In the eye of the storm – Martin Schulz on mission to save the EU

In the eye of the storm – Martin Schulz on mission to save the EU
By Isabelle Kumar
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If you Google the word’s ‘trouble’ and ‘Europe’ the article list runs into pages. Hardly surprising really.

Europe’s in-tray of various emergencies seems to grow by the day. At the top of the to-do list; finding ways to tackle the refugee crisis, the threat of terrorism, populism, the economic crisis and of course, Brexit.

There are also less tangible but no less important priorities such as image, the fact that talking about the EU is seen as chronically dull and basically a big turn-off.
Martin Schulz is the President of the European Parliament and has dedicated his life to European politics. He has attempted to inject the parliament with a new dynamism in a bid to make European politics more relevant. But the jury is out as to whether the impact of that has been felt beyond Brussels. However, he remains undeterred in his mission to save the EU.

What question would you ask MartinSchulz</a> president of the European Parliament? Send yours with <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AskSchulz?src=hash">#AskSchulz</a> <a href="https://t.co/hkTLhRcEvn">pic.twitter.com/hkTLhRcEvn</a></p>&mdash; euronews (euronews) May 3, 2016

Schulz is in an unenviable position – a defender of the EU at a time when a growing anti-EU minority is gaining popularity across the continent. The referendum in Britain on leaving the EU is adding fuel to the fire. The vote is tuning in to people’s disaffection with Europe and, for once, generating excitement about an EU issue as the UK flirts with the unknown of quitting the club.

Disunity in the 28-nation bloc is one of the major obstacles to dealing with its woes. At this time of crisis the search for compromise means proposed solutions to the EU’s problems end up distorted and watered down. As Europe’s to-do list gets longer it seems the recriminations get louder. Some European leaders lay the blame firmly at the EU’s door, while those in the EU Institutions argue that their solutions are too often blocked in the interests of boosting national politics.

Caught in the eye of the storm Schulz is training his energy on saving a project he holds so dear by highlighting how much worse the alternative could be.

Martin Schulz will be talking to Isbabelle Kumar in an upcoming interview for The Global Conversation where he will respond to some of your questions. Leave yours as a comment on the Facebook post below or tweet it to us with #AskSchulz.

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