Alfred Sant has told the Parliamentary Group of Socialists & Democrats in Brussels that the effects of the latest election results in the United Kingdom were not an isolated outcome but can be reflected elsewhere in Europe.

Socialists in Europe, Dr. Sant said, must focus on three main challenges. European socialists must find ways to meet the needs of the parties’ roots — workers, pensioners and those in need of social assistance, who constitute their core constituencies.

“They must project the aspirational needs of people, by encouraging private initiative and rewarding success, on the lines that had been advocated by previous Labour leader Tony Blair. And increasingly they need to balance the requirements of a united Europe with nationalist sentiments which are still strong in Europe.”

The Head of the Maltese Delegation at the S&D noted that European socialists have still as yet to counter effectively these three challenges.

At the same meeting, Dr. Sant also spoke on the eurozone during a debate on new proposals regarding its economic governance.

He said that the biggest hurdle in the eurozone lies with the fact that sharp economic divergences are still growing between different countries and regions, while most of the zone’s economies have been stagnant.

The MEP said that if piecemeal deepening of the eurozone’s structures and rules is pursued, as is currently being proposed, “the risk is that already existing divergences will further increase.”

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