“Europe – or rather the EU – is also very important when you consider how much influence is already being exerted by other powers (Russia, China, India, USA), especially in the poorest regions of Europe. The delegate from the French region of Mayotte* said that more than half of the population in her region lives below the poverty line. There needs to be a solid foundation to keep these influences at bay, namely the EU. “However, realistically, it will not be possible to ‘transfer’ much money from rich to poorer regions,” says Schobesberger.
*Note: Mayotte is part of an archipelago in the Indian Ocean between Madagascar and the coast of Mozambique. It is an overseas department and therefore a region of France.
705 representatives from 27 European countries sit in the parliament building. Every spoken word is synchronously translated into 26 languages. “I think that’s great. My grandfather lost four brothers in World War II. Today you sit in a room and talk about things instead of destroying people with poison gas and mass bombs. Unfortunately, this is too often forgotten,” Schobesberger said.
Schobesberger, on the other hand, criticizes a “Europe of different speeds”. The ability of each State to prevent decisions is often painful, but it forces discussions. “You have to get closer. At some point there will be a window in which a decision becomes possible. “It’s like being part of the local council,” smiles the mayor of Vöcklabruck.
“As a small country, we have no voice in the world. The EU is our common voice. It irritates me when people attack the EU. The EU is our common voice, the populists are the throat cancer of this voice”.
The trained mechanical engineer also has a clear opinion about the “green economy”: Basically, this can only work if the EU – which has great market power – sanctions products that are manufactured in a way that is harmful to the climate (keyword : Crabon Border Tax).”
For person
Peter Schobesberger is mayor of the Upper Austrian district capital Vöcklabruck in the Hausruckviertel. He visited Brussels as part of the Committee of the Regions’ YEP program (CR, YEP stands for “young elected politician”). The 37-year-old newcomer to local politics won the Upper Austrian town of Vöcklabruck, with a population of 13,000, for the Social Democrats in November 2021.