Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2012-04-18-Speech-3-357-000"
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"en.20120418.21.3-357-000"2
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"Mr President, so, Mr Barroso, it is just one month ago that we had our last debate on the euro crisis here. It was on 13 March, and you remember what happened. Statements were made to the effect that the crisis was over, that we had reached a turning point, that the worst was behind us – statements not made by you, I have to recognise and underline that; the Commission did not do that, but statements by Mr Van Rompuy, Mr Draghi, Mr Jünker, and also by Mr Sarkozy (but for quite obvious other reasons).
What I deplore is that none of all these people is here today, when we invited them to come to this Parliament. Mr Draghi is not here, and Mr Jünker had no time; the Council is also not here – there are a number of civil servants, but the Council is not here. In the middle of a euro crisis, when they were stating a month ago that everything was done and the worst was behind us, they do not have the courage to be here. It is a lack of courage that I want to deplore today.
Secondly, the real thing is that we all know that the crisis is not over. We said it here one month ago, on 13 March. We introduced austerity; we have established emergency funds; we have injected one trillion euro into the banking system; we have bought more than EUR 100 billion of sovereign debt from countries like Portugal, Ireland and Italy; we have decided on the biggest haircut in the history of the world (what happened with the Greek debt is the biggest haircut ever carried out) – and what is the result? The result is that interest rates in Spain and Italy today are back where they were six months ago, at around 6%; the spreads are again around 400 basic points for countries like Italy and Spain, and these spreads are also going up for other countries in the eurozone – mainly for France, Belgium and other countries.
So one thing is clear: we need another approach. We need a structural approach, not the half measures we have seen for two years now. In my opinion, this means two things: first of all, we must launch a new growth strategy (a real one), using the EIB as you have indicated, and spend money from the EU budget – project bonds, not only a pilot project, but project bonds on a full scale. My proposal is that you put forward to the Council and Parliament a global plan on this – on a new growth strategy – as fast as possible.
The second thing, as we know, is partial mutualisation of debt. You have talked, as everybody here does, about strengthening solidarity without losing discipline. There is only one good proposal: the redemption fund, a EUR 2.3 trillion fund which will help all Member States.
Everybody knows that this is the only way forward. What is important to underline is that, in the case of a redemption fund, it is the bondholders who are paying the bill by receiving lower interest rates, not the taxpayers of Germany or the other countries. Perhaps we should launch a campaign in the German press about this. Now they are paying the bill with the so-called fire extinguisher – the rescue fund – while, with a structural solution of a redemption fund, it would be the bondholders paying.
Finally to Greece, and I am very pleased with the announcement today. However, last week, I sent you a letter about Greece, which was also about the financing of the political parties. The two main political parties in Greece – both irresponsibly in my opinion, given the current situation – paid themselves EUR 29 million of taxpayers’ money to start the campaign on 6 May. The Commission spokesman responded in a press conference by saying that it was none of the Commission’s business.
I do not agree with you. You interfere in pensions and in wages in Greece – this is not foreseen in the Treaty, but you do it, and I think it is necessary to do so. In the second memorandum of understanding, it is clearly stated that there must be a reduction – and I quote (I have here the MOU No 2) – ‘of the electoral spending of EUR 70 million in Greece’.
I think that, based on that memorandum, you can interfere. I find it a scandal – and this is my final word – that Greek citizens have to make sacrifices and that the European partners have to continue to pay while most Greek politicians simply continue the bad practices of the past."@en1
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