Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2010-12-15-Speech-3-470"
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"en.20101215.26.3-470"2
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"Madam President, when I was canvassing for a ‘yes’ vote for the Treaty of Lisbon, I gave Irish citizens 10 reasons to vote ‘yes’ to Lisbon. One of those was the social clause, Article 9.
On several occasions in this Chamber and elsewhere I have asked the Commission and the Council to now apply Article 9 in their proposals on economic governance and, of course, in their response to the current economic crisis, which is a real test of their commitment to the social clause. In Ireland we see the evidence of this response, where the minimum wage has been cut by one euro an hour in the last week, and where invalidity payments and payments to blind persons have also been cut. What now do the phrases ‘the fight against social exclusion’ or ‘the guarantee of adequate social protection’ contained in Article 9 signify to those citizens?
Of course, you may say that this is an internal matter for Ireland, but it is not. The parameters for austerity in Ireland were set by the EU, and our government will send monthly reports to you. Will you remind them of Article 9 when the report comes in about the cut in the minimum wage? Why has this happened? This has happened because Irish banks and European banks engaged in reckless lending and borrowing right under the noses of the ECB.
The interest rates you are now charging to Ireland for borrowing, according to today’s newspapers, are 3% more than were charged to Latvia, Romania and Hungary. Representatives from the Court of Auditors say that there is no precedent for the EU charging such a margin on loans. Can I ask you to confirm or deny this situation? If it is true, please explain to me, so that I can explain to Irish citizens, how the social clause is working for them. This situation is specific to Ireland, but if it is a template for other Member States in trouble, then Article 9 is dead in the water."@en1
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