Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-11-18-Speech-2-432"
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"en.20081118.33.2-432"2
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"Mr President, I want to thank the Members for the support expressed in most of their speeches for the Commission’s decisions and proposals on this issue.
I should like to make three very quick comments on three of the issues raised in your speeches. Firstly, I share Mr Becsey’s concern about the risks posed by families and businesses taking on debts in foreign currencies, in countries which have a floating exchange rate and which are subject to risks of excessive volatility in their exchange rate, as was the case with Hungary. Mr Becsey knows of my concern because the budgetary and economic surveillance that we carry out in the Commission is sometimes not sufficiently heard or heeded or does not have the desired effects when comments are made on this type of risk.
We are, I believe, more effective in budgetary surveillance. The case of Hungary is very positive in this sense, given the major budgetary adjustment that has occurred in that country between 2006 and now. However, on the other hand, we have had no success in terms of the risks posed by taking on debts in foreign currencies. I hope that, from now on, given the circumstances not only in Hungary but also in other EU countries due to the crisis and excessive volatility in many financial indicators, particularly in exchange rates, this type of comment and recommendation will be heeded more.
Mr Lundgren is no longer here but he made comments that were totally incorrect. He criticised Hungary and the Commission for recommending to Hungary that it should have a fixed exchange rate, whereas the situation is exactly the opposite. In other words, the exchange rate in Hungary is floating and the excessive volatility in this exchange rate aggravated the problems and was one of the factors that caused the crisis having led to the request for this help. As a result, when criticisms are made, people should ensure that these are based on correct information and not on totally wrong information. If Mr Lundgren had stayed until the end of this debate, he would have been aware that his information was totally wrong. As he is not here, I hope that one of you will let him know.
Finally, with regard to the comments made by Mr Rübig on the deficit, it is not true that Hungary has a 5% deficit as this has been significantly reduced. In 2008 the deficit will be clearly below this figure, in fact it will be below 3%, and in the commitment made by Hungary as a condition of this help, the target deficit for next year is 2.6%. Therefore, if this target is met – and I hope that it will be – Hungary will have to face another kind of problem. Undoubtedly it will have to face this and will continue to do so, unfortunately, but at least next year it will not have an excessive deficit."@en1
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