Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-11-18-Speech-2-282"
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"en.20081118.29.2-282"2
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"Ladies and gentlemen, I am delighted that the preposterous idea of the Council President, Mr Sarkozy, to alter the foundations of capitalism failed at the talks in Washington. I hope that the European Union will see the return of a rational spirit which respects the freedom of the market as a fundamental value and a precondition of prosperity. This applies even in times of crisis. I believe therefore that neither the European Commission nor the Czech Republic, which is taking over the Presidency, will succumb to illusions of their own grandeur and infallibility and that, in contrast to the French Presidency, they will abandon the absurd and above all hazardous attempts to use taxpayers’ money to override the natural economic cycle. I am also delighted that the G20 rejected protectionism. After all, it is well-known that those who exchange some of their freedoms for greater security end up losing both.
Ladies and gentlemen, the current crisis was not caused by capitalism but by the greed of irresponsible banks that were unwilling to bear the risk for their own decisions. This kind of thing represents a threat to the free market just as much as excessive government control does. Simply to pump money into banks without securing direct influence over how it will be used is therefore a theft of the hard-earned money of our citizens. We must keep an eye on the banks to ensure that they use the money not only for improving their own balance sheets but also for lending to businesses. To allow managers to accept financial assistance without the government dictating how the money should be spent amounts to a denial of the principle of political responsibility. This is tantamount to an immoral payment for losses incurred through the unprincipled operations of financial institutions, with neither the institutions nor the actual managers bearing ultimate responsibility."@en1
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