SOTEU: Juncker offers weak vision of Europe's future

In response to President of the European Commission, Jean Claude Juncker’s State of the Union address, Oxfam’s Head of EU Advocacy, Natalia Alonso, said:

“There is no way to end irregular migration if there are no legal and safe channels. Juncker must support measures to protect people fleeing war and persecution, including through fair and equal access to asylum.

Juncker talked of saving the honor of Europe by providing human conditions in reception centers for migrants. Currently people face overcrowding and lack of basic rights in Greece and Italy, which must end now.

Europe leads the world in providing development aid. It mustn't put its achievements in fighting poverty at risk by trying to tie aid to its foreign policy objectives. A "you scratch my back, I scratch yours" approach to aid risks diverting aid from the people who need it most.

Juncker's speech envisioned a Europe of equality, which has to be based on fair tax. We must tax corporate profits where they are generated to uphold decent public services and build a fairer and better society. Juncker chose to ignore the issue of tax havens, but the future of Europe must be one where tax dodging is a thing of the past."