Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2011-04-05-Speech-2-048-000"
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"en.20110405.3.2-048-000"2
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"Madam President, Mr Van Rompuy, Mr Barroso, following this crisis, what is the European Union’s most potent weapon where global competition is concerned? You have defined it yourselves: the EU 2020 Strategy.
Yet when I look at what you are doing in terms of economic governance, I get the impression that there is total contradiction. Indeed, if one looks at the stability pact and economic governance, you are shifting from a coordination strategy to a supervision strategy, resulting in a Washington consensus becoming a Brussels consensus. When you talk about structural reforms, you talk about wage cuts and an increase in the retirement age.
I am going to talk to you about the real structural reforms that we need. We need public investment, first and foremost in education. Did you know that during the whole period of the Lisbon Strategy, half of the Member States reduced the budget they spent on education? Did you penalise them for doing that? Are you aware that the European Union will never implement this 2020 Strategy if we do not pool investments for the future, if, when you assess the public expenditure of Member States, the only expenditure that you treat differently, where you take quality into account, is when Member States introduce capital-funded pension reforms, whereas you ignore those who are inclined to make efforts with regard to education?
When I look at the situation in Ireland today, one thing strikes me. Day in day out you decide to save banks; meanwhile, the Irish are sinking. This is not the European Union we want. I would prefer us to ‘save’ the people of Ireland rather than their banks. What is more, in order to save the banks, you invented ‘stress tests’. I am now under the impression that every time we come up against a problem, we introduce stress tests. These are the new talking shops. There is a stress test for nuclear energy, a stress test for banks; there might even be a stress test for the Commission one day. Perhaps we will suggest it. I personally, however, would prefer to see the Commission take the initiative and be where it should be.
When I look at the opinions of the European Central Bank today, I get the feeling that it is more concerned about what is not included in its mandate, namely wage levels, than about the viability of our banking system and its effectiveness in bringing about the public investment we need. This Parliament has submitted proposals on the taxation of financial transactions and on Eurobonds, but you refuse to consider them.
Mr Van Rompuy, Mr Barroso, it is time that you listened to the proposals coming from this House, to ensure that the strategy that you yourselves have adopted is a success."@en1
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