Speech: Full transcript of the G7 press conference of President Juncker
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Since we are in Germany, in Bavaria in fact, and since Bavaria is a place I particularly like to be, I would like to speak German at this press conference. Not in Bavarian, as I don't dare to attempt such an elegant language.
This meeting is being held in Bavaria in a very pleasant if somewhat expensive setting. The G7 summit, which brings together the European Union and many others, is something that is necessary but I must stress here that the G7 countries and the European Union are not the rulers of the world. There are others who are not rulers either. The reason we are here is because we bear responsibility in this world, not because we know better than everyone else. Others have their own knowledge, their own sensitivities, their own views and I listen very carefully to what others have to say, at meetings that may be far away. This is also something to be taken on board.
There are a number of priority themes at this G7 summit and of course a lot of what we will be discussing will be connected to the overarching theme of the economy. The European Union is, thank goodness, on the road to recovery - which wasn't the case at previous G7 meetings. It may be a slow process, but it is nevertheless a definite road to recovery. Forecasts suggest that we will reach economic growth of 1.8% in 2015 and 2.1% in 2016. This is not enough. We must generate a much higher level of growth in order to meet the challenges facing us today and those we will face in future. Even so, we have now turned the corner.
I'd like to mention here the virtuous triangle of European economic and financial policy. The first element in this, fiscal consolidation, is still needed. We have made great strides here, but it is still not enough and we must continue our efforts. We need structural reforms, not only in the countries covered by assistance programmes but in all EU countries, especially in the euro area. And we urgently need a boost in European investment. We need growth, we need jobs, so we must, without fail, close the investment gap that has opened up in the European Union since 2007. That is why the European Commission has presented an investment plan, the European Fund for Strategic Investments, which will be fully up and running in September. What we also need are fair, transparent and predictable tax systems. The European Commission has put forward a proposal on the automatic exchange of information on tax rulings and on 17 June - as promised at the G20 summit in Brisbane - we will put forward a European action plan against tax avoidance, in particular in the business world.
We must and we are determined to address the question of trade and trade relations. I know that many people are not keen on working intensively on this issue and would actually like to take it off the agenda altogether. But I would like to make it clear that I do not see the expansion of trade relations as a matter of putting trade under the dictates of power. No, the point is in fact to make optimum use of the opportunities that reside in international trade.
Very few people realise how important Europe's foreign trade is: 31.1 million jobs depend directly on exports. From 1990 to 2011 we created 12.8 million jobs that were export-dependent - an increase of 67 per cent. If we hadn't expanded our trade relations, we wouldn't have been able to create those 12.8 million jobs.
We must now work hard on speeding up ratification of the Bali Agreement on Trade Facilitation and we must also breathe new life into the Doha Development Agenda and its implementation.
We must deal urgently with the question of the supply chain. We need standards because international trade must have operating rules. We need minimum standards on employment and the environment. We cannot continue with a situation where our prosperity rests on social dumping in other parts of the world. This perverse process must be brought to an end.
Of course, we must also speak to our American friends and others about TTIP.
The President of the European Council has already spoken on climate issues. At the Paris summit, which we want to be a success, I will be pushing for binding agreements. This is not just a discussion between North and South. It is actually a discussion between this generation and the generations to come. This puts us all to the test.
Similarly, when it comes to development aid, we all have to step up to the mark. I will argue for sticking to the UN goal of 0.7%. Five European countries, members of the European Union, have met this target. Others must move in the same direction.
It is not enough to cry in front of our TV screens when we see migrants dying in the Mediterranean. We must also do what has to be done locally. So what is needed is a new global, ambitious effort in development aid.
Thank you very much and, as the Bavarians say, ‘Think ahead - act together’!
Question
Mr Juncker, I would like to know what is going to happen with Greece now. There have recently been renewed tensions with the Greek authorities - how can those tensions be overcome? What must Greece deliver? Will there be further negotiations in the margins of the Latin America Summit on Wednesday? Do you exclude Grexit?
Answer
Juncker
There are four questions there. Last Wednesday myself, and Mr Dijsselbloom at my request, had talks with Mr Tsipras and several of his ministers.
We presented and explained the agreements of the three institutions - the IMF, the ECB and the European Commission - and also made it clear where there is still room for further negotiations to move closer towards the Greek position.
There were no negotiations on Wednesday because the Greek side was not in a position to tackle these negotiations straight away, although I would have been gladly willing to do so.
On the Greek side, my friend Alexis Tsipras, promised to present an alternative proposal by Thursday evening, then he promised to get it to me by Friday. He wanted to call me on Saturday but I still didn’t have the proposal. You have to scrutinise proposals before you can take a binding position. I hope that we will receive the Greek alternative proposals soon, so that we have the right conditions to allow us to sit down with our Greek colleagues on the margins of the Latin America Summit and look at how to proceed.
I continue to exclude Grexit. In saying that, I want to point out that the reason I exclude Grexit is that I do not want it because I cannot foresee the consequences. But I don’t want the conclusion to be drawn from this sentence: ‘Grexit is out of the question’, which I repeat ad infinitum, that at the end of the day somebody - even if only the President of the European Commission - will pull a rabbit out of the hat that will enable us to move towards the final destination without making further efforts en route.
You had a third question - on the Latin America Summit: I would be very surprised if I don’t speak to Mr Tsipras there. But I would like to be able to examine the Greek proposals before we talk.
Question
Another Greece question to you Mr Juncker if I could. This is the first time we have been able to address you since Friday’s speech by PM Tsipras. The European Commission in general and you specifically had played a role of a reach-out to Mr Tsipras and as seen amongst the creditors as perhaps the most generous towards Greece. And yet Mr Tsipras’s speech to Parliament on Friday was very dismissive of your meeting on Wednesday and your efforts. I am just curious from a personal point of view what you thought of the speech of Mr Tsipras?
Answer
Juncker:
I was a little bit disappointed by the speech of the Greek Prime Minister at the Athens Parliament last Friday. He was presenting the offer of the three institutions as a “take it or leave it offer”. That was not the case. That was not the message given to him. He was presenting the offer of the three institutions as being mine and mine exclusively. He knows perfectly well that this is not the case. And he knows perfectly well that I was - during the meeting we had last Wednesday- perfectly ready to discuss on the main points where disagreements are between Greece and the three institutions. And I wanted to have these negotiations taking place last Wednesday. As I told you before, I am waiting for an alternative proposal of our Greek counterparts. I do not have a personal problem with Alexis Tsipras, quite the contrary. He was my friend, he is my friend. But friendship - in order to maintain - it has to observe some minimal rules.
Question
How much of an influence is the continuing Greek crisis having on economic growth and the euro area?
Answer
Juncker:
If somebody here wants to talk about Greece, I would be happy to do so.
Question
It is a question on climate. We all know that Copenhagen was a mess in 2009 and you have said that you are pushing for binding commitments. Does that extend as far as searching for everyone in the G7 to have emission trading schemes? Or are you going to focus more on cash and targets?
Answer
Juncker:
We will present our case. We have committed to reduce Co2 emissions by 40 % in comparison to 1990. We have shown that you have to be ambitious. We have been ambitious. We were able to reduce the emissions from 1990 to 2013 by 19% although the GDP was increasing by 45%. We would like others to join us. If we are reducing emissions by 40% in comparison to 1990 this would in fact mean that all the emissions of the UK, Germany and France would have been brought down to zero. So, Brexit, Frexit and Dexit, but in a different way than these expressions are normally applied.
Question
Greece: We have had a lot of deadlines. They have come and gone, but pretty soon there must be a real deadline. How long has Greece got to get a deal that releases the money it needs? PM made very clear that the most objectionable thing to him in the proposal was getting rid of the benefit for the pensioners. Can you give him an assurance that that is negotiable?
Answer
Juncker:
For sure there will be a deadline. The second point: ask Mr Tsipras what I told him when referring to the elements you are mentioning. Because he was not mentioning this in the meeting and I was addressing that subject. But he did not tell the Greek Parliament that we did address that subject already.
Question: We couldn’t hear you. Could you please repeat that?
Answer
Juncker:
If you want me to make my Luxembourgish German sound like Bavarian German, then I’m more than willing to repeat in Luxembourgish what was also understandable in English. Yes, for the technicians. The big problem between the EU and Athens is technical. In response to the question by your colleague from Reuters as to whether there is a ‘deadline’ for Greece, I said that there is a deadline. But I did not say when. Not because I want to make things exciting, but because I don’t want to say anything that would damage Greece or any other parties.
Second: with regard to the question about minimum pensions. I said that Mr Tsipras mentioned the point last Wednesday and that I had given him clear explanations which he unfortunately did not convey to the Greek Parliament.
SPEECH/15/5135
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