--- title: Q&A with Ursula von der Leyen | TIME description: Germany's Minister of Labour and Social Affairs talks about keeping the Eurozone intact, increasing minimum wage and being working mother of seven canonical: https://time.com/video/6sky6QGY/ og:title: Q&A with Ursula von der Leyen og:description: Germany's Minister of Labour and Social Affairs talks about keeping the Eurozone intact, increasing minimum wage and being working mother of seven og:url: https://time.com/video/6sky6QGY/ og:image: https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/6sky6QGY/poster.jpg?width=720 og:type: video.other twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Q&A with Ursula von der Leyen twitter:description: Germany's Minister of Labour and Social Affairs talks about keeping the Eurozone intact, increasing minimum wage and being working mother of seven twitter:image: https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/6sky6QGY/poster.jpg?width=720 --- # Q&A with Ursula von der Leyen > Sponsored content. 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They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription. ## Video: Q&A with Ursula von der Leyen [Watch (HLS stream): Q&A with Ursula von der Leyen](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/6sky6QGY.m3u8) (4:41)  _Published 2013-07-30. Germany's Minister of Labour and Social Affairs talks about keeping the Eurozone intact, increasing minimum wage and being working mother of seven_ --- Jul 27, 2023 3:40 PM UTC --- ## More From This Series [All Videos](https://time.com/video/) [President Volodymyr Zelensky Addresses Corruption Scandals in Ukraine's Government](/video/nAkoKKQy/) ### President Volodymyr Zelensky Addresses Corruption Scandals in Ukraine's Government [Volodymyr Zelensky Visits Retaken City of Izium](/video/I0I7CCcb/) ### Volodymyr Zelensky Visits Retaken City of Izium [CBS Democratic Debate: Sanders and Clinton on Iraq War](/video/tCIZg8V8/) ### CBS Democratic Debate: Sanders and Clinton on Iraq War --- ## Transcript >> Hello. I'm Assistant Managing Editor Rana Foroohar and I'm here with Germany's Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Ursula von der Leyen. Thank you so much for your time, Minister. There's a lot of debates about Germany's leadership in Europe and what role it should play going forward to stabilize the euro. Tell us your thoughts on what Germany has done already to keep the Eurozone intact and what it can and should do going forward in the next year? >> We know in a globalized world it's crucial for all of us to stay together as Europeans. What we do have the moment being is on one hand consolidate our budgets. On the other hand we need to be more competitive as a European continent itself and the third factor is fight unemployment. This is the most important thing. By now we need kind of a new deal in Europe that we stick together politicians, employers to fight youth unemployment, bring vocational training to have skilled workers, to give a perspective to the young generation, and to provide loans to small and medium companies so that we have sustainable jobs on the long term. That is the task right now we're heading for. >> The German model of vocational training is one that's actually being copied worldwide. There's a lot of interest in the US in this, but within Europe can countries like Italy, Spain, Greece, can they develop a German- style economy and should they? >> Well, when we're talking about German style of economy, we're talking about a secret of success which is for the young generation if you leave school and you're not going to college, how can you be a skilled worker. A lot of innovation in our small and medium enterprises comes from these people coming out of the vocational training because they are expert in their branches and therefore this is something I think on a globalized world you need this apart from the academia. >> We've talked a little bit in the past about wages. What do you think can be done? Should they rise? Should there be a cut in consumption taxes? What are some of the other mechanisms to spur consumption in Germany? >> Well, if you look at the wages in Germany the last 3 years they have risen. We have healthcare coverage for everybody. We have a pension system where 97 percent of the population can live off and we have unemployment payments that are going on. So these are stabilizing factors you should not neglect. If you look at inequalities, the inequalities are getting lower over the last 3 years which is the right way to go. The strong German economy has a lot of suppliers that are not located in Germany but in other European countries. So other European countries benefit a lot from the German strength of the economy at the moment being, which is also a stabilizing factor. >> So when German exports go up, you're saying that suppliers in another country does actually benefit-- >> Oh yes. When German exports go up by 10 percent for example, you see that the suppliers importing to Germany, the imports go up by 9 percent. >> Well, I wanna ask you a couple of questions that are more on the sort of personal trend in the work family debate. You are if there ever was one a German superwoman, you have 7 children, you are the Minister of Labor. How have you done it all and in what way do you think you have become a role model for not only German women but women worldwide that want to balance a high- level career and a very large family? >> Those who have a good education who are willing to have children take responsibility for children. They need all the support of the society which is concerning child care which is concerning good schools, flexible working hours, all these things. And one other factor of course my husband does a lot. Yes, I always think that children have a mother. They are right to have time with their mother but they also have a father. He is not the second- hand mother. He is an exceptional father which is a value itself for the children. The society of the future I think will have fathers and mothers who both care and have a career. If you kind of divide the packages on both shoulders, there is more time for the children and better time for the career too. So if you wanna have skilled workers, you have the female potential and the male potential, and if you wanna have the best talents of the world you better think about how is it possible to have children and a career. >> And attract both men and women to do something. >> Exactly. >> Well, I think that's a great place to end. 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