Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1091272
10 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 10 MARCH 2019 NEWS Europe is at a crossroads, warns German MEP Ska Keller, the European Greens' co-chair: 'It's either borders, or a Europe that works for everyone' Europe will have to choose: either nationalism or progressive values Greens lead candidate and co-chair Ska Keller: the German MEP was hosted by Alternattiva Demokratika as she tours Europe's green parties ahead of the 2019 elections YANNICK PACE THE upcoming MEP elections will see Europe choose between regressive na- tionalist policies and values the Euro- pean Union was founded on, according to German MEP and Green Party lead candidate Ska Keller. "These European elections are going to be crucial because they are going to determine the direction Europe will be moving in," Keller told MaltaTo- day. "We see forces that want to take us back to nationalism, to erect borders and divide Europe. This is not the way forward." Keller was in Malta as a part of a tour of European member states ahead of this May's European Parliament elec- tions, where she held a press confer- ence on her party's proposals for the election together with representatives of Alternattiva Demokratika, the Green Party. She said that while the established parties in Europe are "advocating for everything to continue on the way it is", the Green Party was saying that the EU needs to change in a way that can see it fulfil its promises to everyone in Europe. The next challenge was to seriously address the matter of social justice. "We have rules on how much a state can spend but we don't have any bind- ing roles on social targets," she said, adding that it was crucial for this to change. This included ensuring adequate minimum wage levels, citizens' access to health insurance and the promotion of education among others. "The next level for the European Union is to have these types of social targets." On climate change, which is also one of the party's main priorities, Keller stressed that this had now also become a social issue. "Poorer people tend to be the worst affected by air pollution and extreme weather events," she said, add- ing that being forced to rebuild one's house or business was catastrophic for any person. She stressed the importance of Euro- pean states building an economy cen- tred round the environment. "Rather than following China's lead in devel- oping renewable technologies, Europe should be looking to be a leader in the sector… While many would probably agree on the need to safeguard the en- vironment, such issues, especially lo- cally, tend not to be enough to sway people's vote." Asked whether she feared this would again be the case, Keller said she felt that in recent years the effects of cli- mate change, for example, had become a lot more real for many more people. "Ultimately it is clear what's needed to be done to address climate change – all that is needed is the political will to do so." Keller also said that one of the biggest challenges facing the EU is tax avoid- ance. "We need to close the loopholes and make sure that companies pay their fair share," she said. "Right now we expect a small bakery to pay more taxes than a multinational giant and that is not fair." In this regard, she again said that peo- ple could understand what was happen- ing and that they could see money that could have been used for education and healthcare, being funneled out of their countries. "It is very important that we close the loopholes, but to do so we need European cooperation, because if one state does it alone then it's going to suffer, but if we're all going to do it together then we create tax justice." Alternattiva Demokratika leader Car- mel Cacopardo said the party would be launching its own manifesto later this month, but said that it too would em- phasise many of the same issues. He stressed the need for Malta to reduce the number of cars on its roads, and for the country to shift to a multi-modal transport network. Furthermore, he stressed that both in Malta as well as in Europe, a greater emphasis needed to be made on the need for the proper regulation of lobbyists. Alternattiva Demokratika leader Carmel Cacopardo said the party would be launching its own manifesto later this month "These European elections are going to be crucial because they are going to determine the direction Europe will be moving in"