Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-10-08-Speech-3-031"
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"en.20081008.14.3-031"2
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".
Madam President
President-in-Office of the Council, President of the Commission, ladies and gentlemen, the financial crisis that has suddenly struck our economies is very worrying. It is worrying for our economies, worrying for our jobs, and above all worrying for the millions of people who, having worked hard and saved to make sure they will have a pension and can leave a small inheritance for their children, are finding out that the fruits of their efforts have suddenly melted away or evaporated. The black Monday that all world stock exchanges experienced this week once again demonstrates that the markets can lose all connection with reality and that the financial system has become difficult to control.
I also call upon the European Council to take responsibility for its decisions: either the Treaty of Lisbon will eventually apply, and it will apply to everyone, or the Treaty of Nice applies, and does so for all institutions. Of course, the European Parliament will have fewer seats and fewer powers than with the Treaty of Lisbon, but the European Commission will also have fewer Commissioners than Member States. The Treaty of Nice currently applies. That is also the reality. All political decisions come at a price, and if Europe wants credibility, it has to take responsibility for its political decisions, whether they concern the financial crisis or its institutions.
I would like to add, Madam President, President of the Commission and President-in-Office of the Council, that regarding the energy/climate package on the table at this difficult time, we need to proceed carefully, to keep the general orientations but not make businesses afraid, so that investment can continue.
To those who do not agree, I will simply say that I managed a very serious crisis: mad cow disease. For one and a half years, we had uncertainty; we have to reassure, accept and go on with the system, for the environment, for our planet, but we also have to accept what is happening financially. If we need another year, we will take another year to get where we need to be in order to save the planet and provide a future for our children and grandchildren.
There are many reasons for this crisis. The European Commission is right to insist that a large share of the responsibility lies with the US authorities. We must ask them for an explanation. The Commission is right. However, Europe must act too, to deal with the crisis and learn lessons from it.
At this difficult time, the first reflex of Member States is to think of themselves. However, as European leaders, our absolute priority must be to combine our efforts to prevent the financial crisis from having too great an impact on the real economy. We must at all costs prevent the crisis from having too severe and too lengthy an effect on finance for businesses, particularly for SMEs. President of the Commission, President-in-Office of the Council, I am afraid small and medium-sized enterprises will disappear with this crisis and nobody will care. We need a support plan for SMEs.
We need to make sure that our fellow citizens maintain confidence in the banking system and do not give in to this tide of panic, which would only precipitate a downward spiral. I am therefore calling on the Member States to act in a coordinated, resolute manner to prevent the crisis from affecting pensions, jobs and growth in Europe.
Like the Council Presidency, which we applaud for its determined action, our group believes that a unilateral approach is not the way forward in a global crisis. Clearly, the supervision of the financial markets is not working. That is why we need to set up a European control system. Once again, Europe must set an example for the rest of the world. The current lack of supervision poses an extremely serious problem, and the inability of credit rating agencies to act in the general interest and publish the real solvency levels of the main players in the global financial markets can no longer be tolerated.
I would add that, in this period of uncertainty and precariousness for millions of our fellow citizens, my group feels it is absolutely unacceptable that directors who have led their institutions to bankruptcy should not suffer the consequences. Here too, people must face up to their responsibilities.
I would just like to reiterate what Mr Jouyet said: it is time for action. We need concerted action; we need courage and solidarity from all twenty-seven Member States to inject confidence into our economy again.
Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, the European Council will also discuss the Lisbon Treaty, and I would like to call upon all Member States that have not yet ratified it to do so as quickly as possible, so that each country can express a definitive opinion on the question. I know there are people in this room who cannot see the value of it, but I do not share their opinion.
We understand the situation Ireland is in and we understand that its government needs time to respond after the vote of its citizens, which we respect. However, although the European Union is prepared to demonstrate patience and understanding, the status quo is untenable in the medium and long term. I therefore call upon the European Council to demonstrate the political will necessary, after examining the situation in October, for a road map like the one you proposed along with a definite timetable to be adopted in December."@en1
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