Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2010-05-19-Speech-3-407"
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"en.20100519.22.3-407"2
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"Madam President, this discussion today on the Europe 2020 strategy has been extremely interesting and useful for us, the Commission, as was this morning’s discussion on economic governance. I would like to thank you for this opportunity and for all the messages you sent on this strategy. On behalf of the European Commission, I am particularly grateful to Mr van Nistelrooij, Mr Grech, Mr Cortés Lastra and Mr Hoang Ngoc for their reports.
But, if there is one lesson to be learned from the current economic crisis and from its predecessor, the Lisbon Strategy – and I agree with Mr Kelly that often this Lisbon Strategy is exposed to too harsh a criticism – it is that delivery of reforms is key for success. It is therefore urgent to launch Europe 2020 at the June European Council and make sure that both the EU and its Member States start the implementation immediately thereafter.
At this point, I would also like to thank the Spanish Presidency for the efforts it made in bringing together the Member States and for supporting this strategy in recent months and, no doubt, in the coming weeks. There can be no delay, considering the current economic situation and the crisis we are currently going through. We owe it to the citizens to provide them with solutions to exit the current crisis and enhance the coordination of economic policies, while, at the same time, preparing a return to smart, sustainable and inclusive economic growth. By acting together in a coordinated way, we will have the necessary weight to be successful on the global stage as well. The Commission counts on Parliament’s support in making sure the Europe 2020 strategy can be launched rapidly and successfully.
I am prepared to continue a discussion on various details and even nuances concerning the Europe 2020 strategy. However, at this time, let me concentrate my answers on some of the key aspects of the discussion with a few concluding remarks.
First of all, I would like to stress once again the importance of the strong involvement of the European Parliament in the various upcoming steps linked to the Europe 2020 strategy: first of all, the opinion of the European Parliament on the integrated guidelines; secondly, at a later stage, the role of the EP as colegislator on various proposals to be made under the flagship initiatives; and not forgetting, thirdly, the next multiannual financial framework to make sure the future EU budgets better reflect the priorities set for the European Union through the Europe 2020 strategy.
Let me also be very clear about the objectives of the strategy. It has a dual objective. First and foremost, it is an essential pillar of the response of the Union to the current crisis. It is an essential tool for strengthening coordination of economic policy inside the EU-27 and, of course, within the euro area. But besides this short-term objective, this new strategy is about equipping Europe with a strategy – actually, as Michel Barnier outlined in his opening statement, a programme for action – to enable the European Union to exit the economic crisis by restoring economic growth and making sure this growth translates into more and better jobs.
But we must aim for a different kind of job creation than in the past – a more sustainable one, not only in ecological terms but also economically, socially and financially sustainable. It is about restoring a competitive European Union capable of ensuring the sustainability of its unique social model – a competitive EU that is a global leader in terms of tackling climate change, an EU that invests more in its people through more and better education and, finally, an EU that strengthens social cohesion by combating poverty.
Of course, as outlined in the Commission’s conclusions during this morning’s debate, this return to strong growth is only possible if we make sure that in the coming years, our Member States undertake the necessary fiscal consolidation, taking account of their respective starting points, not undermining a fragile recovery, and looking at the expenditure side at the same time as the revenue side. These are all very important elements.
I would like to stress once again the importance and the complexity of the fiscal problems that are currently on the agenda, but I would also like to draw your attention to the fact that this financial and economic crisis is much more complex than just speaking about budget deficits. At the root of the crisis, you will find a fundamental malfunctioning of the financial sector, starting with the banking sector, the correction of which is also essential if we want to start a sustainable recovery from this situation. We also have to address other causes of the recent recession – like the lack of an industrial policy and, to some extent, the lack of a complete success of our previous strategies – to achieve a knowledge-based economic growth and spread this growth to every region, every corner of the European Union.
That is why we have to reinforce our efforts in terms of economic governance, reinforce our efforts for financial regulation, and also achieve better economic, social and territorial cohesion.
Altogether, I strongly believe that there is no alternative for Europe but to launch this strategy and to launch it very quickly. If Europe does not restore its growth path, it will decline economically and will therefore also decline politically. While we are discussing this new strategy, most of our main trading partners have not only already put in place 10-year long-term social economic development strategies but they are already implementing them."@en1
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