Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2012-03-13-Speech-2-059-000"
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"en.20120313.6.2-059-000"2
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"Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, I wish first to thank all those who have congratulated me on my re-election. I saw that enthusiasm varied across the House, but, as I always say: ‘no one is obliged to be enthusiastic’.
Of course, in addition to that, there is equity. That is why the banks have been asked for a huge contribution. They are losing 70% of the current value of the Greek debt in contributions to the Greek recovery. I agree with all those who have argued for even stronger measures against fraud and tax evasion. The Commission has just set out the measures it has taken. Of course, there is the unanimity rule with regard to taxation, but many things can be achieved at national level. We do not always need a European framework. The problem in Greece is that of collecting taxes. That is the greatest injustice and the very source of its huge public deficit. In the midst of the fiscal consolidation policy, solidarity must, of course, be maintained. That is why, at European Union level, we have granted aid to Greece which is equivalent to 100% of Greek GDP. If even more solid proof is required of the European Union’s solidarity towards countries in difficulty, the figure speaks volumes.
We must, in the midst of the fiscal consolidation policy, keep our sights on climate objectives. Two are on track. We need to work more on another, relating to energy efficiency. We are calling once again on the Member States, in addition to fiscal consolidation, to implement a specific employment policy. That is why we are looking forward to their plans for employment, due in April. We will evaluate them and that will be included within the recommendations we make in relation to the Member States in June.
We need a special policy for Greece, and we are working on it. The Greek Prime Minister is fully committed to this path. Going further with the single market does not cost anything in budget terms. Another issue is the letter from the 12 governments. I do not agree with those who have said that the letter has not been taken into account. Quite the reverse: in fact, after a careful reading of the final draft conclusion, dealing with issues including the single market, which I submitted to the European Council, there was scarcely any debate. This was because the elements in the letter which enjoyed a consensus had already been taken into account to a great extent.
Do we need to go further still with a recovery policy? I have heard words to that effect. However, the days when we used to create a recovery policy through public expenditure, as in the past, are now over. A much more subtle and sophisticated approach is needed.
We cannot avoid a budgetary consolidation policy, but within this policy we must, as I have said, keep our sights set on some expenditure that generates growth and jobs.
A final word about Syria and Bosnia. As far as Syria is concerned, we can go much further, under
condition: that we get a mandate from the Security Council of the United Nations. It is not Europe, not European countries, that are standing in the way, but two countries that have also been specifically named in the decisions of the European Council that are preventing us from taking much more decisive action in relation to Syria. It is not our call.
And if we want to go further on the humanitarian front, as well, and if we want to protect people who are providing on-the-spot humanitarian aid, we need to get a mandate from the United Nations. We had that mandate for Libya and we made full use of it – albeit in different circumstances and for different purposes – but we have no mandate for Syria.
As for Bosnia, I have had a very interesting meeting with the new Prime Minister of Bosnia and Herzegovina who showed that the new BiH Government has a new, fundamentally European, orientation. The European institutions, the European Union, are prepared to respond to that as soon as possible, in such a way that this country, too, will be able to maintain its European prospects. This is the first evidence of a genuine European will in that country, which played such a tragic role in a civil war on the very borders of the European Union.
Those were a few comments I had following the debate. I would like to thank all those who spoke.
There have been many criticisms of the overall approach, but our general strategy, which we have adopted both at EU and Member State level, is a strategy that has been supported by all the Member States, by all the Prime Ministers and Heads of State since the start of the crisis, two and a half years ago. That includes those who have since left the Council, because of those who elected me two and a half years ago, only 12 remain.
The current composition of the European Council supports this strategy. At the last Council meeting too, all 27 countries signed the treaty on what is called the fiscal compact
One may criticise the overall approach, but I would simply say that, over the last two and a half years, this strategy has been the European Council’s unanimous strategy. Of course, everyone is aware that this is a difficult and unpopular road and that it will only produce results in the medium term or even, in some cases, in the long term. That is, however, the road that we have chosen and we will keep to it.
During my introductory speech, I said, extremely prudently:
Our strategy is going to work. We have reached a turning point’.
Normally, I am very prudent. In this case too, I have also been very prudent. I was translated as having said that it was the end of the crisis, etc. That was not the case at all. Fear not, I said that it was the turning point in a very serious crisis. In the press, which is totally opposed to the European project and the euro project, there is no more talk of the end of the euro area. The fact that there is no more talk of this nature is quite significant. Of course, not all the problems have been resolved. When I see that the interbank market is recovering after months of inertia, that there is a significant drop in interest rates in several countries that had been under pressure, we can say, in fact, that we have reached the bottom of the trough. However, there is still a long way to go.
The most guaranteed way to have positive economic growth like that of 2010 and 2011, and which we do not have in 2012, is, of course, to re-establish confidence in the future of the euro area. This is the top precondition for growth. What is missing in several countries now is this confidence on the part of consumers and investors in the future of the euro area. With the signs that growth in the euro is returning, consumers and investors may follow.
We are told that structural reform is needed. I was under the impression that this was a reference to structural reform in the Member States. In fact, it is a reference to firewalls and other initiatives in the financial sphere. However, what is being forgotten is that outside the firewalls, on which, I believe, decisions will be taken in the coming weeks, what really lasts – and, of course, there has been too little discussion of this – is structural reforms in the employment market and the goods market. What we need is to restore competitiveness simultaneously to the Member States and the EU in general. Otherwise, this crisis will return at some stage.
What has truly astonished me here is that the term ‘European Semester’ has not been said once. Some have made a very slight allusion to it. The European Council’s aim was, in fact, to evaluate the European Semester, to see what progress we have made on it, in budgetary, macro-economic and employment terms. The Member States are being asked to introduce their reform plans and stability plans during the next few weeks. In May, recommendations will be given, through the Commission. At the Council meeting in June, the matter will be discussed again. If the European Semester is not taken seriously, the crisis will happen again at some stage. I am disappointed to have heard no mention, or very little, of this essential project, which was approved by the European Parliament and adopted very enthusiastically at the time. The major challenge during a period of inevitable fiscal consolidation, in almost all the countries, is to maintain long-term policies. The President of the Commission rightly pointed to the Europe 2020 strategy, and the whole art of fiscal consolidation is to establish priorities, to consolidate and, in general, to reduce deficits and debt levels while protecting the future, while preserving a certain type of spending within research and development, education, youth training, and investment, particularly on climate change. Establishing the priorities within fiscal consolidation work: that is the great challenge."@en1
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