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Referendums have always posed a threat when it comes to EU policy, because EU policy is complicated. They're an opportunity for those from all political camps who like to oversimplify things.

Martin Schulz

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Martin Schulz
Age: 68
Born: 1955
Born: December 20
Bookseller
German Politician
Non-Fiction Writer
Politician
Policy
Opportunity
Comes
Oversimplify
Political
Referendums
Always
Posed
Things
Camps
Like
Complicated
Threat

More quotes by Martin Schulz

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We are living through an epochal shift. If we aren't careful, the elementary foundations of our pluralistic democracy will be threatened.
Martin Schulz
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I find it surprising, however, that many German politicians generally oppose referendums, but then when it's an EU matter, they immediately scream for a plebiscite.
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I'm proud of the fact that Marine Le Pen in France insults me and Geert Wilders in the Netherlands calls me his opponent. The way I see it is, if these people weren't attacking me, I would be doing something wrong.
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Politics is a dynamic process. When I was a young man in the 1970s, Yasser Arafat had just perpetrated various terrorist attacks. Just a few years later, after I had entered European Parliament, the same Yasser Arafat was given the Nobel Peace Prize.
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I believe it is wrong to give Moscow a rebate on Ukraine sanctions because of Syria.
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If Merkel has discovered Europe in a beer tent, I can only say: better late than never. Otherwise, it was the height of hypocrisy: The chancellor sat down for a beer with CSU Chairman Horst Seehofer, the man who after the election praised Donald Trump as a very resolute man.
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Britain, Europe's second largest economy, a member of the G-7 and the UN Security Council, wants to leave the EU. That weakens us and it weakens Britain.
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Political leaders need to formulate long-term EU goals that show: Yes, we want to stay together.
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You have to let the people vote when it comes to a new constitution.
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Ms. Merkel's attempt to present herself as a Social Democrat was a clever move. But it's not working anymore. The divisions between the CDU and CSU have simply become too great for that.
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We won't get any growth in Greece by just imposing cuts. What I would prefer is a special economic zone for Greece.
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The claim made by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán that the refugee question is a German problem is incorrect. It is a European problem.
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In all of my speeches I talk about why a strong Europe is necessary in order for Germany to be strong over the long term. I think that I have sufficiently shown over the past years that I have a clear notion of how we can make Europe stronger, more democratic and more inclusive. There is really no competition there with Sigmar Gabriel.
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Turkey has in interest in finding agreement on more permissive visa requirements, it wants to be recognized as a safe country of origin and it wants to finally return to constructive EU accession negotiations. We Europeans decide all of those things together.
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You can be sure that I won't experiment with right-wing terms.
Martin Schulz
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I firmly believe that the inequity [in society] is enormous. The people have the feeling that you are allowed to do anything if you are rich. But if you're poor, you have to pay. We [Europeans] have to counter this.
Martin Schulz
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Having a place to live is a fundamental right and the state must establish a framework that ensures that apartments are affordable.
Martin Schulz
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When we were negotiating the ongoing financial period in 2013, I talked myself hoarse. London and Berlin in particular insisted on reducing the budget. So we - to the applause of German journalists - made cuts to central future-oriented areas and slashed the budget for development aid, research and technology.
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Europe was founded as a community bound together by solidarity.
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Things are going well in Germany because the economy is booming and as an export-driven nation, we are profiting from the fact that we have an excellent, high-performing SME sector. But if we want things to continue to go well into the future, then we have to break up the antiquated structures in some areas and really modernize.
Martin Schulz