Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-05-07-Speech-3-023"
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"en.20080507.11.3-023"2
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"Mr President, I would like to congratulate Commissioner Almunia on having the courage to present proposed improvements on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the euro area. We will examine these proposals carefully but, judging by what we have seen so far, I can say that our group will agree as much as possible. We want to improve conditions but we do not want what the Members of the Socialist Group in the European Parliament are calling for, which is to establish a type of economic governance. You have our full support in this matter.
Ten years of the euro also means that it is time to take stock of what has taken place over the last decade. We have seen that the euro has been extremely successful. Nobody predicted that today, 10 years after the political decision, the euro would be the world’s second most important reserve currency. You mentioned jobs, the low inflation rate, the convergence of economies, and the successes that have enabled the euro to become an anchor of stability for Europe in an age of globalisation. If we pause to think about why it is that we are coping with the high commodity and energy prices, then that is another question to which the euro provides an excellent answer.
Despite the scepticism of many citizens in the European Union and the euro area, I am totally convinced that introducing the euro at that point in time under these strict conditions was the right thing to do. Now that we are looking at modifying the conditions, Commissioner, then we are on your side and I can only say, looking back, that you have made many bold decisions in the past. If I think of Lithuania, if I look at Slovakia now, then I wonder whether the same boldness was there, because although the criteria may be met on paper in Slovakia’s case, whether that country can maintain this is questionable given the current convergence and the steady inflation rate. We will have to discuss the matter; the European Central Bank expressed misgivings in its preliminary remarks. Unfortunately, however, it is not mentioned in the Commission’s decision today. Perhaps we really do need to talk about this.
At the moment, the procedure works like this: you propose accession to the euro area, we are consulted, along with the Council comprising the Heads of State or Government, and then the Economic and Financial Affairs Council has to make a decision. Thus we currently have no way of delaying or declining this accession. I am concerned, however, that conditions are presently being created for accepting a medium-sized country with a significantly industrial infrastructure and that later on, when the larger countries want to join, this will lead to rebates that we will no longer be able to justify.
That is the concern that we share when we express misgivings about this unconditional accession, and even about the concerns already expressed by the European Central Bank. We must not forget that the current strength of the euro as a world currency is also a result of a weak dollar – it is not all down to the strength of the euro itself. When I think back to how we debated the reform of the Stability and Growth Pact, then I can only say that it is a challenge for the Member States. You have just mentioned this in your three-point agenda: the Member States are having difficulty meeting the conditions that they themselves signed up to.
I note with some concern that you have now closed deficit proceedings against Italy and other countries. Although the data support this, I regard the developments in France, Italy and, in the next few years, Spain, too, with considerable concern. At the start of this decade, it was Germany that was the main offender. The Germans have got everything under control again, but the stability of the euro will depend on the solidarity and solidity of the larger Member States. Hence my appeal to you as Commissioner: do not give in to these special requests. Make sure that, for all the reforms, it is not representation to the outside, not the ‘who is representing whom, and where’ that is the focus, but the inner stability of the euro area. What matters is that the conditions are fulfilled and that emphasis is placed on price stability. Then we will all be able to say, in 20 years’ time, that the euro is the anchor of stability for Europe in the world and the foundation of prosperity and progress in Europe."@en1
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