In an interview, Luxembourg prime
minister and former Euro Group chief Jean-Claude Juncker, 58, urges
other EU countries to push ahead with structural reforms, explains why
he sees parallels between 2013 and the year preceeding World War I and
throws his election support behind Angela Merkel's re-election campaign.
SPIEGEL: Mr. Prime Minister, it has been seven weeks since you
stepped down as head of the Euro Group. Do you sometimes wake up in the
middle of the night and think: I absolutely have to give another
interview on the euro crisis?
Juncker: No, I'm not suffering from withdrawal symptoms. I would
say that I have a balanced state of mind. My life is less hectic and I'm
calmer and more relaxed.
SPIEGEL: For eight years, you were a kind of informal president
of the monetary union. When you take stock of your accomplishments
during this period, don't you have to admit that Europe has tended to
drift apart rather than become more close-knit?
Juncker: For my generation, the monetary union has always been
about forging peace. Today, I notice with a certain sense of regret that
far too many Europeans are returning to a regional and national
mindset.
SPIEGEL: What do you mean by that?
Juncker: The way some German politicians have lashed out at
Greece when the country fell into the crisis has left deep wounds there.
I was just as shocked by the banners of protesters in Athens that
showed the German chancellor in a Nazi uniform. Sentiments suddenly
surfaced that we thought had been finally relegated to the past. The
Italian election was also excessively anti-German and thus un-European.
SPIEGEL: You're exaggerating. No one today seriously doubts peace and friendship in Europe.
Juncker: That's true. But anyone who believes that the eternal
issue of war and peace in Europe has been
