Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2011-12-13-Speech-2-094-000"
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"en.20111213.5.2-094-000"2
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"Mr President, many important issues were raised during this debate.
We have both a sovereign debt crisis and a financial crisis at the same time, but at the origin of these different crises, we have a problem in Europe of competitiveness. We are losing our position to many of our competitors in the world. That is why we need the reforms to enhance our competitiveness and to liberate the potential for growth. That is why, in fact, what we have discussed in this summit is only part of the solution because it addresses only part of the problem.
We need fiscal discipline. We need, of course, to be rigorous in terms of having a debt sustainability path, but we also need measures for growth. I made this point very clearly. We need growth in Europe. That is why I think we now have an agenda. We have the EU 2020 agenda and we have other initiatives to address this major problem of growth. Without creating confidence globally that Europe is able to restore growth, I believe we cannot get out of this current crisis. This is our position. This is the position that the Commission has sustained over time and we are ready to work with you and, of course, with all the institutions in that direction, as I said earlier, to build a Europe of stability but also a Europe of growth, a Europe of responsibility but also a Europe of solidarity.
This is our commitment and we will go on working for this, hopefully with all the Member States and in full respect of the principles that made our Union what it is today, after all a Union of free, democratic societies committed to the very strong values of the rule of law, justice, freedom and solidarity.
First of all, on the issue of substance and form, I agree that in a Community that is based on the rule of law, form is important. That is why we in the Commission did everything we could to get an agreement that could be considered compatible with the Community method, an agreement that could be signed by all the Member States. I have to say that this was not only the position of the Commission, but of the President of the European Council. He presented that as the clear preference. It was also the opinion of most of our Member States.
Today, I presented to you in a very open way – because I think this is my duty in terms of democratic accountability to this Parliament – why I think this was not possible. The alternative now is either to avoid stronger commitments of the European Union, namely, of those Member States that are ready to go further, or try to formulate this agreement in a way that is fully compatible with European Union law.
This issue raises important legal and institutional matters. I have been frank in making some of these points to you. I think it is possible to do it, but it requires efforts on all sides. This is what the Commission is determined to do while always trying to be constructive. I think it is possible to come to an agreement that is fully compatible with European law and that addresses some of the concerns in terms of discipline and convergence in the euro area and indeed beyond the euro area. I can say to you what I also said in the European Council and in the formal summit; namely, that I think this Parliament should be associated with the present efforts for finding that solution. I am ready to work with you to that end.
An issue that came up very often in the debate today was the position of the United Kingdom. It is important to put the UK relationship with the rest of the European Union in its proper context. Emotions are what they are but I think, as some of you have mentioned, that it is important to see how we can get out of a situation that was indeed unfortunate. I welcome the statement made yesterday by Prime Minister Cameron that he intends to continue to pursue a positive policy of engagement in the European Union on a whole range of issues, including growth and economic reform, smart regulation, fighting climate change and the development agenda.
I sincerely believe that we have a joint interest to agree, and to agree among all of us. I think that it is in all of our interests to have a United Kingdom Government that fully engages with the other Member States and the European institutions. Indeed, it is the European institutions that are the best guarantee that the interests of all Member States, including the UK, will be fully respected. It is precisely through European institutions and in full respect of the Community method that we can avoid any kind of split, any kind of directorium, or any kind of derivation that will be negative for the overall interests of the Union and each one of its Member States. I therefore hope that we can work constructively with the UK Government to make sure that the fiscal compact now agreed dovetails neatly with the European Union Treaties so that the interests of all Member States and European institutions, including this Parliament, are respected.
Regarding the evaluation of the results, I was extremely prudent on purpose. I tried to avoid adjectives as much as I could. The reality is that by now, we have all learned that the solution to this crisis – as I have mentioned very often – is not a sprint, it is a marathon. When I use the expression ‘marathon’, I am not just thinking about the Greek situation.
One can lose confidence in one day, but to recover confidence takes much longer. So what we need now in the euro area, and in the European Union, is a commitment to sustainability, to persistence, to rigour, to discipline and to convergence over time. There will be no panacea. There is no silver bullet. In these matters, there are no miracles. I think it is also important that we show everybody, including our partners, that we are committed to a solution and that we will work consistently, coherently and over time to reach that solution.
As some of you said – and, in fact, I also made the point in my introductory remarks – the issue of budget discipline and addressing the problems of debt is an important one, but it is not the whole problem. We have in Europe, and in the euro area, a problem of sovereign debt. This sovereign debt is partly the cause of the crisis, but it is partly also the result of the crisis. The crisis started with the subprime problems when, in fact, there was a problem in terms of the evaluation of risk by markets and investors."@en1
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