Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2011-01-19-Speech-3-037-000"
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"en.20110119.4.3-037-000"2
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"Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, first of all, I will begin with a few positive facts. I apologise for appearing positive every now and then.
It must be done if we are to go further still in the convergence of economic growth and in economic policy within the framework of the euro area. If we can achieve it through agreements between the euro area countries, we need not only to think about it but to work towards it to reach a conclusion in the next few weeks and in the next few months. Perhaps, however, we need to go further within the euro area than was decided in the Task Force involved in the Commission’s proposals because in fact, when there is a common currency, there is greater need of a common economic policy and of parallel economic development between all the members of the euro area.
Has structural economic growth been forgotten? No! That is why, right in the middle of the crisis, in March, we decided on the Europe 2020 strategy. That is why, in a few days, at the February Council, we will be debating the innovation and energy policy. Amid all the problems that the crisis is forcing us to deal with, we must not overlook the longer-term prospects, the structural prospects for growth and employment. Furthermore, in the very short term, we are preparing for a global approach to improving the instruments created in 2010 to overcome the crisis.
There is an agenda – a clear agenda. Can we go faster? Yes! As I said, there were two obstacles. The first stemmed from the fact that we had to make everything up on the spot and the second relates to the need – because we live in a democracy – for consensus among our 27 Member States, our 27 democracies.
Ladies and gentlemen, those who support the European project are very much in the majority in Parliament. Let us not fall into trying to outdo each other to find out who is the most European. I believe that the gap is growing wider between those who support the European project and those who do not, but in spite of all our problems, the important thing is to hold our course, to maintain our direction and stay focused. That is far more important than progress made separately. The common will to work towards the same direction in terms of the European project is what counts, as was repeatedly said at the December European Council.
We will get there by this gradual, progressive approach. I am convinced that we are heading in the right direction. I am convinced that there is a common will. I am convinced that we will make it in the end.
Firstly, economic growth is much stronger now than we thought it was a few weeks or months ago. Unemployment is falling in some countries. Who would have believed that in 2008 or in 2009? As far as the European Union in general is concerned, overall, from 2010-2011, employment will increase again after the biggest crisis for 70 years. I will say it again: we did not expect that a few months ago – and yet it is happening.
Secondly, of course there is a crisis, but our common currency – the common currency of 27 countries, at any rate – is stable, insofar as its exchange rate against the US dollar is now 1.30. Once upon a time, it was 0.85. At that time, no one said that the euro was at risk. Compared with other continents and other major currencies, we have a stable balance of payments and, compared with other major countries, we have a budget deficit that is practically half of theirs. This therefore explains why, despite all our problems, the euro is a stable currency. I wanted to highlight this before moving on to other points.
Clearly, we are fully aware that we need to forge ahead, but we really must remember, as I mentioned the last time I was here, that we entered this crisis in the euro area – which is more a crisis of the euro area than of the euro – without any suitable instruments. We virtually had to make them up on the spot. That is a joint responsibility, but it also explains why we did not go as quickly as we might have thought at the beginning, or also as quickly as circumstances required.
We had nothing, though. There was a Stability and Growth Pact which was not observed. There was no macro-economic oversight. There was no crisis mechanism, either temporary or stable, and there were no strong institutions to provide financial supervision. We had to come up with everything on the spot, in mid-crisis, and that is a joint responsibility. Some of you have said, ‘It is too little, too late’. Well, the fact that we had few or no instruments explains why we are not in the ‘too little, too late’ situation, but in the ‘step by step’ situation. It is a worthy explanation.
A second point I would like to make is that some of you have said, ‘Yes, but the crisis is not under control. Look at developments on the markets’. At the same time, and in the same breath, others – sometimes exactly the same people – are saying, ‘You cannot let the markets dictate how you act’. It is one argument or the other, but it is not always very coherent.
As for the measures taken, naturally, there are reforms to be embarked upon in the Member States, not only those that are facing problems, but in all the Member States: reforms to free up employment potential and to free up growth potential. Clearly, reforms are often painful. Clearly, there is a colossal job to be done to spread what is to be asked of people in a fair way.
I would remind you, however, that some major countries that are now coming out of the economic crisis more quickly took measures four, five, even six years ago, very tough measures at home which, at that time, met very stiff resistance on the social side. They were effective in terms of growth and an increase in employment, though. We have to go through difficult times, but we need to work harder for the load to be spread fairly. Our Union can hold up meaningful examples to show that this is the right approach.
Reforms are necessary at Member State level, and reforms are, of course, necessary at the level of the Union itself and of the euro area in particular. That is why it is very important to set up as quickly as possible the economic governance that was decided in the Task Force, which was debated on the basis of six proposals from the Commission to Parliament, and for all those involved in codecision to reach agreement. This is extremely urgent."@en1
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