Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-10-03-Speech-3-195"
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"en.20011003.6.3-195"2
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"Mr President, Commissioner, Europe is not technically in recession, but it is clearly experiencing a situation of slower growth, and we cannot yet predict all the economic, political and social consequences that this will have. Within this framework, many people are questioning the validity of the restrictive and fundamentalist way in which the Growth and Stability Pact has been interpreted and the consequences that this interpretation may have on the very process of development and cohesion in Europe. The Stability Pact is a global commitment, which combines the realism of a specific macro-economic scenario with a healthy concern for the consolidation of public finances. The Pact should be interpreted in its entirety and, obviously, if one of the terms of the equation is altered, the other term must be adjusted and made flexible.
I do not want to get into an argument with the followers of the school of single thought, who have, unfortunately, come to play a leading role on the European economic policy scene. But I cannot refrain from stating that any true defence of the Growth and Stability Pact requires, first and foremost, an understanding of it. Now, understanding it means that it is correct to agree, in an unfavourable international situation, to accommodate the unavoidable loss of income and the consequent increase in the public deficit, provided it does not exceed 3%, as Mrs Neyts-Uyttebroeck rightly stated. This cannot and must not be confused with any laxity or inefficiency by the revenue authorities, much less with relinquishing in the medium term a policy of adjustment supported by budgetary procedures and a serious and ongoing effort to control public spending and improve administrative efficiency at every level. Controlling and streamlining public spending are worthy objectives. We are not, therefore, talking about a revision or cancellation of the Stability Pact. Consolidating spending does not mean irrationally demanding a linear reduction of deficits. It does mean considering that in the medium term budgetary balances from one year should be balanced with those of the next."@en1
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