Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2009-01-13-Speech-2-029"
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"en.20090113.5.2-029"2
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Mr President, Mr Giscard d’Estaing, Mr Trichet, Mr Almunia, ladies and gentlemen, over the last 50 years Europe has often proved its capacity for setting out grand ambitions and for developing the spirit and the determination needed to implement in practice the ambitions it cherishes.
The European Union itself is the best example of this, along with the internal market and enlargement, in other words, with the renewal of ties between Europe’s geography and history, and along with the Economic and Monetary Union, whose 10th anniversary we celebrate today.
The path which led to the creation of the Economic and Monetary Union and the introduction of our single currency was a long one, and the genesis of the Economic and Monetary Union after the initial impulse of the Werner report in 1970 demonstrates this. It was a long genesis which went via the monetary snake, the European Monetary System, the creation of the ecu in 1979, the 1989 Delors plan, the Maastricht Treaty in 1992, and also the Danish ‘no’ and the French ‘yes’, which at the time was said to be small, without forgetting the 1993 crisis in the European Monetary System. The journey has not been without its difficulties and shocks.
At the time, there were many who criticised the single currency both in the political and academic worlds, without mentioning the notable number of central bankers who felt that the Economic and Monetary Union could not or should not be achieved and that if, despite everything, it were to come into being, the single currency, in brief, would be weak and without a future.
It is important for me to take advantage of the 10th anniversary of this key event in European integration to pay homage, in my turn, to those men who created the euro, such as Pierre Werner, Helmut Kohl, François Mitterrand, Jacques Delors, Valéry Giscard d’Estaing and others. I would like, once again, to applaud their vision, their determination and their unfailing commitment to Europe. Those I have mentioned, and many others who accompanied them, could not have imagined the rapid success of their political project. Since 1 January of this year, 16 Member States have been participating in the Economic and Monetary Union and the euro is the currency of almost 330 million European citizens. The euro, then, has become the most tangible sign of European integration. As a tangible sign recognised around the world, the euro is a measure of stability. It is protecting its citizens from the most serious consequences of the economic crisis. After 10 years, it has to be recognised that the euro is an unquestionable success. Now, anniversaries only have value if they are bridges to the future, as we have to recognise that, despite our collective indulgence as we congratulate ourselves, the true tests for the cohesiveness and coherence of the euro area await us. This year, 2009, will be an extremely difficult year for the euro area economies and for European citizens and there will be many challenges facing us, both internally and externally.
Internally, euro area governments will have to act together to contain the effects of the economic crisis and invest in the structural bases of the economy to build a bridge to the post-crisis world. Exceptional situations demand exceptional measures. We must not lose sight of the fact that the euro, this protective screen we have built around our economies, did not just fall into our laps. The euro area economies are better protected against negative economic developments because being part of the euro area is a mark of quality certifying that its members have a real capacity for implementing prudent macroeconomic policies and policies based on sustained growth and prosperity for its citizens. The protection afforded by the euro is therefore directly linked to our credibility, which rests on the ability to implement such policies. This credibility is the foundation of the benefits of Economic and Monetary Union and we must maintain it to continue fully to profit from the benefits of the single currency.
Externally, we have to learn the political lessons from the international financial and economic crisis. There is a direct causal link between the current crisis, with its origins in the United States, and the persistence of major world imbalances. The lack of sufficient transparency, responsibility and integrity in the financial sector therefore acted as a catalyst for the crisis. The re-establishment of stability in the financial and the real economy on a world scale implies a profound reform of the financial system and the elimination of the major imbalances in the mix of global consumption and global saving. This balancing demands the active cooperation of the major economies in America, Asia and Europe. Despite noticeable progress, the euro’s international image remains, too often, overly fragmented and national interests too often win out over the common interest, preventing the euro area from fully assuming the political responsibility that corresponds to its economic importance and from achieving all of the economic benefits deriving from Economic and Monetary Union. Economic and Monetary Union is, of course, an economic project, but it is, first of all, a political project. As a result, we must take advantage of the euro’s second decade to perfect the Economic and Monetary Union by strengthening its political bodies, both internally and externally."@en1
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