Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-07-09-Speech-3-011"
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"en.20080709.2.3-011"2
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"Mr President, rapporteur, ladies and gentlemen, I should first like to pay tribute to your rapporteur for the standard of his work. It is an excellent report that contains all the essential points.
Otherwise, I should like to say that we must not overburden monetary policy with responsibilities. The Treaty sets the Central Bank the objective of price stability. We must not add a whole range of economic objectives to its terms of reference but must follow the rule of coherence, which requires that we do not try and make the Bank pursue too many political objectives. It has an instrument for action, namely monetary policy; it acts with grace and determination.
As far as exchange policy is concerned, I have noticed a slight ambiguity in the report by Mr Schmidt, in that it gives the impression that exchange policy is the sole, if not the exclusive, province of the Central Bank. I am quite happy for the Central Bank to play a leading role in any areas to do with exchange, but even so I would like to draw your attention to the provisions of the Treaty that assign shared powers to the Bank and governments for exchange policy. Otherwise, in regard to both exchange policy and monetary policy, and structural policies, we have an ongoing fruitful dialogue with the Bank, to which everyone contributes.
Thus, as part of this regular dialogue, Mr Trichet and I went to China last November to discuss exchange policy with the Chinese authorities, and we shall be doing so again in the latter half of this year.
A slight ambiguity that I have noticed in the report by your committee relates to the external representation of the euro zone. There again, contrary to what the report indicates, the Central Bank is not solely responsible for taking the necessary steps to strengthen the international role of the euro zone. That is another area in which competencies are shared.
I am pleased to note, from the work of your committee and the report by your rapporteur, that the views of your Parliament broadly coincide with the opinions expressed numerous times by the Eurogroup, of which I am privileged to be President. This consensus, this broad convergence of views relates in particular to the operations and activities of the Central Bank, which, as always, is overwhelmed by the compliments of your Parliament and the governments I am representing here.
That remark is particularly significant in the light of the various criticisms levelled at the Central Bank over recent weeks and months, when a whole arsenal needed to be put in place for the financial crisis that had hit the entire world. Initially criticised for being over-active, the European Central Bank was able to note with satisfaction that all the other major monetary authorities had adopted its instruments and methods.
We also agree with the rapporteur when he urges us, the Eurogroup, the ECOFIN Council in general, and our Bank, to draw the appropriate financial conclusions from the crises we have been facing, particularly as regards monitoring of the markets and the transparency we shall need to add to our current mechanisms.
The fight against inflation is the main concern of our fellow citizens. At the moment, all the surveys show that people are still worried about the loss of purchasing power and the fear that the risks of loss of purchasing power will materialise. It is therefore the right and duty of the Bank to ensure price stability, an objective set for the Central Bank by the founding Maastricht Treaty.
I would add that we should not incline towards the simple idea that the Central Bank, as the monetary authority, is the only body responsible for price stability and the fight against inflation. Inflation and the fight against inflation are also a concern and obligation for the euro zone governments. They too, by supplementing the monetary policies operated by the Central Bank, have to introduce sound policies capable of supporting price stability.
Thus the Eurogroup governments have undertaken, firstly, to make every effort to ensure, in the wage restraint we need, that wages and the public sector do not get out of control. We are therefore absolutely determined to do everything to avoid unnecessary increases in indirect taxation, both VAT and excise duty. We have firmly committed ourselves to doing everything possible to see that prices do not exceed the bounds of commonsense.
No one can talk about inflation and price stability without mentioning the independence of the Central Bank, as your rapporteur has, in both his written and his oral reports.
I wanted to point out once again that the independence of the Central Bank is a fundamental principle of Economic and Monetary Union, that the independence of the Central Bank is part of the Pact on which Economic and Monetary Union is founded, that, in the work leading up to the constitutional treaty and the subsequent reforming Treaty of Lisbon, no government suggested even so much as a minor change to the general terms of reference of Central Bank, which focus on price stability. I therefore think that one day we shall have to put an end to a futile and pointless debate that has nothing to do with the real situation. That does not mean that we are not all entitled to criticise the Bank, to offer support and advice for its virtuous action, but there is no question of interfering with its independence."@en1
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