<div>Senior European political figures appealed today for the EU to set aside lofty debate as it struggles with Brexit-style populism, and instead to focus on measures which clearly benefit citizens.<br /><br />Leading the charge, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble -- a linchpin of the Berlin coalition government -- scorned "political sermons," institutional reform and changes to EU treaties as proposed fixes for Europe's faultlines.<br /><br />"This is not a time for grand visions," the 73-year-old veteran minister, long a passionate supporter of the European project, told Welt am Sonntag weekly.<br /><br />"The situation is so serious that we have to stop playing the usual European and Brussels games," Schaeuble said.<br /><br />"The EU is facing an acid test, perhaps the greatest in its history." Schaeuble, a member of Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union (CDU), said the EU had to work "with speed and pragmatism" to unlock growth and thus create jobs.<br /><br />He sketched initiatives from a common energy policy to job training to harmonising national defence procurements.<br /><br />The CDU's coalition partners, the Social Democrats, meanwhile stressed strengthening the safety net for the poor or unemployed -- two big factors in the perceived collapse of confidence in the EU.<br /><br />The goal must be to "not only create competition but also social security," said Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel, describing the crisis in Greece as a pointer of a possible north-south split in Europe.<br /><br />In the southern French town of Aix-en-Provence, the European commissioner for economic policy, Pierre Moscovici, called for "strong initiatives... to reinvent Europe."<br />"Status quo cannot be a reply to Brexit," he said, referring to the June 23 referendum in which a majority of Britons voted to leave the EU.<br /><br />The vote dealt a body-blow to European federalists, who want the bloc's states to come into an ever-tighter embrace.<br /><br />Critics of federalism argue many citizens are hostile to Euro-centralism. They contend Brussels is not addressing concerns about jobs, living standards and migration.<br /><br />Moscovici threw his weight behind widening and extending the so-called Juncker Plan -- a scheme named after European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker which uses EU funds as a lever for investment in areas such as energy, infrastructure and research. <br /></div>
<div>Senior European political figures appealed today for the EU to set aside lofty debate as it struggles with Brexit-style populism, and instead to focus on measures which clearly benefit citizens.<br /><br />Leading the charge, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble -- a linchpin of the Berlin coalition government -- scorned "political sermons," institutional reform and changes to EU treaties as proposed fixes for Europe's faultlines.<br /><br />"This is not a time for grand visions," the 73-year-old veteran minister, long a passionate supporter of the European project, told Welt am Sonntag weekly.<br /><br />"The situation is so serious that we have to stop playing the usual European and Brussels games," Schaeuble said.<br /><br />"The EU is facing an acid test, perhaps the greatest in its history." Schaeuble, a member of Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union (CDU), said the EU had to work "with speed and pragmatism" to unlock growth and thus create jobs.<br /><br />He sketched initiatives from a common energy policy to job training to harmonising national defence procurements.<br /><br />The CDU's coalition partners, the Social Democrats, meanwhile stressed strengthening the safety net for the poor or unemployed -- two big factors in the perceived collapse of confidence in the EU.<br /><br />The goal must be to "not only create competition but also social security," said Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel, describing the crisis in Greece as a pointer of a possible north-south split in Europe.<br /><br />In the southern French town of Aix-en-Provence, the European commissioner for economic policy, Pierre Moscovici, called for "strong initiatives... to reinvent Europe."<br />"Status quo cannot be a reply to Brexit," he said, referring to the June 23 referendum in which a majority of Britons voted to leave the EU.<br /><br />The vote dealt a body-blow to European federalists, who want the bloc's states to come into an ever-tighter embrace.<br /><br />Critics of federalism argue many citizens are hostile to Euro-centralism. They contend Brussels is not addressing concerns about jobs, living standards and migration.<br /><br />Moscovici threw his weight behind widening and extending the so-called Juncker Plan -- a scheme named after European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker which uses EU funds as a lever for investment in areas such as energy, infrastructure and research. <br /></div>