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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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At the end of the day, men like Donald Trump need to be given that which they themselves dispense: clear messages. I would confront him as clearly and explicitly as possible. It is not only the right, but also the duty, of the leader of a German government to do that.
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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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The EU is an unique project that replaced war with peace, hate with solidarity. Overwhelming emotion for awarding of Nobel prize to EU
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If cooperation among governments were the superior concept for progress in Europe, I'd be onboard immediately. But the problem is that cooperation isn't working.
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The EU is a community of values, not military buildups.
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I'm fully aware that my vision of a European bicameral parliament can't be implemented tomorrow. I'm also not an integration fanatic.
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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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The racist rhetoric that extends all the way to the top of the AfD shows that one must assume that an attitude is prevalent - not just in the grassroots, but also among party leadership - that is not consistent with the basic values reflected in our constitution.
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Donald Trump is withdrawing from the Paris climate agreement because he wants to lower environmental standards for American products and manufacture more cheaply. His reasoning is quite simple, but very shortsighted. It won't succeed because, by doing so, Trump is missing a golden opportunity to modernize American industry.
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At the time, Jean-Claude [Juncker] was already an important man in Brussels. I was a young representative in the European Parliament. We talked for a long time and from that point on, our connection became increasingly deep. But our working-class origins are at least as important to our bond.
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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.
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European policy is always an interplay of rationality and emotion.
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We have committed ourselves to pursue joint policies, but then national governments say, We aren't bound by that. That is a dramatic situation, because solidarity is a basic principle that cannot be had on an à la carte basis. If we have rules that nobody adheres to, then the community will break apart.
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You can be sure that I won't experiment with right-wing terms.
Martin Schulz
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We need a big debate in society about how we are going to shape Europe and tame capitalism. A government must provide direction and make concrete proposals. It is one of Angela Merkel's biggest failings that she doesn't do this.
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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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We have to engage in a dialogue with Donald Trump because he is the elected president of the United States of America. But we have to emphatically oppose his foreign policy ideas.
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We need economic growth in Europe and we need to find a solution for the excessive interest rates that are making it difficult for many countries to get their own debt under control.
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Trump believes politics is a staged fight. But it is not. Still, clear words are sometimes needed in politics. In that sense, I believe I am better than Mrs. Merkel.
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If we want to defeat Islamic State, we first have to arrive at a cease-fire agreement in Syria. Once that has been achieved, an anti-IS coalition can be assembled, including Russia, Saudi Arabia and Iran. That, however, will be significantly more difficult in the wake of Turkey's downing of the Russian plane.
Martin Schulz