Germany's Scholz warns of the rise of right-wing populists ahead of upcoming EU elections

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz warned of threats posed by right-wing populists Saturday as he addressed a gathering of center-left European parties ahead of elections for the European Parliament in June.

Scholz arrived in Romania's capital Bucharest for a conference of the Party of European Socialists, part of the Socialists and Democrats group, the second biggest in the Parliament. Voters in the 27 EU member states go to the polls 6-9.

“Right-wing populists are running election campaigns against our united Europe,” the German leader said at the Palace of the Parliament, which hosted the conference. “They are ready to destroy what we have built for the kids; they stir up sentiment against refugees and minorities."

Opinion polls indicate a significant shift to the right in the upcoming election, with the radical right Identity and Democracy group likely to gain enough seats to become the third largest group in the legislature, mainly at the expense of the Greens and the centrist Renew Europe group.

Scholz said a prosperous EU capable of “getting things done” is “the best response to populism and autocrats.” He also pledged continued support for Ukraine, saying it’s “key to restoring peace in Europe.”

Scholz leads an unpopular three-party coalition. Recent national polls have shown his center-left party far behind Germany’s main center-right opposition bloc and at best roughly level with the far-right Alternative for Germany party.

The Socialists and Democrats President Iratxe García Pérez also addressed the issue of rising populism in the June elections, saying those parties “only pose a threat to our European project.”

The meeting comes after the EU’s largest political party, the center-right European People’s Party, also met in Bucharest last month, where representatives endorsed Ursula von der Leyen’s bid for a second five-year term leading the bloc’s powerful Commission.

Jobs and Social Rights Commissioner Nicolas Schmit from Luxembourg, was chosen as the Socialists and Democrats lead candidate for Brussels’ top job. The next Commission chief will require approval from leaders of all EU’s member states. Almost half of the EU’s 27 national leaders are members of the European People’s Party.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, center, looks at Romania's Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu, left, before a group photo is taken ahead of the Party of European Socialists (PES) Leaders Conference, at the Palace of the Parliament, the second largest administrative building in the world after the Pentagon, in Bucharest, Romania, Saturday, April 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, left, talks with Romania's Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu, right, as they arrive at the Party of European Socialists (PES) Leaders Conference, at the Palace of the Parliament, the second largest administrative building in the world after the Pentagon, in Bucharest, Romania, Saturday, April 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)

Katarina Barley, left, hugs German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, center, as they arrive at the Party of European Socialists (PES) Leaders Conference, at the Palace of the Parliament, the second largest administrative building in the world after the Pentagon, in Bucharest, Romania, Saturday, April 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz takes part in the Party of European Socialists (PES) Leaders Conference, at the Palace of the Parliament, the second largest administrative building in the world after the Pentagon, in Bucharest, Romania, Saturday, April 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)

Romania's Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu, third left, talks with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, second right, and PES President Stefan Lofven, right, before a group photo ahead of the Party of European Socialists (PES) Leaders Conference, at the Palace of the Parliament, the second largest administrative building in the world after the Pentagon, in Bucharest, Romania, Saturday, April 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)

The European Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights and the PES candidate to be the next Commission President, Nicolas Schmit, left, talks with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, center, and Romania's Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu, right, ahead of the Party of European Socialists (PES) Leaders Conference, at the Palace of the Parliament, the second largest administrative building in the world after the Pentagon, in Bucharest, Romania, Saturday, April 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri voters on Wednesday got a step closer to getting to decide whether to raise the state's minimum wage to $15 an hour, after a group behind the effort said it turned in nearly double the required number of signatures.

The ballot measure backed by Missouri Jobs with Justice would raise the minimum wage from its current $12.30 an hour to $13.75 an hour next year and then to $15 an hour in 2026.

Citizen-driven amendments to Missouri law require more than 100,000 voter signatures to get on the ballot, and Missouri Jobs with Justice said it submitted about 210,000. Republican Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft's office must next determine if at least 115,000 or so are valid.

“We feel confident that voters will have an opportunity to pass this important initiative this fall," Caitlyn Adams, executive director of Missouri Jobs with Justice Voter Action, said in a statement.

Missouri voters historically have supported minimum wage hikes.

After the Republican-led Legislature in 2017 blocked St. Louis and Kansas City from raising wages in those cities, voters in 2018 approved a statewide minimum wage hike.

Under that plan, the wage floor — then $7.85 an hour — rose by 85 cents per year until it hit $12 in 2023. Pay rose again this year because of automatic increases tied to inflation.

The latest proposal also includes a requirement that workers get paid sick leave.

Employees currently not guaranteed sick days would earn an hour of paid leave for every 30 hours worked under the measure.

Businesses with fewer employees would be required to allow a minimum of five paid sick days per year, and larger companies would be required to offer at least seven paid sick days.

In this photo provided by Joni Wickham, advocates hoping to raise Missouri's minimum wage to $15 an hour turned in voter signatures Wednesday, May 1, 2024, to the Secretary of State's Office in Jefferson City, Mo. Campaigns need more than 100,000 valid voter signatures to put proposed changes to Missouri law before voters. (Joni Wickham via AP)