Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2010-01-20-Speech-3-009"
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"en.20100120.3.3-009"2
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"Mr President of the Spanish Government, over the next six months, Spain will assume the rotating Presidency of the Council. It is a country with a great European tradition and great European commitment, in its government as well as in all its political forces and in public opinion, and a President, José-Luis Rodríguez-Zapatero, whose European credentials are unquestionable.
However, I am confident in the capacities of Europe. I believe that an economy rebuilding its strengths has a real chance to redirect its energies. A society which has proved robust in the face of economic crisis is one that can build for the future with confidence. And a European economic system whose resilience flows from its single market, its competition rules and the euro will now need these assets as the drivers for recovery.
I see the next six months as a springboard to set ambitious goals, goals I have presented in my political guidelines and which we debated last autumn here in the European Parliament.
This will constitute the ‘Europe 2020’ strategy. We need a fundamental reworking of our economy to meet the challenges of the future. To agree on a transformation agenda, with the European Parliament, with Member States, with social partners, with societies at large. To offer a clear direction towards a competitive, innovative, sustainable, socially inclusive market economy, able to prosper in the global marketplace.
Europe 2020 must offer both a mid-term vision and short-term action. The more we can shape our immediate measures to put us on the road to our longer-term objectives, the more we will have a head start to future growth and employment, our number one priority.
The renewed Lisbon Strategy was able to build an understanding of how structural reform feeds directly into growth and jobs. But let us be frank about it: the crisis has wiped out many of the gains and there were also some shortcomings. The truth is that we still lag well behind our competitors on our research effort, our investment in education, our share of high tech.
We must now use the Europe 2020 strategy to create new sources of growth, to unleash the potential of the internal market to drive our economy forward. That means using knowledge and creativity to generate real value in our economies, unlocking innovation and promoting its market uptake from ICTs to new energy, clean technologies, for instance. It means empowering people for the future with the right skills and with a labour market ready to seize the opportunities for job creation; and targeting action on the big problems, like youth unemployment.
It is obvious that we are now facing an emergency situation from a social and unemployment point of view. This requires a strong focus from the European Union. We need to define together actions at European Union level to complement national actions with positive social impact.
It also means an economy shaped for the future – a sustainable and resource-efficient economy – that is also productive and innovative. Europe’s huge industrial assets need to be re-directed to seizing the first-mover advantage in tomorrow’s markets. But Europe must be able to retain a solid, modern and competitive industrial base. The crisis means that, more than ever, we must use every euro of investment to best effect. And, of course, we must complete our reform of financial markets to put them back at the service of the economy, and not the opposite.
This also includes our SME-friendly approach. SMEs are the sector which can create more jobs in the European Union and we will be doing them, and their workers, a good service if we reduce administrative burdens and apply a better and smart regulation approach.
In our interconnected economies, we all have an interest in what is happening – at national and European Union level, from one Member State to the next. The present crisis shows us not only the consequences of global interdependence but also the negative effects that a specific situation in one country may have in the whole euro area.
The institutional engines of European integration will be operating at full power once Parliament’s vote of confidence in the new Commission gives these two institutions a strong, solid basis in order to move forward with an ambitious political agenda. I hope that the vote will take place very soon.
So, Europe 2020 must bring with it stronger coordination mechanisms, a common vision and an effective European leadership. I want to thank Prime Minister Zapatero for his clear commitment to this European approach when discussing economic policies, his commitment to Community matters and his commitment to the role of the European Commission in this vision and in implementation of this vision. Only with a European approach, a European vision and European instruments can we deliver results for our European citizens.
This will be one of the distinctive features of Europe 2020: reinforced coordination of economic policies, in which the Commission will make full use of the new possibilities given by the treaty, including those concerning the euro area.
This is the vision I would like to debate with you in the coming weeks, because one thing we have learnt from the Lisbon Strategy is that a European economic strategy needs the full commitment of the European political community and the social partners. Let us be clear: in the past, some national politicians have resisted stronger mechanisms of governance within the Lisbon Strategy. I hope that, following the lessons of interdependence not only at global but also at European level – all the lessons that were given to us by the crisis – all EU governments will now recognise the need for full ownership of Europe 2020 and for a truly coordinated and coherent action in economic policy, as foreseen in Articles 120 and 121 of the Lisbon Treaty.
Finally, let me add that I see Europe 2020 also as the way to bring confidence and hope for our citizens. We must not hide the fact that Europe, like most of the developed world, will go through a long period of slow growth if we remain inactive. The phase of ‘getting worse before getting better’ is probably behind us, but the getting better will be slow. We will have to address the real problem of the economy, that the potential growth of Europe may be reduced if we do not act now in a coherent and effective manner. Our citizens, be they households or entrepreneurs, should feel that the European Union is part of the solution to their difficulties and anxieties. Europe 2020 is, for me, above all, also a response to this. It is to connect the European project to the concrete needs of our citizens.
This is why I also welcome the initiative to hold an informal European Council on 11 February to have a first discussion at Head of State or Government level. I also think it is crucial to find opportunities to discuss these issues with this House – with Parliament – both before and after the Commission presents its outline for Europe 2020. That is why I have discussed this with the Council and with the President of the European Council. I think we should have at least a three-step approach: the informal European Council for Heads of State or Government to discuss the issue, the Spring European Council for the first important proposals and the June European Council for the approval of the guidelines, so that we will have the time to discuss this issue broadly and with a very active contribution from the European Parliament.
I have focused today on economic policy because I see this as our number one priority in terms of urgency. But, of course, this does not exhaust our agenda. The challenges of the coming weeks and months are manifold. Let me just mention one of many examples: the follow-up to the Copenhagen conference on climate change. While we need some time to collectively reflect on the right strategic orientations for the future of the international process, we should not lower our ambition regarding commitments already made by the European Union.
We should also intensify our efforts namely through our internal policies of promoting the upgrading and modernisation of the industrial base of our economy, the innovation and the development of new clean technologies, energy efficiency and the energy security agenda, also by putting this matter at the top of the transformational agenda for Europe.
This is how to make the best case for the European Union on the global stage: a European Union ready for action, with a clear vision for the future and a determination to get there. The more we are united and effective at home, the more our case will win through internationally.
I am very much looking forward to working with this Parliament to help make the Spanish Presidency of the Council a success and to ensure that the next six months put us on the road to realising our common ambitions for Europe, a European Union that is closer to our citizens and that is focused on clear results for our Europe.
First of all, at this very tragic time for Haiti, I would like to reaffirm our complete solidarity and desire to help its people and all the victims of the earthquake. The devastating earthquake has been at the forefront of our minds since 12 January, and efforts began straight away to provide all the assistance we can. The Commission is currently in a position to mobilise EUR 130 million, and the total European Union effort in terms of immediate assistance, including that of the Member States, is more than EUR 222 million, not counting civil protection assistance. The Commission could mobilise a further EUR 200 million in longer-term aid. I can assure you that the Commission and the European Union are demonstrating the values and principles of solidarity through action.
Haiti is a Caribbean country. I would therefore like to highlight the fact that there is a very ambitious external relations programme for the six-month Spanish Presidency of the Council. I would particularly like to note that Latin America and the Caribbean are a priority for the Spanish Presidency. I am sure that we can count on Spain’s special vocation to ensure that the summit to be held with the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean in Madrid in May will be a success for Latin America and for Europe.
Let me now turn to the policy priorities for the weeks and months ahead.
Everything points in the direction of determined and united European action. The failed attack on the aircraft at Detroit was a reminder that we need to act together if we are to face up to the threats to security. Copenhagen was a reminder that the global community does not automatically share Europe’s level of ambition: as we have been doing in the G20 discussions, we need to keep driving a positive and forward-looking international process. Only with a united Europe can we shape globalisation.
But we have to look at the situation of our economy. We all know that the European economy is at a delicate moment. Determined action has succeeded in preventing the worst. But we still face the risk that unemployment will continue to rise, and we need to make a judgment about when to switch the focus to restoring our public finances.
At the same time, we must learn from the crisis. We fully realised that globalisation is a reality and that we need to use it to our advantage. We have demonstrated that our social protection systems have been able to respond to exceptional circumstances and by providing new safety nets. But we also saw the clear limits for Member States acting alone and we saw that coordinated European Union action not only brought results for Europe, but also triggered an unprecedented global response by the G20.
Now we have to shape the right future for Europe, its economy and its society. The challenges we were facing before the crisis are still there, if anything, they were reinforced: how to cope with the consequences of ageing, of our demographics, how to remain competitive in a global world, how to secure the transition to a more sustainable economy, to mention just a few."@en1
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