Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-11-13-Speech-1-065"
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"en.20061113.16.1-065"2
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".
Mr President, this is the first time that Parliament has debated a report on the economic situation in the euro zone and I therefore regard this report as being of unique importance, particularly as this debate – this analysis that we are conducting jointly for the first time – is taking place at a time when the situation is both politically complex and economically uncertain.
With regard to reforms, we prescribe Lisbon and more Lisbon. We want the public to see how well each Member State is performing. We therefore call for a code of conduct that will enable us to put greater pressure on the slowest countries and, through the dissemination of good practice, enable them to see how countries at the top of the class operate.
Regarding the internal market, we need freedom and more freedom, in contrast to the protectionist temptations that we have seen in recent years, as well as development of the services market. In short, we want consolidation of fundamental freedoms.
As regards institutional issues – I want to focus on improving the way the Union operates – we call for a trialogue between the Council, the Commission and Parliament to take place quarterly, in parallel with the dialogue that we have with the European Central Bank, although I am aware that the Commissioner is not enamoured with the idea.
To facilitate this trialogue, we ask that the Eurogroup draw up a roadmap showing which way the euro zone will be heading in the next two years. We call on the Commission to provide us, in subsequent reports, with a more specific toolbox in order to promote such talks, and we invite the Commissioner and the Council to meet with us every three months.
On the matter of external representation, we find that it is not consistent with the international weight of the euro. We are pleased that the Member States spoke with one voice at the meetings of the international institutions in Singapore, and we call for greater coordination and imagination to ensure that the Member States are represented as a single entity in the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and other international bodies.
I am grateful to all the shadow rapporteurs and all my fellow Members for the efforts that they have made.
I say it is politically complex because, as we are dealing with institutional issues here, I cannot ignore the fact that the debate on what to do with the Constitutional Treaty is still ongoing. Another point that I cannot ignore, either, is that this report is being debated within a ‘new era’ in terms of monetary policy – with interest rates that have been rising for some time and threaten to keep on rising – and at a stage when we are embarking on the new Stability and Growth Pact as revised by the Commission, and when the Member States are for the first time coming before the European institutions to account for what they have done regarding the Lisbon Strategy in their national reform plans.
I say that the situation is economically confused because, while I agree with the Commission’s view that the economic situation is good, or at least much better than it was previously, I must emphasise that our potential 2% growth is not enough to absorb Europe’s unemployed, to keep pace with our competitors or to maintain our standard of living.
As is customary in this House, this report is divided into several sections: macroeconomic policy; reforms, with special emphasis on the internal market; and institutional issues, focusing on economic policy coordination and external representation.
In the area of macroeconomic policy, there is nothing really new other than what we said in the debate on the broad economic guidelines. What the doctor prescribes for our macroeconomic policy is more stability, more stability and more stability.
On monetary policy, the point that we highlight – and I repeat that we are highlighting institutional issues – is that we would like to see greater transparency and openness in the European Central Bank. We would like to know why it does what it does, and how it manages and takes into account the two pillars on which it bases its decisions. That is why we are asking for short minutes to be published showing the arguments for and against a particular decision.
On the subject of budgetary policy, this report’s first finding is that monetary policy may be losing the momentum that it has shown so far, and budgetary policy must take up the torch. That, as I have highlighted before, leads us to call on the Commission to adhere to a strict interpretation of the Stability and Growth Pact, and on the Member States to work harder at cutting their deficits, especially in good times. Something new that we are calling for is greater coordination of Member States’ fiscal calendars and of the economic forecasts that they use in making their budgetary projections.
It does not make sense for countries taking part in the European Economic Union to use different forecasts of oil prices or of interest or exchange rate trends; in our dialogue with the national parliaments, we should like everyone to know what we are talking about.
On the matter of public debt, we also call on the Member States, as usual, to make a greater effort to cut public debt in order to free up resources and to address the Lisbon Strategy and the budgetary challenges that will result from the ageing of our population. The last point – which has been repeated already – is to review our fiscal systems in order to enhance the competitiveness of Europe’s economy."@en1
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