The “southerners” of the European Union are beginning to ask awkward questions: they have listed all their sins

For now, the slogan “solidarity” is being used instead of debate. Not even in the German conservative bloc has he heard a great hustle over the gigantic economic recovery package, despite the fact that Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) has renounced her principled position in the European Union when taking joint credits, the French president Emmanuel Macrono spoke a few weeks ago.

It is true that another politician from the German Christian Democratic Union (CDU) or the Christian Social Union (CSU) jumped from a harmonious line of solidarity and began to ask uncomfortable questions. Suppose countries that have not yet had financial discipline will take advantage of the coronavirus crisis to try to allow ‘debt unions’ to go through the back door?

How supportive were the “southerners” of the EU? Can they be expected to behave differently in the future and help put common debts in order?

In Germany, Austria and the Netherlands, critical analytical articles with interesting statistics appeared below (see below).

The Thrifty Quarter doesn’t promise to give up

The Italians or Spaniards who receive the highest subsidies interpret solidarity, of course, differently from net payers. And it is not just Austria, the Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden that are often called “shanty towns”. It is, above all, Germany, the strongest economic power in the Community, which would also become the main guarantor of credit through a joint loan.

It should not be forgotten that it is thanks to these countries that the Community can now obtain loans with the highest AAA credit rating, with a lower interest rate. The burden on these countries, and therefore on their taxpayers, is correspondingly greater.

Yes, the countries that are most successful in overcoming the coronavirus crisis should support those that have suffered the most. Another question is to what extent and under what conditions, Austrian Prime Minister Sebastian Kurz told the German magazine Der Spiegel.

He is aware of the desire of many EU members to attribute their debts to the Community, “Macron never hid this desire,” said the Austrian politician.

He recalled that the victims’ problems are much greater than the coronavirus, which in the past Italy, Spain, France did not make sufficient efforts to consolidate the country’s finances, and now, under the pretext of the coronavir crisis, they asked for help. However, according to Kurzeme, “the voice of those who pay must be heard in the decision-making process.”

Northern Europe to the south – “supersolidari”

“If we allow the coronavirus crisis to widen economic and social disparities in the EU, we will ignite the flames of nationalism and, in the long run, increase fragmentation in our Union,” said Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte.

“It is strange to hear the accusations by French President Emmanuel Macrono and Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte that northern Europe is not supportive,” wrote Jelte Wiersma, correspondent for the Dutch magazine Elsevier Weekblad in Brussels, in response to similar statements.

After all, the Netherlands even leads in terms of net per capita contributions to the community budget! Is this not solidarity?

Furthermore, as the southern-dominated European Central Bank keeps interest rates low, it hurts savers and helps debtors. In this way, the savings of northern Europeans and their private pension insurance are “eaten” again, to the benefit of “southerners”.

Unfortunately, neither France nor Italy have used low interest rates to consolidate their finances, as required by European solidarity, he points to the Dutch and mentions the sins of the southerners: “They have systematically violated the EU agreements on the euro since 1999 Growth and Stability Pact. Italy’s indebtedness has increased from 113 to 137 percent during that time. France’s debt was 60% in the year of the introduction of the euro and 100% on the eve of the coronavir crisis. Meanwhile, the debts of Germany, the Netherlands and the Scandinavian countries have always been around 60%. or less, except for a short time during a bank / credit / euro crisis. “

Wiersma recalls another sensitive point: tax morale, which is higher in the north than in the south.

“According to the International Monetary Fund, a quarter of Italy’s economy is bleak, Spain has a shadow economy of almost 20%, and Austria and the Netherlands have 9% and 13% respectively.”

Such things cannot ignore mistrust: if countries have lacked financial discipline in the past, why should it be different in the future?

Solidarity and the question of pensions.

In considering declared and real European solidarity, the Dutch journalist also raises the issue of pensions. “The Dutch have been working for an average of 41 years, the Swedes for 42.9 years, the Germans for 39.1 years and the Danes for 40 years,” Wiersma said, according to Eurostat. “In France, the figure is 35.4 years, in Italy it is 32. Spaniards, Belgians, Greeks and Portuguese also work for a maximum of 33-38 years.”

The bottom line is very basic: It means Nordics pay income taxes longer than Southerners, which enriches the state.

German journalist Hugo Müller-Vogg similarly argues in Focus: “Italy is losing billions in tax revenue by retiring 65 and 60-year-old men, while the German financial agency is relentlessly pushing and pushing Germans towards 67 years. Retirement limits “.

After all, the average age of Germans and Italians is almost the same: 45 years.

The issue of solidarity has prompted German Parliament MP Klaus Christian Willsch, a Christian Democrat, to recall the recent strikes in France. Have you thought about European solidarity and the shared responsibility of the French, with strikes against Macrono’s pension reform that lasted almost two months and caused billions of losses to the state?

The French state railway SNCF has only suffered so much from the 50-day strike that, according to its manager Jean Pierre Farandou, 40 high-speed TGV trains could have been bought for the lost money, the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung wrote on January 23, this year. “

And after all, his pension reform, Macron, hoped to fill the billions in financing gaps expected to open between 2025 and 2030; dissatisfied with the unwillingness of the French neighbors to work as hard as the Germans work, Willsch does not hide.

The German paradox: a rich state means poor citizens

In the eyes of other Europeans, Germany is a rich country, the richest in the European Union. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the German population. In terms of wealth per capita, Germans are even poorer than Italians, says Müller-Vogg, author of Focus.

According to Credit Suisse’s calculations, Italy’s private wealth is 5.5 times its gross domestic product. In Germany, private wealth is only 3.8 times the country’s economic output.

The non-brilliant wealth of the Germans and according to the median of the European private wealth (the median in the statistics is the value of a characteristic that divides the population into two equal parts. Exactly half of the population has lower values ​​or equal to the median, half the population has values ​​greater than or equal to the median).

According to Bank Credit Suisse 2019. According to the October estimate, Wikipedia provides the following average data of 2019 citizens’ assets in US dollars: France – 101,942, Spain – 95,360, Austria – 94,070, Italy – 91,889, Denmark – 58,784, Sweden – 41,582, Germany – 35,313, The Netherlands – 31,057, Estonia – 24,919, Lithuania – 22,261, Latvia – 13,348.

Also, 41 percent. Germans have less than $ 10,000 in wealth, and one in two Germans has no home of their own.

Rich Germany and its poor citizens, the poor Italian state and its rich citizens are interconnected. One of the reasons for this is the level of fees. In Germany, according to the latest data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the middle class has to pay extremely high taxes, says economist Daniel Stelter.

It also emphasizes the rigor of the German financial authority and the greater discipline of German taxpayers compared to the southern countries of the Community.

Politicians are also committed to their own taxpayers.

“In the name of a peace project for Europe, the Germans must show solidarity on the brink of pain. As Mario Draghi would say:” Whatever it takes. “If necessary, the (German) taxes and levies, which are already the most high among the 36 OECD countries, should be further increased so that Rome or Madrid do not have to burden their compatriots, “political scientist Wolfgang Bok told Cicero magazine on Thursday.

Austrian Chancellor S. Kurz says he understands Italy, Spain, or France’s desire to get as much tax money as possible from Germany, Austria, or the Netherlands. Due to his tough stance on the issue of total billions in debt, accused of populism, the young politician said: “However, I think it is also our job to represent our own taxpayers. You have to find a solution, but without losing the sense of moderation. “

“We want to help, we want to be in solidarity, but we are also committed to the people of our country, who work hard every day, who pay these taxes, so their contribution is finally talked about.” After all, it is not the politicians who will pay for this, but the working people, ”argued S. Kurz in favor of the magazine Der Spiegel.

Of course, Europe needs solidarity, says Focus Müller-Vogg author.

“However, solidarity should not be seen as a unilateral issue, as a commitment of the economically strongest for the benefit of the weakest. A well understood solidarity includes the efforts of those who expect help,” he said.

Many European politicians fear that the debate on solidarity will divide Europe. However, it can be seen differently. According to Clemens Schneider, author of the debate blog The European, the content of solidarity should be said: “European solidarity sounds good, but what is the expectation that Zaragoza, Salerno or Thessaloniki receive the support of the people of Groningen, Gothenburg or Giorlitz? Why should a Croatian nurse bear part of the financial burden that comes with, for example, early retirement from the French railways? Such “solidarity” would only strengthen the errant trend of the European Union. “