 17 today), under the combined effect of bankruptcies, redundancy plans and the recruitment stop. The various revival plans currently announced that continue to ignore the systemic nature of the crisis will not have a significant impact on this trend.

Against this background, even before the complex implementation of the employment reconstruction process, and because of the possible duration of the most severe phase of the crisis (between two and three years), Newropeans asks all Member states to prepare as soon as possible, an urgent reform of the unemployment benefit systems in order to face this two fold increase:

- the increase in the number of unemployed
- the increase in the average duration of unemployment.

Instead of focusing the provision of public funding to financial institutions, and awaiting the necessarily long term impact of large public investment plans revival measures, it is essential that Member States avoid an explosion of their unemployment benefit systems for lack of budget.. And it is also vital to avoid that in on year from now million of unemployed reach the end of their benefits, et because of a lack of dynamic labor market sink into absolute poverty.

Newropeans is convinced that the April G20 summit is the last chance for the international community to coordinate its action and impact the development of the ongoing global systemic crisis.

Proposals and convictions that Juncker seems to share and defend. Doing this Juncker is in complete contradiction of all the positions of his European and American colleagues who are announcing with big trumpets effect the end of the crisis to 2010. But probably because as leader of one of these tax havens he has to take certain precautions to protect his country of the financial appetites of its European neighbours, who would also enjoy the heaven-sends of tax evasion. That is probably why he warns the G-20, and the EU, to decide on a blacklist of tax havens without prior consultation with the States concerned, and a risk of disintegration of the EU if it were happen. Does Luxembourg threat to leave the EU? Or is Juncker just more realistic claiming that without any European spirit the autopsy will determine what has emerged from the crisis?

Spirit yes, but above all, Mr Juncker, European policies, and this can only come through a real democratic European process.
 

David Carayol*
Paris - France

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*David Carayol is Vice-President of Newropeans, he is leading the coordination of Newropeans campaign in France - cf his blog Europemondi

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Notes: 
[1] Juncker warnt vor Massenarbeitslosigkeit in der EU - Die Welt 17/03/2009

[2]  the first citizens' movement to run for June 2009 European elections in 10 EU Member States

Watch the debate organised by France 24 here
European Socio-political Alert n°1 (11/12/2008) - READ NEWROPEANS ALERT 1 HERE

European Socio-political Alert n°2 - (15/01/2009) - Money of banks bail-out is about to miss its goal: Newropean requires a European financial commitment which should benefit to all citizens!  READ NEWROPEANS ALERT 2 HERE