Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2004-09-15-Speech-3-123"
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"en.20040915.6.3-123"2
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"Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, the Stability and Growth Pact is a success. Twelve countries belong to the eurozone, and the Pact lays down the rules for membership in it. It is the basis for public debate on the link between budgetary discipline, inflation, price stability, growth and employment, for the debate on structural problems in Europe and for the debate on the Commission’s role with regard to the Member States’ economic policies.
The Pact must not be used as an excuse for personal failures and omissions; it is a mandate for action by the Member States and the Commission. The European Court of Justice has strengthened the Commission’s position and, in doing so, the Pact. The new Constitution has strengthened the Pact and the European Central Bank by including price stability as an objective in the Constitution.
We will not change the ground rules, which is precisely what those who believe that flexibility means relaxation do. Those who, like Mr Eichel, wish to muzzle the Bundesbank, fail to recognise the role played by an independent issuing bank and the importance of transparency for trust, reliability and credibility. I support the Council’s position and the ECB President, Mr Trichet, in the comments he has made. We need clear rules that apply to everyone and successful implementation. We have no problem with the Pact; what we have is an implementation deficit.
This is why I am also in favour of a debate on the ways in which we can boost the significance of total debt, establish criteria for accumulating much-needed budget surpluses during times of economic prosperity, incorporate the consequences of demographic change and conduct a public debate on the difference between structural debt and investment debt.
We also need a debate on the Commission’s powers to implement the Pact. Anyone who incurs debt for debt’s sake is selling off the future. We want the European public to have confidence in the rules we set for ourselves, and we want the public to be sure that everyone in Europe is equal before the law and is treated fairly."@en1
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