Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2011-01-19-Speech-3-015-000"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20110119.4.3-015-000"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spoken text |
"Mr President, the European Council took important decisions about the future management of crises, but I agree with President Barroso that the underlying problems remain: the need to return to fiscal discipline and the reluctance by some Member States to pursue seriously economic reform.
We were told that in a single currency, Member States would no longer be able to devalue their way out of trouble, and would instead have to reform their economies to make them more competitive. Whilst a superficially attractive proposition, many of us were right not to be taken in as this has proved a false prospectus. Some Member States were able to find other solutions to prop up their economies artificially: through asset-price inflation, in part, caused by an unsuitably low interest rate and a refusal to take corrective action by other means; or by injecting borrowed public funds on an unsustainable scale and, in some cases, to cover up the size of the resulting fiscal deficit.
Whilst, of course, we must find solutions to deal with the immediate consequences of these policies, and fiscal retrenchment is essential, we must equally importantly commit ourselves to economic reform: to extend labour market flexibility to create jobs, to open markets and remove barriers to trade, and to stimulate private investment so that we can fill the void left by reduced public sector spending.
The financial and economic crisis made large-scale government intervention in the economy unavoidable – but we must not confuse the palliative with the cure. The long-term solution does not lie in bigger government. It lies in economic growth being generated by successful businesses and entrepreneurs, operating in competitive markets, which are able to deliver value to the consumer and create jobs for our citizens.
That is why the Europe 2020 strategy, the Single Market Act, and the Innovation Union, for example, are so essential and must be given the attention they merit. The stakes are high. Whilst we have been dealing with this immediate crisis, other countries around the world – some with political values that seem very different to our own – have been forging ahead. If we do not come out of this crisis on a progressive path to reform, we will be condemned to inexorable relative decline with the most profound consequences for the promotion of our values and, indeed, for the future of the planet."@en1
|
| lpv:spokenAs | |
| lpv:unclassifiedMetadata | |
| lpv:videoURI |
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples