Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2010-12-15-Speech-3-472"
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"en.20101215.26.3-472"2
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"Madam President, I want to ask the Commission if it would give the House a specific definition of how it intends to implement Article 9. We constantly hear about macroeconomic monitoring. We never hear it talking about macro-social monitoring of what Member States are doing in pursuit of European social policy and objectives.
I want it to tell us if it intends to use this simply as an impact assessment, i.e. that it hopes its measurements will have no social impact. That is not good enough, because Article 9 is intended to promote the objectives of the European Union as outlined in Article 3 of the Treaty. It is not good enough simply to have no impact – it must have a positive impact. This is the obligation on the Commission and it must implement the treaties.
I also want to address the issue of social services of general interest, on which I am a rapporteur. There is absolutely no doubt whatsoever that the current crisis exit strategy which the Commission is pursuing is going to destroy social services of general interest in the Member States. You need only look at the Memorandum of Understanding which the Commission has concluded with the Irish Government for a demonstration of that. It is stated on page 2 that a reduction of current expenditure in 2011 of just over EUR 2 billion will be implemented, including social protection expenditure reductions, a reduction of public service employment numbers, a reduction of existing public service pensions on a progressive basis, other expenditure savings of over EUR 1 billion, and a reduction of close to EUR 2 billion in public capital expenditure against existing plans for 2011.
What other impact can that have than to decimate services of general interest, and in particular social services of general interest? So where is Article 9? Where was Article 9 when the Commission was negotiating this deal with a Conservative Irish Government on the point of collapse?
I would also ask the Commission, when it is going to present this Memorandum of Understanding it has signed off with the Irish Government before this House? It is obliged to do so under the Treaty of Lisbon. When are we going to see it? When are we going to have an opportunity to discuss it here?
One of the other aspects of this agreement which I mentioned this morning is the insistence by the Commission that the minimum wage in Ireland be reduced by EUR 2 000 a year. I repeat, the minimum wage. The Treaty of Lisbon declares that we must have adequate social protection, that we must encourage people to stay in work, that we must eliminate poverty traps, etc., etc., etc., and yet we reduce the minimum wage by EUR 2 000 a year. What will that do other than drive more people out of work into the safe haven, relatively speaking, of welfare dependency?
These are questions which the Commission must respond to. We do not want any more flannel. No more
. No more Eurospeak. We want clear answers on how the Commission is going to apply Article 9 of the Treaty in relation to economic governance and, in particular, on the arrangements it is making with Member States with regard to the crisis exit strategy."@en1
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"plámás"1
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