Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-07-03-Speech-2-095"
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"en.20010703.6.2-095"2
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"Mr President, on 2 May 1998, in Brussels, I pledged the support of the Alleanza Nazionale delegation for the euro. However, I observed that the European currency was getting off to a bad start: the Union had no economic policy and the Council of Ministers had not even issued an outline plan or guidelines so that the national States could work together to tackle major areas such as unemployment, flexibility, the conversion of some sectors and the social and cultural effects of the increase in pace that technological innovations such as the Internet were bringing not just in the market place but in other areas of life as well. Europe had no foreign policy and no strategies of its own for orienting globalisation and world finance, and this, together with the lack of economic strategy and the indifference displayed by institutional bodies towards the citizens, who had been neither consulted nor informed about the matter, meant that the launching of the euro resembled the building of a cathedral in the desert. Yet there was still hope, for there would have been time to introduce political, economic and financial initiatives to cultivate that desert, if only the political will had been there to develop and implement them.
However, in recent years, the euro has not been doing well, and the date of its impending entry into force is looming up like an unavoidable appointment for which the citizens have no enthusiasm and which is often viewed with trepidation by some of those very politicians who have contributed, in recent years, to the barren path the euro has taken. It is a currency which has consistently been undervalued in relation to the dollar and which has consequently penalised investments and savings.
In the same report, Mr Maaten points out how the criticisms we made then – criticisms which, in recent years, we have brought to the attention of Parliament and the Commission on a number of occasions – were justified: indeed, medium-sized enterprises, trade, the craft trades and the agricultural sector, all of which are major production categories, are not yet ready for the transition to the euro. The banking system is not ready either, despite the multibillions invested in purchasing the necessary equipment. These and other issues which remain unresolved give rise to the fear that there will be negative consequences, both for the citizens and in terms of the correct assessment of the real value of the euro.
I will conclude by saying that we support the many suggestions made in the report, but we nevertheless condemn the fact that both their proposal and their implementation are long overdue. This is why we want to know clearly, once and for all, who is responsible for delays, bad planning and failure to assess the situation with regard to the economic sectors and social situations in the field."@en1
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