Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-12-12-Speech-3-027"
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"en.20071212.2.3-027"2
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".
Mr President, President-in-Office, President of the Commission, in 1981 one per cent of Europe’s population possessed 8% of its overall wealth. Twenty-five years on, the wealthiest one per cent has 17% of total income in the European Union. Meanwhile, one person in six – a total of 74 million Europeans – lives below the poverty line as defined in the individual Member States.
Were it not for social transfers, around 185 million Europeans – almost 4% of the population – would slide into poverty. Hence the need for an active social policy: a policy to redistribute wealth. The Union’s effort on the social front is, however, particularly puny. The vision that the Commission has just outlined, of a more socially orientated Europe in the 21st century, is conceptually flawless but bereft of any actual legislative initiative.
Commission President Barroso has just told us that the Lisbon Strategy is bearing fruit. He is right. Yet, at the same time, the economic upturn in Europe is threatened by a particularly treacherous version of globalisation, in the shape of financial markets without frontiers. The so-called ‘subprime’ lending crisis had its origins in frenetic consumerism in the United States. The global financial industry went in for ‘special vehicles’ funded through unsound mortgages, and the cream of the banking, insurance and pensions sector treated us to yet another triumph of greed over intelligence.
The financial sector itself, of course, risks nothing: it is ‘too big to fail’
National central banks and taxpayers will ensure a safe landing for the golden parachutists, and that will not come cheap. Economic activity in Europe has already slowed down. Recession is looming in the United States. The dollar is sinking and prices of raw materials, including basic foodstuffs, are soaring. The credit crunch is already affecting small and medium-sized companies and would-be home buyers.
Reading the draft conclusion of the Lisbon Council, I find no prospect of Europe bouncing back, and I find that bitterly regrettable."@en1
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