Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-05-16-Speech-2-389"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20060516.41.2-389"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spokenAs | |
| lpv:translated text |
"Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, I should like to begin by congratulating the rapporteur on his excellent report. The report begins by stressing that the EU’s main problem is weak economic growth, the persistently high level of unemployment and the inadequate use of the production capacity in place. This, in my view, is a crucial message.
The first signs of recovery that you mentioned, Mr Almunia, are not sufficient either to guarantee the EU’s competitiveness on the international stage or to make up for the years of stagnation that we are still enduring. Indeed, balancing public finances must not be seen as an end in itself.
It is also true that neither the way in which the Stability and Growth Pact has been interpreted nor the opening of proceedings relating to excess deficit has been successful in preventing persistent imbalances in the public finances of the major European economies.
There are two main recommendations that, to my mind, emerge from this report: The first relates to the need to ensure that the balancing of public finances is entirely compatible with the process of revitalising European competitiveness, and that this process is pushed to the top of Europe’s political agenda.
The early shoots of growth have emerged in spite of, rather than because of, the Pact. Public and private investment must be increased in the fields of innovation, education and the development of new skills and technologies, in accordance with the Lisbon Strategy. Intergovernmental cooperation and the coordination of economic policies at EU level are key factors and are currently not being sufficiently exploited. It is also regrettable that this priority of growth has not been sufficiently reflected either in the interpretation, as mentioned in the Pact, or, more importantly, in the financial perspective that we are supposed to be adopting tomorrow.
The second point concerns the need to continue to clarify the accounting concepts and practices of the Member States’ statistical institutions, that is to say, disseminating good practice, and harmonising concepts, timetables and methodologies. Maintaining sound public finances is only of interest if it is sustainable in the medium term, which often means taking measures of a structural nature. It is time for economic operations based on extraordinary measures or creative accounting to disappear for good, because they undermine credibility and erode the trust of investors and consumers.
To sum up, public finances must be consolidated, but it is only worthwhile doing so sustainably and provided that this goes hand in hand with the strengthening of the European economy and the skills of its citizens. I feel that these are the two key messages to take from the report before us today."@en1
|
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples