Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-05-03-Speech-4-025"
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"en.20010503.2.4-025"2
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"Mr President, there has been a marked slowdown in the rate of growth in the EU economy. The Commission and the IMF have revised growth forecasts from above 3% to 2.8%. The rate of inflation is 0.3 of a percentage point above the 2% ceiling. We all know why this is. Exploding oil prices, agricultural problems, the depreciation in the euro. Our export-orientated Member States in particular have been hit by the hard landing in the US economy. The own initiative report by Mr Katiforis, which has been clarified as the result of numerous amendments proposed by the PPE-DE Group, underlines the importance of controls on stability and convergence programmes to economic collaboration in Europe. There is absolutely no cause for the passivity which Mr Herzog referred to. Reducing government debt must continue to be our top priority. We also need, however, targeted investments in information networks, technology and research and development. This will bring us closer to the very ambitious objective set in Lisbon of making Europe the most competitive, dynamic, knowledge-based economy.
Most importantly, we must redirect our efforts towards education and training. For me, lifelong learning is far too often a set phrase and far too seldom a requirement, conspicuous by its absence from curricula and syllabuses. Mr von Wogau and Mr Karas have already spoken about the stability of the euro and agreed how important the steady hand of the ECB – and Wim Duisenberg – was; the euro has remained stable, all the political demands of the various camps notwithstanding.
What I am interested in is structural stability. Our Member States should make use, in their economic and social policy, of benchmarking procedures and exchanges of best practices. However, it is the opposite of this – namely poor practices – which my country is currently delivering. Germany is bringing up the rear when it comes to growth in the euro zone at under 2.2%. Chancellor Schröder’s days of talking it up and laughing it off are finally at an end! Faced with a lack of success with employment, one reason being that the programmes are not effective enough, he is trying to deflect attention from his own mistakes by slagging off the unemployed in general as good-for-nothings. Anyone who tries to lump social spongers and shirkers – and they undoubtedly exist – together with the hundreds of thousands who have been desperately looking for work for years is making criminals out of victims and that is totally irresponsible.
This example shows that, with better data networking, we know full well where the shortcomings lie in each Member State. They can no longer be swept under the carpet, they are in the spotlight of European public opinion. No country in the EU will get on without budgetary discipline, without permanently reducing debts or without substantial structural reforms and the aims – competitiveness and stability – are well worth it."@en1
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