Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2010-06-15-Speech-2-532"
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"en.20100615.31.2-532"2
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"I want to thank Mrs Kratsa-Tsagaropoulou for a very pertinent question – or rather a set of questions – because the image and credibility of the euro is an issue of major concern for all of us Europeans at this critical juncture and these difficult times. The euro is not only a monetary arrangement; it is also a core political project – if not
core political project – of the European Union. Therefore, the fate of the euro, the image of the euro, the credibility of the euro has major implications for the overall European project.
Finally, reinforcing economic governance is absolutely essential in order to reinforce the credibility of the euro and I do indeed count on your support when you vote on the resolution on Europe 2020 and on reinforcing economic governance. We need your support in order to convince the European Council – convince the Member States – and keep up the momentum so that we can have these more rigorous systems of budgetary and economic surveillance and policy coordination in place by the beginning of next year.
I have here a carefully calibrated draft answer of four pages which I asked my services to prepare. I am tempted to read it out, but it would take some 12 minutes of your time. However, I am ready to make this available and I can also put it on my website. This is not only a matter of media actions and campaigns – no matter how important they are – it is also a matter of policies and concrete actions in order to defend the euro from the systemic attacks it has been under recently.
I would just say in passing that we are carrying out regular quantitative surveys. We have regular flash Eurobarometer surveys which we conduct in all Member States – we have done it in different waves. We are using every opportunity to actively communicate the latest developments and policy actions taken in respect of the euro and economic and monetary union.
The concerns of the general public are addressed through all available channels, such as the website, publications, questions and answers, leaflets as well as various networks dealing with economic policy making, trade unions, employers’ organisations and so on and so forth. We are working on all fronts together with the Member States in order to get the message across concerning the euro.
As regards the policies which are at the heart of the matter, and this deals with part ‘b’ of Mrs Kratsa-Tsagaropoulou’s question: What measures are being envisaged to improve the image of the common currency and its credibility in the eyes of the public?
I want to make three points on this. First, we have decided on a very substantial financial backstop called the European financial stability mechanism and facility – almost EUR 500 billion – which, together with the rescue package for Greece on coordinated and conditional financial assistance, has helped to stop the bush fire of financial uncertainty before it has turned into a forest fire all over Europe. We are taking concrete steps in order to safeguard financial stability and the euro in Europe.
Secondly, our Member States are making great efforts in fiscal consolidation. In fact, there is a wave of fiscal consolidation and structural reform going on in Europe in order to restore and reinforce confidence and credibility in the euro and economic and monetary union.
We are not doing it without careful calibration; we are doing it in a coordinated and differentiated manner so that those countries with no or little fiscal space, such as Greece, Spain and Portugal, have to accelerate fiscal consolidation. While many other countries still have fiscal space, they should not start consolidation before next year – this is to ensure that we do not suffocate the current ongoing economic recovery.
Just today, we presented a total of 15 excessive deficit procedures, and on the basis of our assessment, our Member States’ strategies of fiscal consolidation are in line with this coordinated and differentiated fiscal exit strategy."@en1
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