In a time of fleeting online fame and short-sighted opportunism, it’s reassuring to see politicians who’ve held the same values for decades — and behave as if they still matter.
When he entered the European Parliament as a member of the Socialists & Democrats (S&D) in 1999, Udo Bullmann had already been an active member of the German SPD since 1975.
Now S&D coordinator in the committees on development and trade and chair of the delegation for relations with South Africa, he started in the parliament’s economy committee, where he stayed for nearly 20 years, until 2018. One of the first issues he pushed for was a wealth levy to “control the damages of globalisation.” He also fought to close down tax havens to raise revenue for “education, healthcare and infrastructure.”
He is, however, best remembered for his protest against austerity during the euro crisis years of 2010–2012. As lead negotiator for the S&D in the economy committee, he challenged the rampant spending cuts imposed on Greece and Italy by the European Commission, the European Central Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the eurozone finance ministers — then led by S&D heavyweight, the Dutchman Jeroen Dijsselbloem.
Bullmann wasn’t afraid of being seen as fiscally irresponsible, as so many of his centre-left colleagues were — especially in the Netherlands and Germany. Instead, he argued that Europe’s fiscal woes could best be solved through investment.“It is a mistake to believe that we can [restore budget discipline] without additional programmes for growth,” he said in 2011, to largely deaf ears in both Brussels and Berlin.
Trying to bypass the EU’s notoriously strict fiscal rules — since softened but never fully rethought — he pushed for what became known as a new ‘golden rule’: allowing green, infrastructure, and education spending to be exempt from deficit limits.“Millions of jobs were under threat. Our idea was that investing in the future of their societies will pay off, while looking backwards and standing still does not. Green investment, as well as human development and education, could have been key,” he says, looking back at this era.
He never got his way. Green investment did briefly become the go-to policy for restarting the economy during the Covid-19 crisis, but only defence spending has since been granted lasting fiscal leeway. No such ‘golden rule’ applies to the EU’s other stated priorities in the social or climate realm.“We need sufficient resources to defend ourselves against Putin’s war of aggression,” Bullmann says. “But Europe seems to understand this only in terms of military spending. If we abandon the path of economic and technological sustainability, we risk losing both our future and our competitive edge.”
“Far too often,” Bullmann says, “we adopt the narrative of fiscal limits and austerity, which is the dominant narrative from the conservative rule book."
Scaling back social and green ambitions because of fiscal limits, he warned, could erode public trust in politics. “That plays directly into the hands of Putin and Trump’s agents: the rightwing extremists.”
“The problem,” Bullmann says, “is that neither our fiscal rules nor our European governance system is currently up to the task.” He welcomed signs of flexibility, pointing to the incoming German government’s creation of off-budget funds to sidestep what he called “the liberals’ fiscal trap of the past.”
But he warned against a growing imbalance. Prioritising defence over modernisation, or relying solely on national spending efforts, risks deepening inequalities across the eurozone.
“Other European economies will face higher interest rates to refinance their debt, without being able to profit from the new German course,” he says.
To address this, he argues, the EU needs joint borrowing. “A common bond market is essential. Not only for a flourishing European economy, but also to strengthen the euro as an international reserve currency and reduce our dependency on Trump’s political and economic ghost ride.”
But he worries Europe isn’t ready for that politically, which he partly blames on the left. “Far too often,” Bullmann says, “we adopt the narrative of fiscal limits and austerity, which is the dominant narrative from the conservative rule book."
“If we complain about the rise of the far-right, we need to ask ourselves how we’re living up to our own promise of tangible change,” he said. “Our people expect us to lead and open up perspectives on affordable housing, decent jobs, education for their kids, and fair play.”
Asked what it would take for care, education, and climate investment to become the default centre-ground of European politics, rather than a post-crisis exception, Bullmann says: “People will follow you if you offer a credible, inspiring vision that delivers results for the many, not just the few.” "More people are ready to engage than politicians often assume,” he says, “as long as they trust they won’t be left behind."
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Wester is a journalist from the Netherlands with a focus on the green economy. He joined EUobserver in September 2021. Previously he was editor-in-chief of Vice, Motherboard, a science-based website, and climate economy journalist for The Correspondent.
Wester is a journalist from the Netherlands with a focus on the green economy. He joined EUobserver in September 2021. Previously he was editor-in-chief of Vice, Motherboard, a science-based website, and climate economy journalist for The Correspondent.