On the occasion of the plenary debate on the preparation of the EU leaders' meeting later this month, the president of the Socialists and Democrats Udo Bullmann, said:
“What has happened this week off the coast of Italy is a symbol of what is going wrong in Europe. It's about more than just the asylum system, it's about the general principles of solidarity, unity and rule of law, which are being challenged by populist and nationalist governments. Italy has, under the previous progressive government, taken a lion's share of the responsibility for migrants. The European Council needs to follow the EP decision on the asylum system and reach a universally binding solution in which member states share humanitarian responsibility for refugees fairly. However, if the new right-wing and populist Italian government chooses to show its strength by letting pregnant women and children suffer on a boat, then there is something utterly and completely wrong in the European Union.
“With this kind of irresponsible and cruel behaviour, people like Salvini, Orbán or Kurz, whose country will chair the next European Council Presidency, are attacking the foundation of our community, and all of this is happening with the approval of the European People’s Party. They pretend to be pro-European but, in fact, keep very close ties with the right-wing Hungarian government. This is especially true for the Bavarian CSU and Prime Minister Markus Söder whose Conservative branch is consistently inviting Orbán to participate in party events. This is the height of hypocrisy.
“We call on the leaders who meet at the end of this month to finally stop talking and start acting! We cannot postpone this any longer. We need a better Europe, to stop fuelling the populists and nationalists who thrive on the EU's inadequacies, and we need it now!”
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