Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-05-16-Speech-2-388"
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"en.20060516.41.2-388"2
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"Madam President, Commissioner, first of all, I should like to congratulate Mr Rosati, because I think he has produced an excellent report, which takes on board contributions from the other political groups.
In my speech tonight, I should like to focus on the relationship between public deficit and economic growth. The Commissioner has provided us with more up-to-date information. Despite that, I would dare to regard the European Union public deficit situation as worrying: 2.4% on average is better than 2.9%, but it is still worrying.
The fact is that the European Union – Europe – is the region of the world, including the less developed parts of the world, that is achieving least growth at a time of international economic expansion. Thus Europe is not keeping its own house in order and it is not doing what it ought to be doing in terms of balancing the international economy.
That has a great deal to do with the public deficit situation, as other speakers this evening, such as Mr Karas and Mr Hoppenstedt, have pointed out; they have said that, in a European economy afflicted with a lack of domestic demand, public deficits are a cause and not an effect. Therefore, I have to insist that we must improve the European Union’s mechanisms in order to improve confidence and, in the last analysis, so that income levels in the European Union grow. It has the ability to do so, but its problem is that its growth potential is so terribly low, incomparably low.
We are the area of the world with least growth potential, and that is where the problem lies. That can be solved, in effect, through structural reforms and also, of course, through public finances that have been straightened out by means of political willpower to contain public spending to the point where it becomes sustainable, so that European citizens can pay reasonable, modern taxes."@en1
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