Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2012-04-18-Speech-3-405-000"
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"Mr President, first of all, I would like to thank the Members for a very substantive and serious debate. I will respond on behalf of the Commission on some of the key questions. As we were asked what we will take from this debate, I can say that I am fully aware that Europe is living through very tough times in terms of employment and the problems of unemployment, and in terms of growth or lack of growth. This has been very clearly reflected in all the speeches in your debate today.
With regard to Italy and Spain, which were referred to in several speeches, I would like to underline the fact that both countries – Italy and Spain – have taken and are taking effective and determined action on fiscal consolidation as well as growth-boosting structural reforms, which, over time, will help build confidence in the economies of Italy and Spain. In this context, it is essential – indeed it is crucial – that the European partners of Italy and Spain – the Member States, the Commission, the Parliament and the other EU institutions – all support these countries and stay united behind Italy and Spain in order to help them to overcome their challenges.
On the issue of the mutualisation or the joint issuance of public debt – to which Ms Berès and Mr Tremosa i Balcells referred – after the difficult decision on the reinforcement of the euro area financial firewalls was taken just two weeks ago by the Euro Group, now is the time to focus on the next steps to elaborate how we can make concrete progress in this very important field. That is why the Commission presented the Green Paper a few months ago. We have received feedback on that and will shortly be providing you with information on the results of the consultation before making our proposal on the basis of this consultation.
This is also why the new economic governance is so crucial and essential, because any form of partial joint issuance of public debt which would help to stabilise the European economy is only acceptable in Europe for many Member States if they can be certain that fiscal prudence and economic sustainability are ensured and guaranteed. That is the job of the new economic governance we have created together. I can see that the further reinforcement of economic governance, on the one hand, and consideration of steps towards partial joint issuance of public debt, on the other, move very much in parallel, hand in hand.
Mr President, honourable Members, let me thank you for this debate. The Commission is always here for constructive, critical, substantive and serious debate with you. You can rest assured that the Commission defends a very ambitious policy agenda of sustainable growth and job creation in Europe. But we also need the EU Member States on board for this, and I count on your support, because this is what really matters to our citizens. Sustainable growth, job creation and employment really matter to our citizens in Europe.
From our side, I want to underline that it would be very important to try to avoid an excessively ideological debate on fiscal consolidation. It is clear that, as seen in the past three or four years, the level of public debt in Europe has increased from around 60% to around 90% of GDP. It is hampering growth and causing problems for sustainable growth and employment. Therefore, we need a dual strategy, which we are working on. We need both fiscal consolidation and sustainable growth for the sake of sustainable development.
Overall – not least thanks to the ‘six-pack’, the new economic governance and your support for this new framework for economic governance – we are getting results as regards fiscal consolidation in the euro area and in the whole European Union, which is a necessary condition for sustainable growth and job creation. In the next few weeks, we will assess the economic and fiscal policy stance of the euro area and the Union as a whole on the basis of the latest information from Eurostat and our forthcoming spring forecast. Then it will be the right time to analyse and decide what is the best way to strike the right balance between consolidation and growth in Europe.
This is a very important debate for the whole euro area (not only for certain countries), and therefore we are pursuing this debate and are currently making the necessary preparations. I very much look forward to continuing this discussion with the Parliament in the coming weeks.
What do we need for sustainable growth? We need investment, even under the constraints of fiscal consolidation we are currently facing. Let me refer here to what the Commission proposed in the annual growth survey at the end of last year. We put forward a very investment-oriented multifinancial framework. Last year, we proposed project bonds in order to stimulate investment, and just before Easter we had a breakthrough when the Council endorsed this. I want to ensure that we can start the first concrete projects moving in the course of the coming months – this summer – in order to have investment in infrastructure, energy, transport and communication, which means sustainable employment for Europe.
I want to thank you for your very concrete support for the objective of project bonds. We have called for reinforcement of the capital base of the European Investment Bank, which is a very powerful instrument of the European Union for supporting growth and employment. But, as you know, it is reaching the limits of what it can do with its current capital base, and therefore, in order to allow the EIB to do more for growth and jobs, its capital needs must be addressed. Its capital base needs to be increased, and this should be done by its shareholders and by the EU Member States. For instance, a capital increase of EUR 10 billion would allow the EIB to lend approximately EUR 60 billion which, in turn, would attract other financing sources for a total investment of EUR 180 billion for new projects.
Let me therefore send a very clear and constructive message to all the Member States. For the sake of sustainable growth and job creation, we need more European cross-border and Community investment in infrastructure, energy, transport, innovation, research and communication. Therefore, I call on them to provide additional capital for the EIB and on you to support this objective with the Member States.
We need to intensify our work in employment policy. Today, my colleague, László Andor, presented to us a very comprehensive and ambitious package on employment policy covering several areas, including putting the emphasis on the urgent need to focus on efforts on the demand side of job creation. This means encouraging the Member States to take steps that create the right conditions for job creation and labour demand. The package also looks at the major structural challenges facing Europe – to which Ms Cornelissen referred in her speech – such as the move towards a low carbon and resource-efficient economy, the demographic ageing of our societies and rapid technological change. Here, we have identified the green economy, information and communication technologies and health services as the three areas that generate the most job opportunities in Europe. For instance, the green economy alone is expected to create over 20 million jobs in the next ten years, of course on the condition that we can pursue and intensify investment along the lines I described, for instance, by using the European Investment Bank as an instrument.
There were several questions relating to many of the Member States. I would just draw your attention to our communication today on promoting growth and jobs in Greece, which very clearly underlines that Europe stands by Greece in its efforts to reform its economy and administration. Today’s communication is about sending a strong signal that Greece can make it, together with its European partners. Greece can relaunch growth and restore its competitiveness. Greece can reform its tax system to make it more effective, fair and just. It can also reform its public administration."@en1
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