Ray Frenken: The Luxembourg government is very pleased to see that Jean-Claude Juncker is staying on as Prime minister of this small European country. With me here is Jean Asselborn, he is the Deputy Prime Minister and also responsible for Foreign Affairs. He guided many of the Foreign Affairs Ministers meetings during the Luxembourg presidency, which just finished at the end of last month. Mister Asselborn, you just came out of a cabinet meeting of the Luxembourg government. How was the reaction to the outcome over there on that meeting?
Jean Asselborn: Yes, first the result is clear, 56% yes. For some people it is not enough, but I think, in this very, very difficult context it is a good result. It shows that Luxembourg is still pro-European and we can continue in this government with our Prime minister and with all the other ministers. So, I think it was a good day for Luxembourg and for Europe yesterday.
Ray Frenken: So, what message is Luxembourg now sending to the rest of the EU? Keep in mind also, that for instance Denmark, which had a referendum schedule, Portugal, they both scrapped the referenda after the rejections in France and the Netherlands. What does the Luxembourg yes mean?
Jean Asselborn: First, we have to remember that at the European Council there was no line to say "we will stop everything". Every country can do what is the best for that country. You know that Portugal, Denmark, Ireland and others said that it was not possible to organize [a referendum] now and that the result would be negative if they did it in fall, so it has been reported. In Luxembourg, the date of the referendum was fixed for the 10th of July, so we had only three weeks between this date and the European Council decision.
Ray Frenken: Does that say that you would have cancelled it, if it would not have been that close?
Jean Asselborn: No, it was not a good idea to cancel it. So, we kept this date 10th of July and now the result is positive. I think it is also a positive sign for the other countries. We didn’t save the European constitution in Luxembourg. We have to be modest and fair. But I think it was really symbolic and a positive sign to all the other countries, saying that the constitution is (…) not dead. So I think we have done in this difficult context – I repeat myself – a very good job here in Luxembourg.
Ray Frenken: So, you are providing a little bit of amunition for the discussion, the debate that the European Commission wants to reignite on the constitution?
Jean Asselborn: Not only the Commission, but we too here in Luxembourg. If you look at the result in the south of the country, a lot of towns said no to the European Constitution. So in Luxembourg itself but also in the European Union, we have to know that if we provide a social policy against the people and against what people expect from Europe, it cannot work. So we have not only to explain better, that is one thing, but that is not the most important. In substance, we have to [conduct] a policy in Europe [that is] not only based on liberalisation but also on the social aims that we have to fulfil.
Ray Frenken: Do you feel that the discussion on the services directive, which was a major obstacle in France in terms of getting the Constitution to be passed, that that was a big part of the discussion here in Luxembourg as well?
Jean Asselborn: Right, that’s what I said before. You cannot increase competitiveness at the cost of social policy and that was the spirit of this Bolkestein Directive. And so there the Commission, but also the Council, the whole European Union, has to see how to go forward on this way. Liberalisation is a good thing for a lot of people, but not at the cost of insecurity on the social aspect.
Ray Frenken: Yes, Frits Bolkestein, of course, the former Commissioner was responsible for that services directive aiming to liberalise services market in the EU.
I was standing here in the city of Luxembourg today, many flags at government building are at half-mast. We are here at the city hall, black ribbons in the flags out of sympathy with the attacks of terrorists in London last Thursday. On Wednesday in Brussels there will be a special meeting of interior ministers of the EU. You are not an interior minister, but what does Luxembourg want to be done, when it comes to speeding up the battle against terrorism?
Jean Asselborn: First, we have to see the difference in policy. We have fights, one government against another on a certain matter. And that I think is democracy, as you saw it, [between] Great-Britain and Luxembourg in our Presidency. But when you have to stay together, [show] solidarity with people in Great-Britain and solidarity also with Tony Blair and Jack Straw and the government, Luxembourg is on the side of those who suffer and also on the side of those who want to help. And therefore the meeting on Wednesday. (…) And I think the lesson must be: if you are an island in Europe you need a very, very strong cooperation on the police side, also on the justice side, and so we have to [improve] the system. I am not a fatalist, but it is very, very difficult to say "now we have done everything and nothing can happen" on this. We have to provide [for] a better cooperation in Europe, better information, yes, but also continue our policy of cooperation all over the world.
Ray Frenken: Minister Asselborn, thank you very much. There is a lot more to be said about that discussion as well, and also on cooperating against terrorism, but for now, here from Luxembourg, from the place Guillaume, the centre of Luxembourg town, back to you guys in London.