Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2010-03-25-Speech-4-014"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20100325.3.4-014"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spoken text |
"Mr President, first of all, I would like to thank you for the chance to discuss the 2009 Annual Statement on the euro area. When we prepared our Annual Statement, we knew that the selected issues would be topical. They might, however, have become somewhat too topical recently.
We can also make better use of existing instruments. It is possible for the Council to address recommendations to a Member State whose economic policies risk jeopardising the proper functioning of economic and monetary union. This has been used in the past, probably too rarely. With the new Lisbon Treaty, under Article 21, the Commission can issue similar early warnings directly to a Member State. This is something we must do in order to help Member States to address emerging economic problems at a much earlier stage.
As I seem to be running on injury time, I will continue on macro-economic imbalances in my concluding remarks. That is the second core element of reinforced economic governance. By and large, I share the views of the rapporteur in this regard.
I just want to conclude by saying that the financial crisis has harshly demonstrated that the continuous economic growth of past decades cannot be taken for granted. Today, the worst may be over. The economic recovery is now in progress but it is still fragile and not self-sustaining. Unemployment has not yet changed for the better. The same applies to the consolidation of public finances, which is a prerequisite for sustainable growth. No matter how important fiscal stimulus was for the economic recovery, the two years of the crisis have wiped out over 20 years of consolidation of public finances.
These clouds will overshadow our economic landscape in the coming years. We must do our utmost to clear the sky and bring back growth. Therefore, this is indeed no time for business as usual. Instead, this is time for a change in step to promote sustainable growth and job creation.
Let me congratulate both rapporteurs, Edward Scicluna and Sven Giegold, for their excellent reports. In order to respect the independence of the European Central Bank, I will focus on the Giegold report, which makes a very substantive contribution to the current debate on economic coordination and economic governance within the euro area.
In my view, the broad support the Giegold report enjoyed within the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs is indeed a testimony to the relevance and balance of his approach and issues. I fully agree with Mr Trichet that the euro is not only a technical monetary arrangement but is rather the core political project of the European Union, which must be defended and developed in this European spirit, not least today and tomorrow, as the European Council is convening at a very critical moment.
Since 1999, the euro area has mostly been an area of economic stability. It has shielded our citizens from economic turbulences. However, since the end of 2008, the euro area has been hit hard by the global financial crisis. Despite the economic recovery policies and strong fiscal stimulus, financial markets still remain volatile and the degree of uncertainty remains exceptionally high. Recent waves in the market have seriously tested financial stability and economic governance in the euro area, especially in relation to Greece.
I would like to say that Greece is now on track to meet the 4% target of deficit reduction this year, following the bold and convincing measures that the Greek Parliament decided earlier this month and which are now in force. This moment may indeed be a turning point in Greek fiscal history and economic development.
However, neither Greece nor the eurozone are completely out of the woods yet as there are still concerns regarding financial stability in the euro area. Therefore, the Commission has strongly encouraged the euro area Member States to take a political decision on a mechanism to ensure financial stability in the euro area as a whole, a mechanism which could be swiftly activated if needed, in conformity with the treaty and its bailout clause, and without any automaticity built into this mechanism.
On our side, I can assure you that the Commission is ready to put such a European framework in place for coordinated and conditional assistance, which could be used if needed and if requested. We are working closely and intensively together with all euro area Member States and the ECB in order to reach such a solution this week in the context of the European Council.
However, in addition to the immediate crisis management, we need to look at how similar situations can be avoided in the future so that we never again have cases similar to the Greek case now. The Greek crisis has demonstrated the need for enhanced economic governance. This was already recognised and the legal base provided in the Lisbon Treaty. Therefore, we are currently preparing proposals for the implementation of Article 136 of the Lisbon Treaty and the Commission will make a proposal for enhanced economic policy coordination and reinforced country surveillance in the coming weeks.
Like you, Mr Giegold, in paragraph 28, we regret the lack of binding commitments among governments to enforce coordination in the euro area. Therefore, an integrated and forward-looking approach focused on policy action and clear operational arrangements is needed. First and foremost, we needed to prevent unsustainable public deficits and therefore we need to be better able to monitor the mid-term budgetary policies of the euro area Member States. We need to be able to issue broader and more stringent recommendations to the Member States to take corrective measures. I also count on your support in this matter."@en1
|
| lpv:unclassifiedMetadata | |
| lpv:videoURI |
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples