Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2012-02-15-Speech-3-013-000"
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"en.20120215.4.3-013-000"2
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"Mr President, Mr Wammen, Mr Šefčovič, the Council is finally intending to come to grips with the important problems relating to growth and employment. For a long period, for many years and months, nothing has been done in these areas. The Council is also planning to resolve the imbalances in economic policy. This subject is also mentioned in the report which the Commission has published. However, perhaps too little has been said about the fact that both sides, the countries with deficits and those with surpluses, must do something to correct the imbalances, as Germany promised in the G20 meetings and resolutions.
As far as the rules are concerned, Mr Fox, you should take a look at reality, at the empirical facts. Many countries are following the rules, in particular, countries like Germany and Austria, which have the lowest levels of youth unemployment. We need to focus on reality and not on the ideology.
Of course, I support what the Council and the Commission are now doing. However, I doubt whether there has really been a change of direction, particularly when I look at what is going on in Greece. A lot of decisions have been made and a great deal of what has already been said today brings to mind the G20 summit in Cannes, for example. I will come back to that subject this afternoon. The case of Greece shows that we have not yet learned to change our way of thinking. The economic situation in Greece is being put at risk by radicals who are setting fire to Athens. It is being endangered by those people, and Mr Daul is right in this respect, who are not prepared to take over political responsibility in Greece. It is also being put at risk by a Troika which is calling for changes that will only make the situation in Greece worse and I do not know on whose behalf they are doing this, definitely not on behalf of social democracy or of many of the people of Greece. What will the extreme cuts in pensions, salaries and minimum wages achieve? A deeper recession and greater poverty. This will reduce people’s purchasing power, lower tax revenues and increase the deficit. This is the policy which the European Commission is unfortunately also supporting, together with the European monetary fund, for Greece in particular. We want to see a change of direction.
If wages and pensions are cut, but there is no increase in competition, because there are so many restrictions on competition, for example, then prices will rise and there will be more poverty. What the Troika is demanding, with the support of some members of the Commission, in other words, cuts in social security and dismantling the system of social dialogue, is in stark contrast to what has been said at G20 summits and in many other meetings. For us, social dialogue and the role of the social partnership is absolutely essential, in particular, as regards the reforms in Greece.
People are saying that the trade unions must take responsibility, but they must also be given responsibility. If we take responsibility away from them, we cannot expect them to assume responsibility.
There is an alternative route to the one suggested by the orthodox Troika. For this reason, I have proposed that three prominent Members of my group, three former ministers, should travel to Greece and investigate, together with the Greeks and the people who want to introduce the reforms, which measures will really effectively reduce the deficit, because they will lead to more growth and create more jobs. That is also the difference in our approach. To a certain extent, Greece is being blackmailed by the Troika and it has no say in the matter. This is putting democracy at risk. We want to work together with Greece on these issues. Greece does not need a headmaster from Germany or from elsewhere with a cane in his hand. Greece needs help and support. It needs to be advised, not dictated to. We want to give Greece advice. We want to work together with Greece to help it to emerge from this serious crisis, just as the Americans did with the Marshall Plan for Europe. We must not threaten the Greeks. We must help them, because help for Greece is also help for the euro area and for Europe."@en1
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