Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-07-09-Speech-3-023"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20080709.2.3-023"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spoken text |
"Mr President, I should like to thank Mr Schmidt for a very good report.
Let me say at the outset that some Member States are in, or near to, recession, and we must ask ourselves what is the most important thing we can do in those circumstances. I believe the most important thing we can do in those circumstances is to protect jobs and promote the creation of jobs. Let us look at the situation between 1990 and 1998 when, in what is now the euro area, five million jobs were created. But what happened in the 10 years between 1998 and 2008, when the euro was in situ and Mr Trichet and his predecessors were pursuing their policies, was that almost 16 million jobs were created.
Therefore, we have to reflect on this. This is a success story, and the contribution that the policies being pursued by the Central Bank made to this have to be acknowledged. We must give credit where credit is due.
But is this story being sold? The reasons for the success clearly are low interest rates in the main, but in particular low inflation, and I think Mr Trichet’s constant refrain about that holds true.
But do we need continued increase in interest rates? It is time now to examine this more deeply. Current economic conditions call for calm and sensible action. That is why we have an independent Central Bank.
However, I would like to make a comment on the strength of the euro. This is negatively impacting exporting economies. The euro exchange rate with the dollar and sterling is not softening and not likely to soften with the divergence between the US and euro interest rates. The rate rise, while targeting inflation, may present further risks to the euro exchange rate and impede economic growth potential in a time of economic uncertainty.
In the moments that are left to me, let me say that last year I was rapporteur for the Report on the ECB annual report and I pointed out then that there were EUR 223 billion in EUR 500 denominations – that is 446 million notes! I asked that it be examined, particularly because it seems to me that it is likely to be used for criminal purposes. Perhaps Mr Trichet would say in his reply what has been done about the concerns I raised then."@en1
|
| lpv:spokenAs | |
| lpv:unclassifiedMetadata |
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples