Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2009-03-24-Speech-2-334"
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"en.20090324.28.2-334"2
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"Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, I should like to welcome the British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, who will host a G20 summit in a few days’ time at which Europe is awaited as rarely before.
Prime Minister, I appreciate that you have come here not to impose ideas but to listen to the citizens’ expectations. Do not forget, Prime Minister, especially next week, that you are a true European.
The first lesson to be learned from the crisis is that economies are now so interconnected that national solutions have become unthinkable. The difficulties which, it must be said, are coming at us mainly from the United States as the result of a lack of regulation, have gained ground and Europe, Mr Brown, needs to understand that it will only be strong if it speaks with one voice to defend its common interests. It even needs to be strong enough to drag all the regional economies onto the path towards new growth. I cannot forget Mr Manuel Barroso and the fact that it is under the impetus of Europe – and Nicolas Sarkozy in particular – that the G20 has been called upon to help restore order to a financial system which has lost the plot.
Solidarity and responsibility are Europe’s two major principles. Collectively, we are ready to come to the aid of and support those of us who are experiencing the most difficulties. Even though I wish your country the best, Prime Minister, the most recent IMF figures on it are, unfortunately, very worrying for you, as they are in other countries in the European Union, especially Hungary.
I worked as a voluntary fireman for several years and I know that when a house is on fire, it does not take long before the neighbour’s house is also at danger from the flames.
My fellow Members, your friends, on the left of the House will doubtless call, when I have finished, for a more social Europe and more protection. Before they do so, I would reply that these simplistic slogans which involve spending money which we do not have are precisely those which resulted in the failure of the policies of the 1980s in many European countries.
Not yours of course, Prime Minister; I acknowledge that, in the 1980s, it was not your government. The same Members will not fail to repeat that the current crisis has been born of globalisation and the market economy. I would reply to them in advance that, thanks to this market economy, the average income of our fellow citizens has risen by 40% over the last 40 years. I would also remind them that, while people in countries outside the market economy, under the shelter of the Berlin Wall, met their well-documented fate, globalisation and the market economy enabled Western Europeans to prosper at an average rate of 2% growth per annum. All of which goes to show that the defenders of social Europe are not necessarily who we think they are.
Prime Minister, European integration has always been a question of solidarity between the citizens of its countries and, in the difficult period we are currently experiencing, the duty of Europe, more than ever, is to prove this once again through its deeds. Supporting the banks was necessary because it prevented those who trusted in them from losing everything, and that is something, but it is not enough. Our first concern must be to stand by those who lose their jobs and families who have trouble making ends meet. It is only by returning to growth, it is only by restoring an economic and fiscal environment conducive to entrepreneurs that we shall experience a return to confidence and jobs. The EUR 400 billion European aid programme will help us overcome the crisis. It will allow new investments to be generated, it will strengthen demand and, by the same token, it will support growth and create jobs.
The internal European market may act as an important lever and, by contrast, any protectionist measure will only exacerbate things. Mr Brown, it is not enough to condemn protectionism abroad. We must also avoid sanctioning slogans like ‘British jobs for British workers’ at home, because that will get us caught up in very dangerous economic nationalism. However, I trust the Commission, the guardian of the Treaties, to ensure that the law is respected and that our enterprises can trade on a free and fair market. Our priority is to set up a new global financial architecture with more stability, more supervision and, above all, more transparency. We need to speed up the ‘Basel II’ reforms and bring speculative funds under strict control."@en1
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