Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-03-09-Speech-3-152"
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"en.20050309.15.3-152"2
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Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, this morning we discussed in detail the new strategy for growth and jobs and managed to achieve perfect convergence between Parliament and the Commission.
Yesterday’s ECOFIN discussions were inconclusive. The Presidency has opted to hold a further meeting of ministers prior to the European Council. Nonetheless, I continue to hope that the spring summit can unveil a renewed and more credible pact, based on a comprehensive, consistent and balanced solution.
The Commission will continue to fight for the principles it submitted, in particular for reform of the pact. The deficit and debt benchmarks set out in the Treaty must continue to be complied with as the cornerstone of the system. The preventive aspect of the pact can be improved, in particular by defining medium-term budgetary targets specific to each country.
When the economic situation is buoyant, budgetary policy must remain sound. Excessive deficits must be identified unambiguously and corrected rapidly. However, the timescale for the correction could take account of economic factors. As for the Commission, it will continue to make all possible efforts with the Presidency and Member States to reach an agreement – but not an agreement at any price.
The Council’s conclusions will also cover other important issues. On some of them, such as sustainable development and climate change, it is also vital to reach agreement if we are to use the Lisbon reforms to underpin sustainable growth. I await with interest the political impetus to come from the European Council towards a European charter for sustainable development, which the Commission will certainly follow up and support.
Finally, we shall certainly review the latest developments in the Middle East and Iraq, and shall examine the progress made in preparation for the next round of enlargement and any future negotiations.
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, I will close by saying that this summit is an opportunity we cannot afford to miss. It must set the tone for future reforms by relaunching Lisbon and reinforcing the credibility of the Stability and Growth Pact. As we said this morning, the two are linked.
What is at stake here is our credibility, and the way we demonstrate to European citizens that we are seriously concerned for the future of Europe and determined to work towards that end.
The public, the electorate, would simply not understand if we were unable to achieve a breakthrough, or if the summit ended not with a success but with winners and losers. Any fine distinctions we may wish to introduce in areas such as which institution does what, or whether the new Lisbon strategy is more to the left, right or centre, will be irrelevant to the majority of our citizens. For them, the issue is Europe, not one particular institution or another or one particular aspect or another. It is therefore extremely important to send a consistent message and to show that we are really working together in the interests of our Europe.
Projecting an image of disharmony between institutions or conveying a tentative or pessimistic message on the future of Europe would inevitably have a negative effect on public opinion, something particularly dangerous at a time when the constitutional treaty is going through the ratification process. However, I believe we have a first-rate chance of success. We have a competent and determined Presidency. We have a Commission which is making its very best efforts. We are achieving an important victory today by showing our shared determination to achieve a new Lisbon strategy. We have demonstrated today that it is genuinely possible to reach a stronger and dynamic consensus.
It is therefore vital to show the European Council that we can assist Europe in moving up to a higher gear. We can launch the reform process and begin to mobilise opinion in favour of a European renewal. That is what is at stake at the spring meeting of the European Council – to ensure that our vision is translated into action.
I believe that, in this area too, the forthcoming European Council has a crucial role to play in implementing this ambitious strategy and we must not miss this opportunity. This European Council comes at a very important time, firstly because it is taking place just as a new Parliament and a new Commission are starting to find their feet and to set out their working methods for the next few years, and also because a wide-ranging debate on the ratification of the Constitution is due to take place, a debate that will focus on the type of Europe that we want and the type of Europe that we are capable of building for our fellow citizens.
Accordingly, we must demonstrate at the forthcoming European Council that the EU is actually working and that the EU is capable of successfully launching new initiatives that produce tangible results in the lives of Europe’s citizens.
Let me single out the two main deliverables for this European Council. First, there is the need to relaunch the Lisbon Strategy and to re-focus it on growth and jobs in order to bring our wider economic, social and environmental objectives within reach. This requires more than just words. People need to see a real commitment from Member States. That is why our new approach to working to support Members States in delivering on the Lisbon objectives is critical.
Second, we must ensure that a stronger Stability and Growth Pact emerges from the summit with its credibility reinforced. Both these goals are well within our grasp, and I would like to comment on each one in turn.
In relation to Lisbon, I would simply emphasise the importance of giving fresh momentum to the process of reform. That is why the European Council should make a clear commitment to the new governance mechanisms, the new integrated guidelines and the national and EU Lisbon programmes, with simple reporting and better coordination of reforms at a national level. The launch and follow-up to the renewed Lisbon approach must be prepared via close cooperation between the Commission, the Council and Parliament.
I shall now turn to the Stability and Growth Pact.
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, we are all aware that operation of the Stability and Growth Pact has recently experienced problems.
Differing interpretations of the Treaty and of the Stability Pact have led to uncertainties over the methods of budgetary supervision. We need an interpretation which can ensure the pact’s effectiveness and credibility, without the need to re-write the pact itself."@en1
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