Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-05-15-Speech-4-013"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20030515.1.4-013"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spokenAs | |
| lpv:translated text |
"Mr President, it was one year ago yesterday that we held a debate on the global economic policy guidelines in this plenary. During this debate, I made some critical remarks about the economic policy guidelines. I indicated that the promises were very rarely kept. To my chagrin, I have to say that little has been done with this criticism since. It is therefore logical that the same criticism should now also apply to the report by Mr García-Margallo y Marfil.
Last year, we already saw a decline in economic growth. We now have to conclude that, despite fine policy intentions, recovery is still not on the cards. It appears that, with the policy guidelines, which form an open coordination method, we in the European Union are unable to cope with an impending recession. In addition, the objectives of the Lisbon process do not appear achievable with the current instruments. In short, the transposition of the policy intentions under implementation and the implementation of the guidelines leave something to be desired.
Meanwhile, I have gleaned from various sources that an open coordination method does not work. In practice, this method is apparently too non-committal and is also not very well-defined. Consequently, cooperation by means of the open coordination method is not sufficiently binding upon the Member States. It would therefore be useful if it were made clear in what way the Member States can work together in the field of employment and social policy, obviously thereby taking into consideration the Member States' responsibilities.
I should like to put a question to the European Commission, and specifically Commissioner Solbes, in this connection. Can you indicate whether, and if so when, you will be tabling proposals in order to improve cooperation within the framework of the Lisbon process? In this respect, do you deem it possible to come up with a clear definition of the open coordination method in the short term?
A few years ago at the Stockholm Summit, it was decided to aim for integration of environmental policy and social policy into the economic policy guidelines. This was with the intention to establish a sustainable and social market economy in the European Union. At present, economic prospects are uncertain, which has an impact on the creation of a sustainable and social market economy. I should therefore like to bring two important points to your attention.
First of all, social policy. In the debate on social policy, the European model is compared to the American model. The European model is based on solidarity, while the American model is not. The question is now to what extent this solidarity is still reflected in the policy which the Union is wishing to adopt.
Secondly, I should like to draw your attention to the need for integrating environmental policy into economic policy. In my view, there is too little attention paid to the environmental aspects of economic policy. It seems that the integration of economic and social policy is more obvious than integrating environmental policy into economic policy. Might the reason lie in the fact that environmental policy costs money initially and does not lead to profits that are readily measurable? I would therefore welcome, alongside references to the importance of the environment, clear and concrete environmental objectives to be included in the economic policy guidelines. Objectives with regard to energy consumption and CO2 emission reductions spring to mind in this respect. Economic growth will need to go hand in hand with a responsible use of natural resources. Moreover, I consider taking active government measures aimed at increasing birth rates in Europe in a bid to keep pension schemes affordable extremely debatable.
Since both the report by Mr García-Margallo y Marfil and this debate are critical about the global guidelines, it is time that the European Commission took these comments to heart. We, as the European Parliament, will need to ensure that economic policy is implemented in a consistent manner. The Commission must be pro-active and must inform Parliament in good time about the results achieved."@en1
|
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples