Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2009-01-13-Speech-2-026"
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"en.20090113.5.2-026"2
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Mr President, Mr Giscard d’Estaing, Mr Juncker, ladies and gentlemen, it is an immense honour and a great pleasure to participate in this ceremony to celebrate the euro, one of Europe’s main achievements.
The European Parliament played a crucial role at the pioneering stage. Parliament was the first institution in Europe to make proposals for a single currency, back in 1962. In the past 10 years, since the establishment of the ECB, our institutions have maintained a very close and fruitful dialogue. This dialogue has involved over 50 hearings of the members of the Executive Board of the ECB before this Parliament and the committees mentioned by the President. The dialogue between Parliament and the ECB is very important in terms of accountability, allowing the ECB to explain its decisions and actions to the general public through their elected representatives.
During its first years of existence, the euro had to face three major trials: the establishment of a sound and credible central bank, the creation of a stable new currency and inspiring confidence. These challenges were successfully overcome and the euro is firmly established today. This is a time for celebration and, as I said, I am very moved. But this is no time for complacency. Current challenges are pressing and new challenges will arise. The continued success of EMU depends on how these challenges are addressed.
I would like to mention three of them.
Firstly, the financial crisis. The crisis has revealed fundamental weaknesses in the global financial system. We are playing a very active part in the global efforts to address these weaknesses and redesign the regulatory and institutional framework.
Secondly, monetary union. The solidity of the single currency rests on two pillars: a monetary policy geared towards price stability and a set of sound economic policies – which are very much in defence of the Eurogroup, Mr Prime Minister. The particular challenges on the economic front include the firm and credible implementation of the Stability and Growth Pact, constant efforts to render our economies more productive and dynamic, and the avoidance of major competitive divergences within the euro area.
Thirdly, enlargement. When we started out 10 years ago, we were 11 countries. We are now 16 countries. This says a lot about our historic endeavour. Handling enlargement in the best fashion possible is a very inspiring and demanding challenge for all of us, particularly for the Executive Board and the Governing Council of the ECB.
The euro is an historic achievement. What matters most today is our responsibility for the future. New challenges are arising. If these challenges are faced with utmost lucidity and audacity, they can generate the powerful ideas which Jean Monnet referred to and which have advanced us so far on the path of stability and prosperity in Europe.
Jean Monnet, the founding father of Europe, once said: ‘When an idea matches the needs of the time, it ceases to belong to the people who invented it and it is stronger than those who are in control of it’, and he added, ‘there are no premature ideas, there are opportune moments that you have to know how to wait for’.
Over the decades, the single European currency was an idea shared only by a few. Many more thought that it would never happen or that it was doomed to failure. Today the single currency is a reality for 329 million of our fellow European citizens. One day, the creation of the euro will be seen as a decisive stage in the long march to ever closer union for the peoples of Europe.
I cannot help but think about our founding fathers – Robert Schuman, Walter Hallstein, Alcide de Gasperi, Pierre Werner, Sicco Mansholt and Paul-Henri Spaak – who, as we saw a few moments ago, were visionaries to whom we owe the European Union.
I also remember the statesmen, the heads of state and government who were determined, convinced and courageous Europeans and who are today represented by Mr Valéry Giscard d’Estaing. Without them, there would be no euro.
Since the introduction of the euro, our fellow citizens have known a level of price stability that few in the euro area had achieved before. This price stability is an advantage for all European citizens. It protects income and savings, helps to reduce the cost of financing, and encourages investment, job-creation and medium- and long-term prosperity. The single currency is a factor for dynamism in the European economy. It has increased price transparency, strengthened trade and promoted economic and financial integration.
The last few months have demonstrated another advantage of the euro. The financial crisis has shown that, in times of turbulence, it is better to be in a large, safe ship than in a small boat. Would we in Europe have been able to act as quickly, as decisively and as consistently without the single currency to bind us together? Would we have been in a position to protect our individual national currencies from the impact of the financial crisis? We can be proud of how Europe’s parliaments, governments and central banks have responded. Together, we have shown that, even in very difficult circumstances, Europe can make decisions.
We owe the historic success of the euro, not only to the determination and perseverance of visionary leaders – and I mention them – we owe it also to the effective interplay between European institutions."@en1
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