Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-04-04-Speech-2-021"
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"en.20060404.6.2-021"2
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".
Mr President, I agree with the assessment that Vice-President Verheugen has just made on the way in which we are implementing the revised Lisbon Strategy that we implemented last year.
On reading Mr García-Margallo’s report on the European economy and the broad economic policy guidelines, I note a considerable degree of agreement, and we also noted this agreement within the Commission, with the same objectives and the same process towards achieving them, at the last European Council. I believe that this fundamental agreement amongst the three European institutions is crucial to the credibility of the process, the acceptance of the objectives of this strategy by all economic and social actors, and not just the European and national institutions, and is one of the conditions – which I believe to be essential – for achieving greater growth and employment in the European Union.
With regard to macroeconomic issues, I would like to refer to three points. Firstly, it is clear that, as we have said on many occasions, and I believe that we agree with Parliament’s opinion, it was important to achieve greater synchronisation amongst the objectives of the Lisbon Strategy, in order to achieve more growth and more employment, and the application of the Stability and Growth Pact. Over the last year, this has been achieved. There is more coordination and a better relationship between them and I believe that we are achieving very positive results in practice. The European economy is making better progress today towards fiscal consolidation than it was a year ago, as one of the necessary conditions for more solid growth and growth that is capable of generating employment. The confidence of the economic actors is improving, the results of activity suggest that 2006 is going to offer better results than in 2005 and the perspectives opening up for the future are also positive.
Secondly, I entirely agree with what Mr García-Margallo’s report says with regard to the importance of paying more attention to the sustainability of public finances and, in particular, with regard to how to deal with the consequences of the ageing of the population. A few weeks ago, the Commission and the Economic Policy Committee, which is made up of all of the Member States, published a report on the economic and budgetary consequences of the ageing of the population. These consequences are significant, but that report also notes that, by acting on time and carrying out reforms, such as those included in many national Lisbon Strategy programmes and those which the different Member States are promoting by means of their initiatives, in particular Commissioner Špidla’s initiatives in the demographic field, results can be seen, and there are now European countries that are in a better position today than five years ago to deal with the consequences of the ageing of the population. In October, the Commission is going to publish a report on this issue, which I hope will also be debated and monitored in Parliament.
A final point. I am very pleased that, as well as a general analysis of the European economy and of the role of the Lisbon Strategy and of the different instruments included in the broad economic policy guidelines for the economy of twenty-five, Mr García-Margallo’s report makes a particular reference to the challenges and needs of the eurozone, in which the twelve countries that share the single currency, the euro, need mechanisms for coordination and special attention in order to obtain the best possible results from the economic and monetary union. We would like to thank Mr García-Margallo for pointing this out in this report."@en1
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