Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-06-17-Speech-2-074"
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"en.20080617.5.2-074"2
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"Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, Commissioner, we can learn a lot from history. In the 1990s most of the then eurozone members were not capable of meeting the convergence criteria. Most of these countries had problems with excessive deficits, public finances and inflation.
During the reference year, 1997, Germany had problems complying with the criterion relating to the level of public borrowing, and as a result even those countries that had significantly exceeded the criteria values, such as Belgium or Italy, were tolerated. Some countries in the nascent eurozone had even resorted to so-called ‘creative accounting’, i.e. procedures that made their economic results look better than they were. Afterwards, although there were some hiccups, most of the eurozone members solved and continue solving these problems under the umbrella of the euro, a strong single currency. I must point out that these countries have not met all the deficit criteria. Therefore, those who point the finger at the applicants for accession to the eurozone should take care not to cast the first stone.
The Slovak Republic not only met the convergence criteria; it met them well in advance. The development of the Slovakian parameters had been monitored for a long time and was fully transparent. Fears of future inflation, expressed by the European Central Bank, can be generally applied to all eurozone members because the European economy is not developing in a vacuum. The current global price explosion is proof of this.
Consequently, I welcome the positive position of the European Commission and of the European Parliament as highlighted in the report by the rapporteur, Mr Casa, on the adoption by Slovakia of the single currency on 1 January 2009. This position is not only a technical but also a significant political gesture that signals to other applicants for accession to the eurozone that their efforts can lead to a tangible result."@en1
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