Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-05-15-Speech-2-026"
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"en.20010515.2.2-026"2
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"Mr President, I too believe that a socially committed market economy with sound environmental credentials is a good model on which to base the economic policy of the European Union, provided it can continue what the Lisbon process set in motion, namely the integration of economic, employment, social and financial policies, thereby paving the way for the development of a genuinely sustainable strategy and for the implementation at long last of a balanced and appropriate policy mix in the European Union. Sadly, the broad economic policy guidelines still contain too little in the way of qualitative and quantitative targets that could inspire us to think beyond the narrow confines of tax cuts and spending cuts. I believe that a new debate on the quality of public finances in all Member States, which the Commission has gratifyingly initiated, can enable us to move more freely along the road to a form of investment-led growth that will create employment.
That is essential too. In my opinion, the broad economic policy guidelines must focus more sharply than hitherto on investment-led growth and on motivating people to enhance their employability. At the moment we are confronted by a certain degree of pessimism in the European Union. I do not believe that a sustained slide towards recession is threatening, but every possible step must be taken to ensure that the recent developments in the United States do not become such a risk to the European economy that the European Union is powerless to contain it.
I should like to emphasise that the broad economic policy guidelines, the aims of our economic policy, do not apply to the euro zone alone but to the entire single European market, the home market of the European Union, and that is how it should stay, because what we do not want to let ourselves be split in two but rather to go on growing closer together.
We in Europe, however, must not slide into another recession for want of initiative, into a slump that destroys what we have achieved, namely the lowest level of unemployment for ten years. Let me therefore re-emphasise that, compared with other regions of the world, we invest too little in research and development and in education and training, and even in the realm of infrastructural investments, which this House has so often commended and demanded, we are still lagging behind. Besides monetary stability and sound budgetary policies, it is also imperative that we find innovative ways of achieving social stability and a stable employment situation. This is what the Lisbon process requires of us.
I regret that we have not seen even more new ideas emerging during the Swedish Presidency of the Council. But I also bitterly regret that we do not have more transparency and democracy. The participation of the European Parliament in the macroeconomic dialogue, in the formulation and adoption of the broad economic policy guidelines and in the preparation of other processes connected with Lisbon and Stockholm is indispensable. If need be, we must use the next intergovernmental conference in 2004 to lend weight to our demands."@en1
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