Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2011-09-28-Speech-3-019-000"
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"en.20110928.3.3-019-000"2
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".
Mr President, Mr Barroso, ladies and gentlemen, I believe that almost everyone here in this Chamber was pleased to hear what you have explained to us, Mr Barroso, about how you are now prepared to take a major leap forward for Europe. You will have noticed this from the applause you received. Before we come to an understanding about the next stages of this leap forward, I would like to say something about the analysis of the situation as we see it. Mr Verhofstadt has said that Europe is in a bad state. As far as the financial and economic crisis is concerned, I would say that until now we have managed to prevent the worst case scenario from occurring, but we are a long way from having everything under control. If we take a look at the Member States, it is clear that what we have been saying all along, namely that we have done too little too late, is still the case today. Some Member States are now voting on the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF). I am not saying that this is the wrong thing to do, but if we put it in the context of time and space, a decision should already have been made about the permanent crisis mechanism, its structure and the genuine establishment of economic governance.
Mr Verhofstadt, we love your European wit, but we sometimes miss it when we have to deal with your colleagues.
I would like to discuss one more point and turn to the other side of this House. Mr Barroso, the Polish Presidency could be very important for the approach that you are taking. With its attitude to Europe and to the tendency of the Member States to go it alone, the Polish Presidency could bring about a genuine move towards preparing for another amendment to the Treaty and could lay the foundations for what we understand as economic governance.
However, this ‘too little’ and ‘too late’ applies not only to the actions of the Council. When I look at the economic governance package which we will be deciding on, I have to say that we have taken our time over that as well. There were good reasons for doing so. Nevertheless, we are now missing out on some opportunities with regard to this package. It is not a leap forward in terms of positive growth. We have talked so many times about the imbalance between stabilisation policy and the policy for development and for finding ways out of the crisis and this has still not been resolved in this package.
What I believe is the real subject of the political crisis in the European Union will not be resolved by our proposals on the financial crisis, nor by our proposals in the context of the ‘six pack’. Our real problem is that over the last few years we have created more injustice in various areas using a number of different measures. If we do not resolve this, we will not be able to control and bring an end to the centrifugal forces which exist not only because of the tendency of Member States to act alone, but also because the citizens of Europe are losing confidence in the ability of the Union to function.
On the subject of injustice, I believe, Mr Barroso, that we cannot go on in this way. For years the players on the financial markets have been earning huge amounts, until it came to the crunch. Then the decision was made to nationalise the problems and leave the profits with those people who had happily been engaging in speculation. I believe that this is a big problem and that the citizens have understood that until now the stabilisation process has taken place at their expense. I believe that, because of the increasing necessity of taking action to resolve the debt crisis, we are once again doing things that will lead to even greater injustice. We cannot rely solely on austerity measures. When we look at what is happening in Greece and in Ireland, the increase in the suicide rates in these countries alone is enough to make us blush with shame. We cannot unilaterally restructure budgets and introduce savings. We must at the same time do what my group has always been committed to during the negotiations on the economic governance package. We must consider how we can combat poverty in the European Union. We must resolve the issue of how we can invest in education. We must also make genuine investments in sustainable economic development, otherwise we will find that most of citizens are no longer prepared to support more Europe.
I would like to emphasise once again, Mr Barroso, three months before a delegation from this Parliament travels to Durban for the next world climate conference, that even though you mentioned renewable energies and investment in sustainable development in your speech, it is really disturbing how quickly things are forgotten in European policy. In 2007 and 2008 we agreed that it would be more expensive not to invest in ambitious plans to combat climate change than we had realised up to that point. We will not be able to bring about intergenerational justice with our existing austerity measures, unless we have a clear plan that defines how we will organise sustainable development, with a focus on preventing climate change and ensuring the efficient use of resources. What you have to say on this subject is unfortunately very weak.
I wanted to say something about the Southern Mediterranean region, but I will not do so now. I would like to wish Baroness Ashton every success in turning our past, the history of Europe in the Southern Mediterranean, into a topic for discussion. I also wish her luck in the negotiations on Israel and the Palestinian state, because the two-state solution and peace in the region are further key factors in improving development in the Arab world.
Finally, Mr Barroso, I would like to say something on the major leap forward that you have announced. You know that we want you to be the person who ensures that something which we have constantly been referring to as economic governance is actually tackled. I believe that in the next few weeks your ears will sometimes be burning, if you consistently implement the things that you have promised here. If you discuss this with the German Government or the Dutch Government, you will think about Mr Verhofstadt and ask yourself why he has not strengthened the resolve of his Liberal colleagues in government."@en1
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