Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-07-04-Speech-1-091"
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"en.20050704.17.1-091"2
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".
Mr President, EU institutions keep telling themselves that the euro is a success. If only the public realised what a success it is, euroscepticism would vanish and people would all come to love the euro. The problem, we are told, is lack of knowledge. Hence the drive to spend EUR 16 million on a communication and information campaign giving neutral and factual information.
Unfortunately, the neutral and factual information is not likely to persuade EU citizens in the desired direction. All the large eurozone countries, and several of the smaller ones, are struggling with poor growth and rising government debt. The rules of the Stability Pact have been flouted all round and no honest observer can try to claim that the new flexible pact has any teeth, although the Commission has recently been pointing the finger at Italy. Yet we all agree that fiscal discipline is necessary if the euro is to endure as a multinational currency.
So how do we measure success? Easier travel, says Mr Maaten; lower interest rates, says Mr Trichet. But lower interest rates are more a response to poor growth than a sign of success. While the ECB must be applauded for its achievements with consistently low inflation, Mr Trichet’s deputy admits that the euro may have been part of the problem, accepting that the ‘one size fits all’ interest rate is not appropriate for countries with different inflation rates and business cycles.
The euro has not succeeded in its aim of binding EU citizens in ever-closer union. The euro has not succeeded in forcing countries to adopt the structural reforms that are necessary for the long-term health of eurozone economies. Is that the information that will be provided under this initiative? It should be, because that is what is relevant to people’s wellbeing. An objective appraisal would admit that in creating the euro the EU has tried to create a silk purse from a pig’s ear. It is now obvious that what we have is indeed the pig’s ear – perhaps not something we should be boasting about too loudly.
Have we learned nothing from France and the Netherlands, where the efforts of governments to obtain a ‘yes’ in their referendums on the Constitution merely hardened opinion against it? To spend money now promoting the euro would be foolish and irresponsible. It would also be typical of the head in the sand arrogance that we have come to expect from the European Union."@en1
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