Babler: “Schmit is an ardent European, experienced and assertive” – As EU Commissioner, he implemented the minimum wage directive and the child guarantee
Vienna (OTS/SK) – SPÖ federal party leader Andreas Babler and the SPÖ’s EU top candidates Andreas Schieder and Evelyn Regner support the candidacy of Nicolas Schmit as the top candidate of the European Social Democrats (SPE) for the upcoming EU elections. “Nicolas Schmit is an ardent European who burns for workers’ rights and social justice. This is exactly what is needed to overcome the major challenges facing Europe. Schmit is experienced and assertive. Together we will fight with all our might for a stronger, better and fairer Europe,” said Babler today, Friday. The SPÖ leader, who recently met Schmit personally, emphasizes that as EU Commissioner for Employment and Social Rights, Schmit has implemented major social policy advances in the EU such as the Minimum Wage Directive and the European Guarantee for Children. ****
Andreas Schieder, SPÖ-EU delegation leader and SPÖ top candidate for the 2024 EU election, says: “Nicolas Schmit is already the social engine of the EU Commission and as our top candidate he will ensure that social issues are addressed at the EU level finally get the attention they need. Rising prices and rents have determined the everyday lives of people in Europe for far too long. We support Nicolas Schmit as the top candidate to make the EU more democratic and fairer.”
SPÖ EU MP Evelyn Regner, Vice President of the EU Parliament and second on the list, adds: “Without Nicolas Schmit there would be no EU minimum wage directive, which means a real wage increase for millions of people in Europe and strengthens the system of collective agreements. He represents our core issues of social affairs and work and has decades of political experience and an impressive track record. He is a political professional and pro-European and will bring the concerns of trade unions and progressive political forces into the electoral debate.”
For social democrats across Europe, the EU election is about defending common European values such as democracy, human rights and the rule of law and preventing the impending shift to the right. “Only a strong social democracy can guarantee an open and democratic society in which solidarity, equal opportunities, gender equality and the protection of our climate have the highest priority,” says Babler, who states that Schmit is the right man at the top of the European Union Social democracy is to ensure high-quality jobs, tax fairness and the best healthcare for everyone at the European level. (Final) ls/mb
Questions & Contact:
SPÖ federal organization, press service, Löwelstraße 18, 1010 Vienna
Tel.: 01/53427-275
https://www.spoe.at/impressum/