Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2012-02-15-Speech-3-074-000"
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"en.20120215.5.3-074-000"2
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"Mr President, Ms Vestager, Commissioner, this is the fifth year running that the Spring European Council is to be held in an atmosphere of crisis.
Furthermore, look at the way that you are managing the EU’s tools. The European Social Fund is being used for anything and everything. On the one hand, you would like it to be a tool to apply macro-economic sanctions and, on the other, when it comes to creating jobs for young people, you want to mobilise the European Social Fund. These contradictions must be resolved and, to do this, I suggest you look at the reports that this Assembly is offering you as the European Parliament’s contribution to the work of the Spring Council.
I hope that, via our President when he comes to talk to you, these guidelines, whether in economic or employment matters, will improve your road map because, if they do not, democracy and the European people will find themselves in a jam.
This is the fifth European Council held in an atmosphere of crisis and where, clearly, the logic is that out of austerity will come growth. I think that it is clearly time to take stock and admit that what comes out of austerity is recession and not growth.
However, we have come together today to talk of a document that the Commission is adding to the work of the European Council, which goes by the name of the Annual Growth Survey. You must admit that there is something not quite right here and that it is high time to change our approach.
First of all, in the name of our institution, the European Parliament, let me just say that we in this House are in total denial of democracy, because what is going on? The Spring European Council is adopting guidelines which are then going to be imposed on the Member States to define their economic policy strategy. On what basis is the Spring European Council going to reach its decisions? The Commission is trying to make its contribution in a direction that does not suit us, and yet it is tabling a Community document entitled Annual Growth Survey. Meanwhile, the Council is going to draw up the Euro Plus Pact on the basis of a scribbled note written by Chancellor Merkel and President Sarkozy, and then endorsed by the other institutions.
In a democracy, the way in which broad economic policy guidelines are drawn up is the foundation of the social pact. That is why we have been fighting for this Parliament to have a say in the matter. We intend to do this on the basis of what the Commission persists in calling an Annual Growth Survey – we are calling for this to become annual guidelines for growth.
We are calling on the Commission to face up to reality. Will this Annual Growth Survey enable the potential contradictions between the Stability Pact and the Europe 2020 strategy to be ironed out?
Both Mr Gauzès’ and Ms Cornelissen’s reports – I should like to thank our two fellow Members for the spirit of cooperation that has marked our work – invite you to walk on two feet and, if you want to walk on two feet, you may at times have to turn your back on austerity and the Stability Pact. Otherwise, we shall never manage to implement the Europe 2020 strategy.
We are also calling for a balanced approach to economic situations. That means that, when there are imbalances within the European Union, you have to look at both deficits and surpluses.
Ms Vestager, as I have already said, for us, the Euro Plus Pact is not a basis for negotiation. Madam, just look at the figures. Today, everybody in Europe is in difficulties. Have you seen the OECD’s figures for Germany’s growth prospects for 2012? 0.4%. That is proof enough that even the most virtuous economy in the European Union cannot withstand the situation of recession into which the policies of this five-year term are leading the euro area and the European Union as a whole."@en1
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