Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-05-15-Speech-2-012"
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"en.20010515.2.2-012"2
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"Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, I could not fail to endorse Mr von Wogau’s last sentence. On the whole, however, I do not believe that his report is as balanced as he presented it here. First of all, on behalf of my committee I must criticise the lack of opportunity we were given to cooperate on this report, to engage in proper parliamentary discussion and to draft an opinion. Public acceptance of the euro and of European economic policy, Mr von Wogau, will not simply depend on the coining of a new term such as ‘home market’ or the like. It will take a bit more than that to convince people. This point is emphasised in the opinion which the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs adopted by a large majority. Let me cite some examples of the interaction and evidence of reliability that are needed.
Of course we need stability, but, as you well know, we also need more extensive investments in education and science. We call for an increase in the activity rate, especially with regard to women, yet we do not provide sufficient childcare facilities throughout the Union. We have naturally looked long and hard at demographic trends in all 15 Member States and now in the applicant countries too, yet our health services and our care services for the elderly still leave much to be desired. Growth alone, as our committee noted very clearly, cannot guarantee the quality of jobs. All of these improvements are necessary to ensure that our economic and monetary policies win the approval of the general public and of the working people of Europe.
I am pleased to see that some Member States – and I believe this is underestimated by the Commission and its Economic Policy Committee – are working to improve and intensify the participation of employees in economic life, as demonstrated by the legislative bills that have been introduced in France and Germany, for example. It is also interesting that a number of Member States have already responded to the proposals that Parliament and the Commission have been making for some time – they are not being tabled for the first time today – such as the long-overdue opportunity for older employees to upgrade their qualifications rather than being more or less squeezed out of the labour market with the aid of statutory provisions as in past years.
Lastly, let me point out that our committee was scathingly critical of the Council’s dilatory implementation of the Lisbon strategy. The economic policy of the Union must clearly be consistent with the principles of its employment policy and the social agenda. I wish to thank my fellow committee members for the flexible and constructive manner in which they dealt with the drafting of an opinion in such unusual circumstances."@en1
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