Highly educated workforce is a remedy to counter delocalisation, says Rasmussen

Strong focus on education, research and innovation will help Europe maintain its welfare system and avoid delocalisation according to Poul Rasmussen, the leader of the European Socialists. Asked about the solutions he advocates for avoiding delocalisation to low wage/low tax countries, he said: "It's about being number one in the added value chain all the time. The knowledge contained and the added value in our products should be the highest ones all the time. This can be reached through a proactive education and training policy combined with research and innovation".

The newly elected President of the European Socialists is in favour of "establishing a common minimum level of corporate taxation" and comes out against "unfair competition of the lowest tax rates which will undermine our welfare state". However, he does not consider a harmonised tax system at EU level to be "the remedy against delocalisation".

Rasmussen feels among all European Socialist parties "a common wish to modernise, to strengthen, to push the European Socialist Party as the strongest political voice for a Europe with more and better jobs, security and sustainability, and as a strong player on the world scene".

The former Danish prime minister says that the Socialists want a Constitution which gives "a firm ability to act, to decide, to focus, and which underlines our common, universal values, which strengthens the EU's capability of talking with one voice - not least as far as foreign policy is concerned - and which gives Europe a better capability of ensuring our goals in the Lisbon process".

He confirms that the European Socialists want Turkey to become a full EU member but underlines that "there is a long way to go for Turkey as far as fulfilling the demands of the Copenhagen criteria is concerned".

With the European elections only a fortnight away - between 10-13 June 2004 - Rasmussen will be touring the Member States to convince voters to vote socialist, while an election 'pledge card' highlighting four of the Socialists' top priorities will be handed out in shopping centres and markets.

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