Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2009-11-11-Speech-3-255"
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"en.20091111.21.3-255"2
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"Mr President, I come from Latvia, a country hit severely by the financial crisis. Latvia was at risk of going bankrupt without financial assistance from outside. We received such assistance from the EU and the IMF. However, as a precondition, the Latvian Government had to cut budgetary spending. It did so by reducing pensions by 10% and the pensions of working pensioners by 70%, reducing family benefits and maternity benefits for working parents by 10%, as well as reducing non-taxable personal income tax thresholds.
The approach, as you see, was an egalitarian one. Whether one’s pension was EUR 100 or EUR 1 000, 10% was taken off. The Commission welcomed these cuts which were made in such a scandalous manner, and signed a memorandum of understanding with Latvia. It was clear from the very beginning that such unselective cuts would hit the most vulnerable in society. Is the Commission not aware of the European Year against Poverty?
The Latvian situation is not unique in the Union. Hungary and Romania have also received Community loans. Other countries may one day be forced to apply for such loans. We must therefore avoid creating a precedent of accepting antisocial measures.
Commissioner, of course you can say that you only give the money, and that the governments of the Member States are responsible for social policy, but social rights are legally binding on the institutions of the European Union. This means that everything the institutions do must be measured against social rights. Otherwise, words about a high level of social protection as an EU task will do no more than raise an ironical smile."@en1
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