Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2012-06-13-Speech-3-441-000"
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"en.20120613.27.3-441-000"2
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"Mr President, honourable Members, I wish to thank you for your input and for this very serious debate, which reflects the serious economic situation that we in Europe find ourselves in at present.
Unfortunately, there is insufficient time to reply to all the questions and comments that are so well justified in themselves, and which you have asked or made in connection with this debate. This is especially the case since, after me, there will be an opportunity for Commissioners Andor and Šemeta to speak on matters that concern them directly. However, this is also a reflection of the fact that we have every reason to continue this dialogue on economic policy, in the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs, for example. On the other hand, I am, of course, ready at any time to return to this House or to this plenary Chamber.
Two central questions that were mentioned in this debate were, firstly, that ownership in the Member States is a key issue for the success of this new coordination of economic policy, as, for example, Ms Wortmann-Kool and Mr Hughes pointed out, and, from this point of view, it is worth remembering that the new approach to economic governance and policy coordination has been unanimously adopted by the 27 Member States and the European Parliament. This is a very democratic way of proceeding, as all the Member States and Parliament have together decided and agreed on how the Union’s economic governance should be strengthened.
The Commission’s role in this new system will be to make recommendations on the basis of an economic analysis, and to consider how the Member States need to develop their own economic and financial policies, from the perspective of sustainable growth, competitiveness and employment. This is the approach that we have taken, and it is worth remembering that, within the context of this new system of economic governance, there is an important act, which emphasises the importance of the economic policy dialogue: as a general rule, the Council will be expected to follow and comply with the Commission’s recommendations. If not, the Council will have to explain why it is deviating from the Commission’s recommendations.
This also means the end of the usual political dithering or political trade-offs in the Council, which once led to the erosion of the Stability and Growth Pact, thanks to horse-trading by Germany and France, which Italy, as the country holding the Presidency, supported. That time has now passed and now, by virtue of the reverse qualified majority procedure established with your support, we are in a much better position to ensure that Member States either follow recommendations or have to explain why not, or be otherwise liable for the consequences. In other words, this provides a much stronger European perspective for issues where we need the European point of view because there is so much interdependence among the Member States and the consequences of economic policy, especially bad economic policy, are felt everywhere else in the European Union, particularly within the euro area.
The other central issue has been to examine the imbalances in the overall economy from the point of view of growth, a subject on which Mr De Backer and Mr Giegold emphatically focused attention. In this connection, I would like to point out that, in our recommendations, we have looked at the European Union as a whole and considered how we can best strengthen the basis for growth through measures taken in countries with either a deficit or a surplus, and, indeed, Europe is now witnessing a very difficult but much needed attempt to balance the books. In countries with a deficit, there is a need to achieve a surplus in the economy, so that they can bring their indebtedness under control and on a downward path. This will inevitably mean that competitiveness will have to strengthen and that levels of employment will have to improve. On the other hand, those countries showing a surplus will also need to make their contribution to the general effort, and, in this respect, it is important that they introduce structural reforms to strengthen domestic demand, thereby providing support for a boost to the European economy generally.
Mr President, honourable Members, I wish to thank you for a very professional and serious debate. I want to continue it with you, but now I give the floor to Mr Šemeta and Mr Andor."@en1
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