Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/1999-11-03-Speech-3-080"
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"en.19991103.6.3-080"2
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"Mr President, this has been a particularly interesting dialogue and I would like to begin by making an initial political comment. I believe that it is in fact dangerous to glamorise and glorify the facts and create false expectations in the same way that it is dangerous to dash efforts and to generate feelings of emptiness and despair.
I therefore believe that we should see macroeconomic dialogue in its true light. It is not a one-off event or even a process which will change the way things are in the European Union. It is, however, an innovation. It is a new endeavour which will enhance communication between those members and leaders of economic life who have never before sat at the same table. It is a dialogue between the masterminds of monetary policy, i.e. the European Central Bank, the political powers of Europe, represented by the Council and the Presidency, and the social partners, representing workers and manufacturers. We have full participation. All of us, the new Parliament and the new Commission alike, must act on a decision reached at the Cologne Council and it is important that we show the political will to develop, change and transform this dialogue since we are the ones who will be trying it out first, and with this first-hand experience we will be able to see where changes need to be made. I would like to stress that macroeconomic dialogue, as was also stipulated in Cologne, focuses in essence on the need for both employment and growth.
A particularly interesting agenda has emerged through the various participants in this dialogue on both a technical and political level. How effective can the action plans of the Member States and the employment policy with its 22 guidelines be in addressing the problems of structural unemployment, long-term unemployment and youth unemployment? Can restructuring within the labour market and the restructuring and reforms which must take place pursuant to the Cardiff decisions in both the products and services markets create the preconditions for monetary policy to operate within another framework? Alternatively, can the common currency, today’s low inflation rate and the anticipated growth rate create the necessary framework for job creation within the European Union?
When a dialogue at this level and with these procedures is only held twice a year, it is not possible for it to provide all the answers to such questions. But I believe that politically we must look at its positive side and consider the major concern of the peoples of Europe– after all, MEPs do represent the peoples of Europe and speak on their behalf – which is why the interesting yet burning issue of employment and unemployment is at the heart of macroeconomic dialogue. In other words, financiers, finance ministers and the unions of industry on the one hand, and the labour ministers and social partners in the area of trade unions on the other hand, are discussing employment and placing it at the top of the common policy agenda. That is precisely the reason why it would be worth our while to give this dialogue some time, to see how it progresses and to see the ensuing results, before we begin casting stones and calling for changes before it has even got under way."@en1
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