Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2011-11-30-Speech-3-047-000"
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"en.20111130.14.3-047-000"2
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"Mr President, Mr Dowgielewicz, Mr Rehn, ladies and gentlemen, I am addressing you on behalf of the Chair of my parliamentary group, Joseph Daul, who has asked me to stand in for him during this debate.
Last but not least, this governance must be democratic. What does this mean? Quite simply, it means that this House and the national parliaments, elected by direct universal suffrage, must be fully involved in the negotiations on the arrangements for European governance and in the decision-making process that will follow. Such participation by elected representatives in the decision-making process is the essence of our system of the rule of law; it is what our parliamentary democracies are founded on.
Mr President, I shall conclude. While we are debating institutional reforms, the water continues to rise: to chin level for some, to knee level for others, but the flood is now affecting the entire euro area and is in danger of spreading to other parts of the world. As the German Finance Minister said, we need to act fast. Ladies and gentlemen, we need to act fast.
I should like to start my speech by saying how pleased I am that, following the green light given by the European Parliament, the European Council is now preparing to sign the Accession Treaty with Croatia.
I congratulate the Prime Minister of Croatia on the political determination she has shown in bringing her people to this historic point, and I am sure that her political resolve will have a positive influence on her European peers.
As regards the situation in the European Union, we can say that the lights have changed from amber to red. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) predicts a recession in Europe in 2012. There are fewer and fewer buyers of sovereign funds. Rising unemployment rates are causing despair among Europeans, especially young people.
Confronted with these challenges, the European Union must at the same time take action and decide on its governance. There has been much talk recently of reforming the Treaties, but as far as I am aware the crisis is not to do with the Treaties; it is a debt crisis.
Consequently, we in the Group of the European People’s Party (Christian Democrats) believe that the priority is to take action on national deficits in order to balance the budgets once and for all, and not to settle for a 3% deficit. The priority is to create growth opportunities once again by making the internal market a reality. The priority is to put our faith in the European Central Bank so that it behaves in a way that benefits our countries, by allying itself with the International Monetary Fund. The priority is to ensure that Eurobonds see the light of day, provided that the national budget effort is not only maintained but also increased. The priority is to listen to Radek Sikorski, who is urging us to take action and to deliver on the commitments we have made.
The second pillar of EU action must be governance of the euro area. This has been sorely lacking ever since the euro was launched, which explains the markets’ distrust. The development of such governance is therefore the
of any crisis resolution plan.
By governance, we mean a reduction in budget deficits, fiscal convergence and, if possible, social convergence. This governance must be European. What I mean is that governance between two or three countries, or even among the group of AAA countries – which is becoming ever smaller, incidentally – will not suffice. No, this governance must apply to all the countries in the euro area, in the Euro Area Plus.
It must be based on the Community method, which means at least two things. Firstly, that it must be the subject of an agreement, not just in the Council, but between the Council and two other EU institutions: the European Parliament and the European Commission. Secondly, that the only institution that can legitimately assess whether or not the new rules have been applied and, if necessary, refer the matter to the Court of Justice of the European Union, is the European Commission."@en1
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