Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2010-04-07-Speech-3-017"
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"Mr President, I would like to make two remarks on last month’s Council. The first concerns the mechanism which the Council decided on for Greece and about which I have serious doubts. I hope that I am wrong, but I do not think that it can work for the simple reason that it is a system of bilateral loans and not a system – a European solution – under which a single loan is made by the European Commission to Greece, which was the initial idea.
The second thing we need, as soon as possible, is for the European bond market to lower interest rates for all the countries in the European Union. That is not a punishment for the biggest country, Germany. On the contrary, you can have a system in which Germany pays lower interest rates than today because we can have a liquidity premium attached to the European bond market in the future. The technical means to do this exist and can be made applicable.
The third thing we need is a bolder 2020 Strategy. I fully support what Mrs Wortmann-Kool said a few moments ago about our needing a stronger governance method. It is not through the open coordination method that we will fulfil our goals. What we need is a method with sticks and carrots, as Mrs Wortmann-Kool put it, with not only the Member States, but also the Commission, in the driver’s seat.
Colleagues, we have to think about something: if the Council does not in the coming months do what is necessary in terms of a bolder 2020 Strategy, then what can we as the European Parliament do? What we can do is: in the coming weeks Parliament has to agree to the broad economic guidelines and to give an opinion on them. Well, if the Council has not come forward, supported by the Commission, with a bolder 2020 Strategy, then I see no need to approve those broad economic guidelines. First of all, there must be a bold proposal, which I hope will be on the table in June, and then we can do our job and approve this bolder approach and the broad economic guidelines.
If you look at the markets, it is very apparent at the moment that they do not believe in this system. This did not start yesterday, but a week ago now. Last Monday – one week ago – there was already an issue surrounding Greek bonds being at an interest rate of nearly 6%. That is 300 base points higher than the lowest interest rate in the European Union, which is 3%. Since there is now a discussion inside the European Union between different Member States about what the interest rate applicable to the bilateral loans should be, that even increased yesterday to 400 base points, which is 4%.
That is not the way to help Greece. Greece has to take the measures which are necessary, but not with bilateral loans. That mechanism is not in fact helping Greece, but punishing it at the moment.
It is absolutely necessary that the European Commission return as fast as possible to its initial idea of a European loan, issued by the European Commission. Then you will automatically have lower interest rates than those on the markets today, because there will be this guarantee from the European Commission and the European institutions. That is the only way to help the Greek Government achieve its targets.
At the same time, the Greek Government naturally has to stop its internal struggles. If there are differing points of view with regard to intervention by the International Monetary Fund, and should such discussions continue, then interest rates will also automatically increase.
My second point is that what we need now is more than merely a mechanism for Greece or other countries. What we need now is a courageous European Commission coming forward with a package of economic reforms and monetary reforms, and we need those as fast as possible. What we need now is a package of the magnitude which we had in the past from Jacques Delors, who at a certain moment came forward with a package of European economic and monetary union, or the internal market, to solve the problems. We need that now. We need a courageous package. Only the European Commission can do this. The Council cannot do it – not even the President of the Council. It is the Commission which has the right of initiative, and it is the Commission who must now come forward with a real package.
My group feels that three main elements are needed in that package. The first is the creation of a European Monetary Fund, which is absolutely necessary and was an idea also floated by Mr Schäuble, the German Minister for Finance. We need that fund as fast as possible, in order to increase the effectiveness of the Stability Pact."@en1
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