Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-05-07-Speech-3-021"
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"en.20080507.11.3-021"2
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"Thank you very much, Mr President. Ladies and gentlemen, we are celebrating the tenth anniversary of the historic decision to introduce the euro, to launch the third stage of Economic and Monetary Union, a decision that was adopted by the European Council meeting from 1 to 3 May 1998.
All of this has translated into many tangible benefits, but if you will allow me to mention it, the greatest of all of them has been that in the last ten years 16 million jobs have been created in the euro area.
Thanks to the euro, Europe is now stronger. It is in a better position to withstand turbulence and crises of the kind we have been experiencing in the last few months, and thanks to the euro, we have a more solid foundation to support our growth and our model of social protection in the future.
Nevertheless, however positive our verdict may be, it does not mean that all of the hopes that we placed in the single currency ten years ago have been realised.
Firstly, economic growth over the last ten years has been lower than expected.
Secondly, there are still divergences between the economies in the area, as a result of, among other things, the lack of sufficient incentives to carry out all the necessary structural reforms.
Thirdly, in the euro area we have still not built up a solid, uniform external presence to enable us to carry weight at global level in accordance with the size and importance of our economy and our currency.
Finally, the public image of the euro – a currency that is widely identified with the image of the European Union – does not reflect all the objective benefits that it brings to citizens.
This diagnosis provides sufficient material to consider what still needs to be done, and our conclusion is that there is a great deal still to be done.
We also need to take into account the new challenges that we are facing now, with an enlarged Europe, with the acceleration of social, economic and technological changes, with underlying trends as profound as globalisation, an ageing population and climate change; we need to bring up to date the principles and the vision that inspire Economic and Monetary Union.
It is obvious that the new context that we are living in today was not easy to predict 20 years ago when it was being decided what was to be included in the Maastricht Treaty, or 10 years ago when the decision was made to launch the third phase of Economic and Monetary Union.
This decision has marked the development of the European Union over the last ten years. Today, both within and beyond our borders, the euro is a symbol of European integration used by 320 million European citizens every day.
We now need to work on the basis of these parameters in order to achieve a more solid Economic and Monetary Union that is more efficient internally and projects itself more uniformly to the outside world.
Therefore, in the Communication that we adopted this morning, the Commission not only wishes to take stock of the past, but we also propose starting a debate on what needs to be improved for the future. As an initial contribution to this debate we propose an agenda based on three pillars.
The first relates to the internal functioning of the Union. The interdependence between the economies of the area is now greater than ever. We need to be aware of this and move forward with determination, in the interests of Economic and Monetary Union as a whole and of each of its Member States in particular, towards genuine economic policy coordination. How can we achieve this? We need to strengthen budgetary surveillance provided for in the Stability and Growth Pact, deepening it in relation to the quality of public finances and their long-term sustainability, extending the surveillance objective beyond strictly budgetary aspects to macroeconomic aspects, and establishing a closer link between budgetary surveillance and the development of structural reforms.
The second pillar is the external agenda. The euro has, to all our satisfaction, become the second world reference currency in a very short time. However, it makes no sense for us to note with satisfaction the dominant position of the euro in the global markets whilst at the same time refusing to act collectively in a manner in line with this new status. The position achieved by the euro in the international markets brings undoubted benefits, such as better protection from external shocks. In the last decade we have experienced critical periods in which this protective role has been put to the test. However, the status of the euro also brings with it responsibilities and risks. Europe must fully assume its responsibility for achieving greater global economic stability. In order to do this, it needs to set out a strategy in keeping with the interests of the euro area and defend it consistently externally, and there is no doubt that the best way of ensuring such consistency is through a single external representation of the euro. Although I know that it is difficult to achieve this in the short term, given the interests that are involved, I would also like to say to Parliament – and I know that Parliament agrees with me – that this is a strictly necessary objective.
Finally, the third pillar of our agenda for the future is improving the governance of Economic and Monetary Union. The institutions and instruments that govern this Union are appropriate, especially if we take into account the improvements introduced by the Treaty of Lisbon. The issue now is not to change the instruments but to use them, and to use them to the full. Better governance of the euro area will come from the Ecofin Council being fully involved in matters of Economic and Monetary Union; it will come from a strengthening of the agenda and the debates of the Eurogroup, in particular in terms of the economic policy coordination I have already mentioned; and it will come from an even closer dialogue between the Commission and Parliament, and between the Eurogroup and Parliament.
In addition, in the coming years the composition of the Eurogroup will increasingly become more like that of the Ecofin Council itself.
This very morning, the Commission adopted the Convergence Report paving the way for Slovakia to join the euro area on 1 January 2009. In the coming weeks I will have the opportunity to have a specific debate with you on this report and the corresponding proposals.
Something which should also be a collective concern for our institutions is communicating with the public on matters relating to Economic and Monetary Union, so that citizens have a perception of the euro that is in line with the objective benefits it brings to us citizens who have this currency in our pockets.
I am drawing to a close, Mr President. We have a matter of the utmost importance on the table that merits this initial debate we are having today. Obviously I cannot explain all the details of the analysis set out in our Communication and in the report, but you can count on my full availability to debate it over the coming months.
The Commission’s objective, as I have said, is to build a solid political consensus on the steps that need to be taken in order to ensure that Economic and Monetary Union can deal with the huge challenges we face. We think that these, above all else are the issues meriting our attention in the debate that is beginning today.
The Commission felt that the end of the first decade of a major political initiative and the end of a complete economic cycle was a good time to take stock and reflect on the challenges that Economic and Monetary Union will face in the coming years.
Those who drew up the Maastricht Treaty and decided to launch Economic and Monetary Union 10 years ago were equal to the task then, creating an instrument that has brought us protection and benefits. The most difficult part has been done: the euro is a reality and it is a success. We can therefore tackle this new phase with confidence and optimism, but we should also do it with the same determination and with the understanding that what is good for Economic and Monetary Union is good for the European Union as a whole, for all of its Member States and all of its citizens. Thank you very much, Mr President.
This is the aim of the Communication adopted this very morning by the Commission, that I have the honour of presenting to you now.
The Communication is based on an extensive report drawn up by the Commission’s Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs, which provides a detailed analysis of the functioning of Economic and Monetary Union and the impact of the euro over the last ten years, as well as analysing the prospects for the future.
The conclusion of this evaluation of what the euro has meant in the first decade of its existence could not be clearer: the euro is an undeniable economic and political success.
Thanks to the euro, we Europeans now enjoy greater macroeconomic stability, lower interest rates and much more moderate price rises than in previous decades, despite the recent rise in inflation.
Thanks to the euro, the European Union – and in particular the 15 countries of the euro area – is a much more economically integrated area, with more trade, more opportunities, more employment and markets that operate more efficiently.
Thanks to the euro, our economies are better protected from external shocks and have become more important and influential on world markets."@en1
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