Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2010-05-05-Speech-3-396"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20100505.73.3-396"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:translated text |
"Mr President, this week, on 7 May, there is going to be a meeting of Heads of State or Government of the euro area, and this is the debate in the European Parliament regarding this important meeting. The aim of the meeting will be to formalise the agreement reached on loans to Greece, the financial support package for Greece to tackle the serious financial situation of this euro-area country, and to reflect on the lessons that can be learned from this situation and these agreements in relation to the future of the euro area and of the whole of the European Union.
Finally, I would like to say that the economic governance of the Union that is being established and developed, and for which the foundations are being laid in the European Union, requires effective instruments and an element of supervision. I am certain that the document that the European Commission is preparing will refer to this. We need quality in public finances. We need supervision of the financial system, European supervision of the financial system, and in this respect I would like to call on the European Parliament to adopt a financial supervision package as soon as possible. This package should involve the regulations and directives that are being debated here and now in Parliament, and are going to be debated in the relevant committee in the next few days and then in the relevant plenary sitting.
We also need mechanisms to prevent possible crises, and we also need – as I said before – the capacity to have a single voice in the external representation of the Union, and in this case I am clearly talking about the G20 meetings. I think that these are steps that are being taken towards an economic government or governance of the Union; the aid and loans to Greece are part of this, and this is why I believe that the European Union is going in the right direction and has consolidated that direction.
I am certain that the Heads of State or Government will adopt this financial aid package for Greece, which is, in short, as they said in their statement on 11 February, a commitment to financial stability, to the economic stability of the euro area and of the whole of the European Union.
What the Heads of State or Government are going to do on Friday is confirm the financial solution that the European Union has given to Greece. In other words it is going to formalise the commitment – which at this stage is a political commitment – made at the meeting of European Union Heads of State or Government on 11 February, a commitment to support Greece in resolving its extremely difficult financial situation.
Therefore, what the Heads of State or Government are going to do on Friday is to present, set out and agree the will of the 15 other Member States in the euro area for Greece to receive this aid, these loans, once its Government has adopted a stringent programme of economic and financial adjustments. They are aimed at ensuring Greece’s financial stability and the financial stability of the euro area as a whole, which is something that was agreed politically not only for the case of Greece, but was agreed politically on 11 February in a resolution by the European Union Heads of State or Government.
This is an important decision, politically and historically speaking, because it is essential for the credibility of the euro area and for the external credibility of the whole of the Union from a financial point of view. It is important for the fiscal consolidation required by the Treaties on European Union, fiscal consolidation in the euro area and in the whole of the Union, and it is very important for consolidating an effective and lasting economic recovery in the European Union.
Today Mr Rehn, who is here with us, published the Commission’s forecasts for 2010-2011, sending a message of gradual economic recovery for the European Union. The Commission’s forecasts confirm that the economic recovery is happening in the European Union and that after experiencing the biggest recession in its history, the European Union as a whole is forecast growth of 1% in 2010 – this year – and 1.75% in 2011.
Therefore, the economic recession came to an end in the European Union in the third quarter of last year and economic recovery has begun. The European Economic Recovery Plan and the decisions made by the Member States have made a clear contribution to this by injecting large amounts of money into the economies of the various countries from the budgets of the Member States and from the Union budget, through the European Economic Recovery Plan. This is one of the reasons why – I will say it again – after going through the worst recession in its history, we are already seeing economic recovery in the Union.
These are the European Commission’s forecasts, and undoubtedly the decision to lend to Greece is making a decisive contribution to ensuring that the economic recovery in the euro area and in the whole of the European Union is both effective and lasting.
We believe that the European Union has responded well to the current economic situation, to the economic crisis, by doing everything in its power to respond to the situation. Specifically, we think that it has responded well to the extremely serious financial situation in Greece, because what the European Union has definitely done in recent months has been to take clear steps towards what we have begun to describe as the economic governance or the economic government of the Union. Clear steps forward have been taken. At times they may have seemed slow, too slow, but steps forward have been taken, in any case, in a secure, determined manner, which will culminate on Friday in the meeting of the European Union Heads of State or Government.
We believe that the economic governance, the economic government of the Union needs to have solid foundations. The first of these is taking responsibility for the commitments made, for example when a Treaty on European Union is signed and ratified. The second is solidarity, which is a principle that is at the heart of the European Union and of all of its policies. The third is coordination of fiscal consolidation, coordination in the external representation of the European Union – for example, looking towards the G20 meetings – and coordination for growth and getting out of the crisis. I am convinced that this is what will be said in the document that Commissioner Rehn is preparing on the subject and will present to the Commission on 12 May."@en1
|
| lpv:videoURI |
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples