Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2012-03-13-Speech-2-013-000"
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"en.20120313.6.2-013-000"2
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"Mr President, Mr Van Rompuy, first of all, I would like to congratulate you, Mr Van Rompuy, on your appointment, and I wish you a great deal of courage for the next two and a half years, since we all need good proposals to create jobs in Europe.
I think there are two lessons to be learnt from the crisis. The first is putting national and regional finances back on track, and it can wait no longer. The signing of the fiscal treaty, with 25 members, two days ago, shows that this lesson has been learnt by the most far-sighted countries of the EU. The treaty imposes an obligation on its signatories to show good faith, honesty and discipline. However, everyone knows that actually applying a provision is more important than signing it. This is where we are waiting for the Member States, and for the Commission, as Guardian of the Treaties. Everyone remembers how the Stability Pact was infringed by the largest Member States. Everyone remembers that a certain President of the Commission even called it ‘stupid’. I therefore welcome the fiscal treaty which is, with the ‘six-pack’ and, soon, the ‘two-pack’ as well, a useful instrument. However, I would like to call for vigilance regarding how they are actually applied.
The second lesson to learn from the crisis is the emphasis to be placed on a return to sustainable growth and growth that creates jobs. I must say that, in this area, there has been no real progress since the start of the crisis. The Council meeting in January merely contented itself with making recommendations to the Member States, without any coordination or overall plan. As for the Commission, it is working extremely hard, but the many initiatives it is undertaking would be better understood and more effective if they formed part of an overall project, particularly a project for growth and employment. Above all, I am struck by the difficulty and also the slowness with which too many Member States are applying the rules to which they have, nonetheless, made a commitment. On this point, I also expect the Commission to be more vigilant in its efforts to put Member States back on the right path. The Group of the European People’s Party (Christian Democrats) is proposing two courses of action, which it will place on an official basis in a public letter to the Council and the Commission.
The first area concerns the internal market. At the end of this year, we will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the single market. However, 20 years on, there are still more than 150 bottlenecks hampering the operation of that market. It is for this reason that I am calling not only for us to ensure that the rules that have been adopted are actually applied, but also for a legislative package to be put forward, together with a precise timetable to enable us to complete the internal market. This is an urgent matter and within in it we can find, as I say every day, at least a small percentage of growth for all the countries, which is very important at this difficult time. The services sector, which is vital for Europe’s economy, constitutes in itself one of the largest blockages. Prices vary within the European Union; they can be up to twice as high for medicines, three times as high for medical treatments, four times as high for certain kinds of insurance and 100 times as high for the same university qualifications. When we know this, it is clear that action can wait no longer. Of course, we cannot do everything at once. It is for this reason that I call upon the Commission to start with a new legislative initiative in 10 sectors of the internal market.
The second course of action recommended by the PPE Group concerns the investments needed for growth. I am also proposing, on this point, that in the European budgets for the next few years, a share allocated to investments generating growth and jobs should be protected. Let me be clear: it is not a question of new expenditure or additional budgets, but of channelling funds that are already available towards sustainable investment. Finally, we must provide ourselves with our own resources. It is not widely enough known that one euro invested by the EU can produce, through its multiplier effect, up to EUR 5 in investment. To take the example of energy, in 2010, the EUR 4 billion injected into the sector ended up generating EUR 22 billion in investment.
I will finish with this: our fellow citizens, particularly young people, need jobs now. Our economy needs small growth to begin with and guaranteed growth for the future. The budget pact will ensure healthy and honest finances. Mr Barroso, I believe that on this point, you are right. We must combat tax evasion more rigorously. You have quoted the figures, and it is an enormous problem. We must act to create jobs, while the completion of the single market and the protection of the investment budget ought to generate sustainable growth and jobs."@en1
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