'The far right is always provoking the situation': Belgium's former PM Elio Di Rupo

Talking Europe

Socialist veteran Elio Di Rupo has an unusual CV. He was an MEP back in 1989; he then held many high-level jobs in Belgium, including that of prime minister from 2011 to 2014, before returning to the European Parliament in this new five-year mandate. We ask him how the role of an MEP has changed since his first stint at the European Parliament, and what his priorities are for this next term. We also touch on the latest migrant-related tensions in the EU and the political and economic challenges in Belgium, which, like France, is under surveillance from the European Commission over its public debt.

Asked why he decided to stand for the European Parliament after holding top jobs nationally, including prime minister of Belgium and minister-president of Wallonia, Di Rupo responds: "Because now the European Parliament has a very crucial role; a role of co-decision [with the EU Council]. It's also the place where MEPs represent the European population. And we need a place where people can speak not only about politics, but about the reality of the lives of our population. In Europe, there is a lot of poverty and a lot of problems. Sometimes one has the impression that the European institutions are far away from that reality."

Like France, Belgium is under surveillance by the European Commission over its excessive public debt. Di Rupo does not see an easy way out. "In general, I am for a balanced budget," he states. "But the situation in Belgium is also due to Covid; the floods; and a lack of investment. We can do better in balancing the budget. But my feeling is that a four to seven-year period for dealing with the debt or deficit is a very short time. And there is another big problem. We have to construct European defence. We have to invest in cutting-edge technology. We have to face climate change and the decarbonisation of our economy. How are we going to match these priorities with the budget? Because if you look at Europe globally, it has fallen behind its competitors."

Di Rupo touches on the standoff between the EU and the Hungarian government, which is threatening to sending buses of asylum seekers to Brussels, in retaliation for fines that the EU has slapped on Prime Minister Viktor Orban's administration over the latter's non-compliance with common asylum legislation.

"Orban is one of the main problems in Europe now, especially with the war in Ukraine. You know, the far right is always provoking the situation, to show that they are the strong men or women, capable of solving problems. But that's not the reality. So I understand the reaction of the mayor of Brussels [who has called for the buses to be blocked at the Belgian border]." At the same time, Di Rupo concedes that "migration is very difficult. There is no simple solution. We have to take into account the suffering of the population and we cannot say, 'OK, we fully open the border and that’s it.' So we have to find a middle way; a just way."

Asked about the current attempts to form a coalition government in Belgium, Di Rupo says: "We have to be patient because they are talking, discussing. And we also have a municipal election on October 13. The negotiators may be waiting for this election before setting up the government. When I was prime minister, we had six political parties, and we did institutional reforms with eight political parties. That's the way Belgium solves problems."

Programme prepared by Perrine Desplats, Isabelle Romero and Luke Brown