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 SchulzRefugees cost us money too when they come to us. If we improve their living conditions in Turkey, we create an incentive for them to stay there and not to place their fates in the hands of smugglers.
Martin SchulzI spoke with Gerhard Schröder about a lot of things, including foreign policy. Schröder knows how important European policy is to me personally. I have worked together with Angela Merkel on European policy for many years, so I was surprised when Volker Kauder who has little experience in European policy, claimed that I had not represented German interests in Europe. That's an example of how the conservatives conduct an election campaign.
Martin SchulzMs. Merkel is avoiding retirement issues. She simply doesn't want to do anything, although she knows that doing nothing means that real pensions will fall. That is preprogrammed old-age poverty. When it comes to wage fairness: It was Ms. Merkel herself who blocked the establishment of a right to return to a fulltime job after going part time for a period. Yet everyone keeps saying that our platform is identical to that of the conservatives. It's crazy.
Martin SchulzTrump has a clear goal: the division of Europe and the destruction of the European domestic market. The fact that Brexit propagandist Nigel Farage was the first European he received in his tower speaks volumes. That is why we must strengthen the European domestic market and work even more closely together in Europe. That is absolutely compulsory for Germany.
Martin Schulz