EPP leader Weber calls Selenski’s US visit a “wake-up call” and calls for tank deliveries to Ukraine

Weber saw Selenski’s visit to Washington as a wake-up call for Europe. “I would certainly have wished that his first trip abroad since the beginning of the war was to the EU,” he said. But he “fully understands” that Zelenskiy chose Washington because military logic is now the focus. “For us Europeans, this visit is another wake-up call to finally be on an equal footing militarily.”

Regarding the corruption scandal in the European Parliament, Weber said that it was about the “failure of individuals”. Nevertheless, he calls for the transparency regulations to be extended to state actors and for non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to be monitored more closely.

Read the full interview here:

Mr. Weber, President Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit to Washington shows that the Europeans only play a secondary role from Ukraine’s point of view. Didn’t the EU set out to become a geopolitical power?
We are at the beginning of these ambitions. The EU has launched nine sanctions packages with the USA. This shows that we are closed. Nevertheless, the initial phase, and precisely the hesitation on the part of the federal government, created many doubts. The Americans led the way. As Christian Democrats, we are very grateful that America is this power of orientation and that Joe Biden is in the White House.

Wouldn’t you have wished that Zelensky had traveled to Brussels first?
I would certainly have wished that his first trip abroad was to the EU. But I fully understand that he chose Washington. The military logic is now central, and that is why Washington is the central place for him. For us Europeans, this visit is another wake-up call to finally get on our feet militarily in earnest. We must now prepare for the next phase of the war. By spring at the latest, Putin will step up military pressure and launch a new wave of attacks.

What must Europe do?
First, we need to continue to provide Ukraine with financial support. The 18 billion euros released by the EU last week are an important signal. Secondly, we need a winter of solidarity, we need to help Ukraine repair the bombed-out energy infrastructure and take in refugees. And third, I’m sorry: guns, guns, guns. Whoever wants to end this war must strengthen Ukraine militarily in such a way that Russia desist from this campaign.

Also with the delivery of Leopard and Marder tanks?
Yes. Winter serves to mobilize Putin. His visit to the Belarusian ruler Lukashenko suggests that another front could emerge. We have to face reality. The reality is that Putin does not want a diplomatic solution. Unfortunately, we are stuck in the military logic, and that requires arming Ukraine accordingly.

While world politics is being made in Washington, Brussels is busy with a corruption scandal. Are revelations about alleged bribes from Qatar and Morocco to former European Parliament Vice-President Eva Kaili damaging the entire EU?
I hope not. It is the failure of individuals. It’s bad that credibility has been damaged. But the good thing is that it is cleared up. The rule of law works.

In an advertisement, the EPP claimed that the scandal had a name, that of the Social Democrats. Isn’t the situation far too serious for such party tactics?
To date, only Social Democrats are affected. Therefore, they bear a special responsibility. Nevertheless, not all of the colleagues affected by the scandal have been sanctioned by the Social Democratic Group. And anyone who refuses that we are tightening the rules for the NGO scene now that an NGO is at the center of the affair is not giving the right answers.

Can you be sure that there are no corrupt MPs in your ranks?
No, nobody can. But I have full confidence in my colleagues. If we have incidents, we will take vigorous action against them.

Your party doesn’t seem to be completely clean either. The European Public Prosecutor’s Office has just applied for the immunity of your colleague Maria Spyraki to be lifted.
That’s right. She asked for it herself. It is a routine case involving the payment of employees. This process is now being clarified, but it has nothing whatsoever to do with Qatar or Morocco or the corruption investigations.

>> Read also: The corruption scandal surrounding Eva Kaili has shaken Athens

Your party, the CSU, has already become conspicuous with affairs. What can the European Parliament learn from this?
The European Parliament sets standards in terms of transparency and openness, and we need not shy away from comparisons with national parliaments. In the Kaili case, all the rules that we already have in Parliament were broken.

So can everything stay as it is?
No way. We must turn to the actions of state actors. So far, the transparency regulations have mainly applied to the private sector, but there are hardly any rules for government action. And we have to illuminate the NGO scene. The interests of authoritarian countries can hide behind supposedly well-meaning organizations, as the affair shows.

The coming year will be dominated by industrial policy: Europe must react to the US subsidy program IRA. The EU Commission is proposing to relax an investment fund and state aid law. Is this the right approach?
The revision of state aid law is overdue. We need to enable global champions, but also respond to American subsidy competition. It’s good that the US is now leading the way in greening. But we have to talk to them about special regulations in individual sectors. In the auto sector, America must accommodate us and make it clear that cars produced in Europe have the same access to the US market as American vehicles.

If we relax the state aid rules, the question naturally arises as to how we can still guarantee equal opportunities on the internal market, because countries like Germany have larger financial reserves than Italy. Isn’t there a need for a new EU fund?
European investments are needed, and there has been a lack of that in recent years. But I warn against a debt race. To this day we do not know how the debt for the Corona reconstruction fund is to be refinanced. The tasks are enormous, but the funds that we already have are enormous. We should therefore re-discuss where the money is most urgently needed. We need a review of our finances, not a call for new money first.

>> Read also: The USA is making concessions to the EU in the subsidy dispute – but questions remain unanswered

What should Europe spend less money on?
Some member states are struggling to find enough meaningful projects for the money from the corona fund. There are recording problems. And we shouldn’t stop at thinking about subsidies in the debate about the IRA either. Subsidies for the green transition are necessary, but we must not believe that they will solve our economic problems. 2023 must be the year of competitiveness.

What do you envision?
We need a full system check. For example, we must now strengthen the internal market in the telecoms sector and speed up approval procedures. And we should finally sign the Mercosur trade agreement with South America, just as a new agreement with the USA needs to be launched.

Mr. Weber, thank you very much for the interview.

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