If you make verbal concessions towards the extreme right, you make them strong. And so we have to take action against them, not to appease them

Gerhard Schroeder

In an interview with the UK's Guardian newspaper, Mr Schroeder said that the recent rise in support for far-right figures - such as Jean-Marie Le Pen in France and the assassinated Pim Fortuyn in the Netherlands - showed people felt their security had been neglected by mainstream political parties.

"In France, and possibly also in the Netherlands, the right has been getting stronger because, among the public, a feeling prevails that the question of internal security - the protection of people - has not been adequately addressed," he said.

Europe is not just a market, a place of economic interaction, but also a place for social interaction. Europe is very much more than a market place

Gerhard Schroeder

Describing the rise of the far right as "renationalisation" of European politics, Mr Schroeder said democratic forces must confront extremists and avoid the temptation to accommodate their fears.

"If you make verbal concessions towards the extreme right, you make them strong. And so we have to take action against them, not to appease them," he said.

His comments came ahead of a meeting with British Prime Minister Tony Blair in Berlin on Sunday, which Mr Schroeder said would be dominated by issues such as the advance of anti-immigrant movements in Europe.

Brussels blame

Lambasting the "technocratic" language of the European Commission, Mr Schroeder also said Brussels was partly to blame for the far-right's advance because of an inability to clearly explain its policies.

Le Pen's success sent shockwaves across Europe

"Decisions from Brussels that have repercussions for the economy and therefore for the sensitivities of people in the nation-states should be communicated better, and this communication should be prepared before the decisions.

"Otherwise they cause anxiety and give impetus to groups we must regard as anti-European, on the extreme right."

Mr Schroeder urged European leaders to rally round different - more egalitarian - values, dismissing a "one-size-fits-all" free-market solutions for the European Union.

"It has to be clearer than in the past that Europe is not just a market, a place of economic interaction, but also a place for social interaction. Europe is very much more than a market place."

He said that the antidote to "renationalisation" was the enlargement of the European Union and a deepening of Europe's shared functions.

"It's always been a social model - a model at whose heart lies the idea that all citizens, or as many as possible, can share in the wealth that is created and also share in the decision-making.

"I think that this is the only way to anchor more deeply the European idea in people's hearts and minds."