Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2011-02-16-Speech-3-053-000"
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"en.20110216.5.3-053-000"2
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"Mr President, as you know, the Commission adopted the first Annual Growth Survey in connection with the Europe 2020 Strategy last month. The Annual Growth Survey makes a break with the past and sets in motion the first cycle of economic policy coordination under the European Semester.
The Commission will examine the national reform programmes, which are due in the second half of April. On the basis of that examination and in line with the Treaty, we will propose country-specific policy guidance and recommendations that Member States should take into account when finalising their budgets for 2012. The policy guidance and recommendations should be adopted by the Council before the summer.
Let me close by stressing the importance of your role in the successful implementation of Europe 2020 and specifically the seven flagship initiatives. Your role as co legislator is fundamental to their successful implementation. Setting the right framework conditions is vital if we are to meet the Europe 2020 targets. Discussion of the new multiannual financial framework will start soon. The Commission will present its proposals by June. Your role as a budgetary authority together with the Council will be crucial to ensuring that the Europe 2020 priorities are reflected in the EU budget. If we are to be credible we need to make sure our financial priorities are in line with our strategies and political priorities.
At a time of fiscal constraints, it is more important than ever to show that the EU has added value and that a euro spent at EU level can have a greater impact than a euro spent at national level.
To ensure the success of Europe 2020 we need political ownership at all levels. Only if everyone plays their part can we achieve our objectives and set the right course for future growth.
The main idea behind the European Semester is very simple: to ensure the stability of economic and monetary union, we have no choice but to carry out ex-ante coordination of economic policies within the EU. The recent debt crisis in some euro area countries illustrates this all too clearly. This more robust and demanding approach shows that the European Union recognises how closely interlinked the Member States’ economies are and how policy choices in one Member State can have an impact on the others.
Managing the European Semester will be a real test for the EU. Strengthening political ownership of the Strategy and local partnerships has been a key priority for us. The challenge now is to demonstrate that the Union can collectively identify the key policy reforms most urgently needed and provide the right policy responses.
The Annual Growth Survey is very clear about the top priorities. It sets out an integrated approach to recovery with 10 priority actions under three main headings: first, a rigorous fiscal consolidation and restructuring of the financial sector to step up macroeconomic stability; second, structural reforms for higher employment; and finally, growth-enhancing measures.
We have taken good note of your concerns on the key messages of the Annual Growth Survey, to the effect that they may seem to depart from the Integrated Guidelines. However, I want to be clear on this. The Commission has deliberately chosen to focus this year’s Annual Growth Survey on the most immediate challenges stemming from the current economic crisis and on the need to frontload the reforms that are necessary for economic recovery and job creation. The Annual Growth Survey is fully consistent with the Integrated Guidelines, including the Employment Guidelines.
I welcome Parliament’s support to the Commission’s proposal to maintain the Employment Guidelines unchanged for 2011. Indeed, it is vital to ensure a stable policy framework until the mid-term review of the Europe 2020 Strategy in 2014 for Member States to have enough time to implement the necessary reforms.
The Employment Guidelines also provide the basis for the draft Joint Employment Report (part of the Annual Growth Survey), which identifies the most urgent measures in the area of employment, including: first, introducing employment-friendly taxation systems, namely by shifting taxes away from labour; second, reducing labour market segmentation; third, removing barriers to balancing private and work life; fourth, supporting unemployed people, through high-quality training and job search services, to get back into work and go into self-employment; and finally, increasing the participation of older workers in labour markets.
More importantly, the Employment Guidelines will form the basis for possible country-specific recommendations which the Council may address to Member States on the basis of Article 148 of the Treaty.
The Annual Growth Survey provides the basis for discussion at the Spring European Council in March and for the economic policy guidance to be addressed to the Member States. The Commission expects the Member States to take this guidance into account when they draft their stability or convergence programmes and the national reform programmes under the Europe 2020 Strategy."@en1
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