Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-05-15-Speech-4-020"
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"en.20030515.1.4-020"2
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"Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, one might be surprised at the way in which the first few recitals of this report have been interpreted but, in the final analysis, this merely shows that everyone agrees with the evidence: the disastrous situation facing the European economy, specifically slow growth, the loss of confidence amongst investors and consumers and the increase in unemployment, to which I would add the unsustainable levels of income inequality, poverty and social exclusion.
This situation requires a new approach to drafting economic policy decisions in order to achieve the aims of high growth, full employment, sustainable development and greater social cohesion. The only problem is that, when confronted with the evidence, the answer is unfortunately always the same: speed up the process of liberalisations and structural reforms, as recommended in the Lisbon strategy – an approach that the employers’ representatives welcome so wholeheartedly – wage moderation and sticking to labour flexibility and job instability. Let us be clear about this: the rapporteur’s amendments accept and support the guidelines proposed by the Commission. The rapporteur himself acknowledges that these guidelines are a repetition of previous recommendations, but what is being called a new approach is only ‘more of the same’, with even greater intensity when what is crucial is to find a new direction. We would need to propose a total change to the liberal shift of the EU’s economic and social guidelines. We must also ask ourselves about the causes of this situation and the answer to this question can be found in the policies that have been pursued to date. One only has to look at the current situation to see that making the labour market more precarious, eroding workers’ rights and moderating wages are not going to increase productivity, combat poverty or respond to demand that is falling, both internally and externally.
The link between the economies of the Member States and the reduction in purchasing power is well known, as is the need to invest in education and training and in research and technology in order to facilitate higher productivity. As has already been stated here on several occasions, however, we need to do the opposite of what the stupid rules of the Stability Pact call for, which is forcing a reduction in public investment, leading to the State having no responsibility in the fields of health and education and making it difficult to use the Structural Funds correctly in the countries with the weakest economies. Similarly, economic and social cohesion requires a bigger Community budget, not the smallest budget to be proposed in recent years, which is what the Commission has just presented for 2004, accounting for less than 1% of Community gross national income. Similarly, liberalisations and privatisations are calling into question public service and its quality, as demonstrated by recent workers’ protests throughout Europe.
The most shocking aspect of this report, therefore, which closely follows the Commission’s recommendations for this year’s economic guidelines, is the argument it makes for its increasingly neoliberal measures despite the serious consequences they are having. The Commission makes its aim clear, by expressing the view that wage increases must remain moderate, with the aim of allowing profit margins to be re-established. The focus of the Commission’s policies is always profit and not people and this is why it is so insistent in calling for a flexible, mobile and cheap labour force, without rights, which can be used whenever, wherever and however employers wish, thereby supporting job instability over employment, and demonstrating total disregard for working people. I reiterate: this cannot be the way forward. The European Union must be a project for people and not only to increase the profit of a few and the workers should be given greater respect. Treating workers with dignity is a crucial step in increasing labour productivity."@en1
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