Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2011-11-30-Speech-3-046-000"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20111130.14.3-046-000"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:translated text |
"Mr President, I have been invited to discuss the preparations for next week’s European Council with you on behalf of President Barroso. The European Council will, of course, take place in an extremely challenging economic and political environment. Its focus will inevitably be on the economic situation and on the measures we have proposed to restore confidence in the euro area and the European economy.
You may say that some of these priorities are not new. This is correct and it is deliberate. We have already made so many commitments that now we have to really focus on their implementation and concrete results.
The discussions of the Annual Growth Survey will culminate in the March European Council, after which the national programmes are prepared in the light of the guidance from the Heads of State and Government. In parallel, you in the European Parliament should also debate the Annual Growth Survey and make your views known before the work on Member States’ programmes starts. To my mind, that is a very important opportunity for the European Parliament to influence policy-making in the Member States in this regard.
To conclude on the Annual Growth Survey, I want to underline the following once more. Without swift and determined implementation these priorities will do none of us any good, nor help achieve sustainable and inclusive growth. I have full confidence that in the European Parliament you will help accelerate the adoption of what is currently on your desks in the codecision procedure.
As part of the package we also proposed two regulations based on Article 136 for the euro area Member States. These present a major step forward in euro area fiscal and economic integration. They build on the ‘six pack’; they complete the European semester with rules for the second part of the year and establish a link between intergovernmental financial assistance and Treaty-based surveillance.
The first regulation proposes the introduction of binding rules for balanced budgets into national legislation, preferably at constitutional level. It also requires independent forecasts to be used as the basis of budgetary plans and draft budgets. But, most importantly, it proposes tight monitoring of national budgets, which you have been calling for. We propose a harmonised budgetary timeline with draft budget laws to be submitted to the Commission by 15 October every year.
The Commission will then assess these draft national budgets against the Country Specific Recommendations and against possible EDP recommendations. Should the draft clearly not be in line with the recommendations, the Commission can ask for a new draft. The Commission is ready to present its opinion in the national parliament of the country concerned if requested.
When a Member State is in the Excessive Deficit Procedure, the Commission can issue recommendations for additional measures. The second regulation specifies the modalities for enhanced monitoring of euro area Member States – those Member States who are receiving financial assistance or are suffering from risks to their financial stability and to that of the euro area as a whole. It allows enhanced surveillance of a country that is considered to be at risk with regard to financial stability, even without a programme.
Finally, it proposes that the Commission will have the right to propose to the Council to recommend a Member State to seek financial assistance if the Member State concerned is posing a risk to financial stability, especially that of the euro area or Europe as a whole. This should be done on the basis of the Commission’s analysis in liaison with the European Central Bank. This proposal stems from recent experience, as we have seen that this has posed a genuine problem to the financial stability of the euro area.
The fragmented European sovereign bond market is currently under great stress. Investors require substantial risk premiums on the sovereign bonds of some euro area Member States. This situation has revived interest in jointly issued euro area bonds to create a large and liquid bond market in Europe.
As part of the deal on the ‘six pack’ between the European Parliament and the Council, the Commission presented a Green Paper on stability bonds last week. Its key findings are, firstly, that jointly issued stability bonds would be likely to produce substantial benefits in terms of reducing and stabilising borrowing costs for Member States by providing better shock resilience for the financial sector and improving market efficiency over time. Secondly, however, as common bonds would reduce the market discipline of individual Member States, their introduction would only be meaningful on the condition that euro area economic governance were to be substantially further strengthened.
It is clear that our room for manoeuvre is now much more constrained than two years ago. To respond to the current situation, the Commission has utilised the current Treaty’s scope to the maximum and proposed forceful measures to complete the Economic and Monetary Union. Economic governance is being strengthened and mechanisms to address the financial crisis have been already been put in place.
The ‘six pack’ constitutes the foundations for reinforced economic governance and last week’s proposals represent a further step in the direction of stronger economic governance. But we would have to go far beyond these reforms to facilitate a safe introduction of stability bonds, which would most probably require amendment to the Treaty.
Before concluding, let me say a few words on Treaty change. Let us be clear: a Treaty change cannot offer an immediate contribution to the solution to the current crisis. But it is true that, by working to embed stricter discipline and stronger governance into the euro area in particular, we may help to prevent a future crisis by creating a real stability union.
The President of the European Council was asked, with the Presidents of the Commission and the Euro Group, to identify possible steps on further reinforcing economic convergence within the euro area, including exploring the possibility of limited Treaty changes. These deliberations are ongoing and an interim report will be presented to the European Council.
The Commission’s view is that any Treaty change should be based on the principle of one Union, based on the current institutional framework, which is clearly exemplified by the Community method. European integration can only be achieved by a single legal framework of one Union. That is the best way to build a real stability union, in fact a true economic union.
Equally importantly, only the Community method can guarantee consistency between European economic monetary policy and all other EU policies as well as the completion of the Single Market. That is the guarantee of the fair and just treatment of the Member States and EU citizens. I trust both the European Parliament and EU Member States will stick to this and be ready to justify the benefits of the Community method vigorously in future negotiations too.
Furthermore, in the event of any of revision of the Treaties, balance has to be maintained. We all know that there will be diverging views – some will want to put more weight on stability, while others might wish to place more emphasis on stimulating growth. Some will call for more solidarity and others will want more discipline. It will be essential and extremely important to incorporate all these elements in future work so that the end result will be a balanced set of rules ensuring both stability and solidarity, which are at the heart of the European social model.
I can second what the Minister said as regards energy policy, that this is a key element on the agenda. Likewise the European Council will take important decisions concerning the Schengen accession of Bulgaria and Romania. Let me express the Commission’s view on this. It is very clear: we expect that the Council will take the decision to lift internal border controls with Romania and Bulgaria without any further delay. We fully support the efforts made by the Presidency for a compromise solution. Splitting into two phases the decision on lifting internal border controls is feasible and politically sound. The second stage – the decision on the lifting of internal border controls at land borders – can then be taken without undue delay.
Finally, a word on enlargement and the Accession Treaty of Croatia, which is very close to my heart and to which Commissioner Stefan Füle will return after this debate. Real progress has been made during the last year with all countries – progress in which the cooperation with the European Parliament plays a significant role. The Commission has already given its favourable opinion on Croatia’s accession and we hope that the vote tomorrow will pave the way for the Council’s decision and the signature of the Treaty on 9 December. But I will leave the details to my colleague and will just say that this is a historic turning point for Croatia and a very important benchmark for accession by the rest of the Western Balkans to the European Union.
Let me conclude. In terms of the European economy and economic policy, we have indeed arrived at the point in time where serious choices and commitments have to be made. The economic and monetary union will either have to be completed through much deeper integration or we will have to accept a gradual disintegration of over half a century of European integration. This is a choice that needs to be consciously taken by the governments of the euro area Member States and by all European citizens and their representatives in the national Parliaments and here in the European Parliament. Our choice is clear. It is a choice for an ever closer union for the sake of sustainable growth and job creation in Europe and thus for the sake of legitimacy and, not least, for the sake of the future of European unification. This is what is at stake. I trust you will also make the choice for European unification and for these objectives, because that is what our citizens expect.
Last Wednesday the Commission adopted the Growth and Governance Package, which consists of three parts. The Annual Growth Survey spells out our view of the policy priorities in the coming 12 months to restore macrofinancial stability and boost sustainable growth. Two proposals for new regulations will further reinforce economic and budgetary surveillance in the euro area. The feasibility study on stability bonds examines the potential benefits for financial stability of jointly issued bonds and the preconditions for their possible introduction.
The Annual Growth Survey launches the next European semester of economic governance by setting out the Commission’s views on the challenges and priorities for next year. This survey is being published at a time when the EU is going through the most challenging times of its history. It sets the following priorities for 2012.
First, to continue with fiscal consolidation, which has to be differentiated across countries, as we agreed in October. We also have to pay more attention to the impact of consolidation on growth. In this respect, it is essential to analyse carefully which expenditure we can reduce and how we can raise revenue in the Member States.
Second, that normal lending to the economy has to be restored. It is necessary to strengthen the banking sector via appropriate regulation and recapitalisation and set up credible financial backstops for banks and sovereigns in order to break the negative feedback loop between the two sectors.
Third, structural policies are key to reviving growth at the current juncture, when macroeconomic policies are heavily constrained. This means that structural reforms have to be stepped up, especially in services, network industries, the public sector and the digital economy.
Fourth, unemployment and other social consequences of the crisis have to be tackled. Reforms are necessary to make labour markets more flexible and conducive to job creation.
The final priority of the survey is to modernise public administration at all levels in the Member States and in the Union."@en1
|
| lpv:unclassifiedMetadata | |
| lpv:videoURI |
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples