Relief. Herman Van Rompuy definitely breathed a sigh of relief. The instrument developed by the Eurogroup to support Greece enables the president of the European Council to prepare in a calmer environment the taskforce responsible for outlining the future of the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) and the economic governance of the eurozone. Jean-Claude Juncker has once again proved his effectiveness by helping the Eurogroup to overcome the differences between member states, which were real and understandable but which had been artificially blown out of proportion and over-dramatised. Even at the European Parliament, the president of the Socialist Group and his counterpart at the Liberals gave the impression that their dialectical interpretations had led them to forget that the euro cannot be stable for anyone unless all participating countries respect the rules. In the absence of this stability, Germany would return to its national currency! If, however, we consider that the euro is now a definitive accomplishment of European construction, the two aspects of European support for Greece are both unavoidable: - making the guarantees and possibilities for taking action appear credible to the markets; - reaffirming the binding nature of the eurozone rules. The first indications coming from the markets appear to be positive. This mechanism aims to make its intervention unnecessary but Greece can request that the mechanism be activated at any moment. We hope that the losers will be the speculators.
Going further than Greece. Attention should therefore move away from Greece and towards a definition of future rules for the eurozone. Will these rules be appropriate for all member states, given the differences in mentality, historic developments and expectations that differ from country to country? This question is not being asked openly because mentalities can evolve and nothing is set in stone. In the areas of retirement ages or taxation, each country is free to make its own choice but it must accept the repercussions. Greece has broadly benefited from the advantages of its participation in the eurozone and it receives funding as defined in Community policies. It should, in my opinion, be given greater European solidarity with regard to tackling the question of illegal immigrants, the floods of which are linked to its geographical position. The European Parliament committee responsible for this area has just taken an initiative for providing Community support to member states that have to tackle the question of taking in refugees and asylum seekers. Greece also has an abnormally high level of defence spending but this is an area that cannot be discussed in the context of the eurozone.
Responses from the president. The creation of the taskforce was decided by eurozone countries (the second part of the declaration of 25 March) and the work that it undertakes will logically be of general character and will not specifically deal with the case of one country in particular.
In an interview (EUROPE 10115) Mr Van Rompuy provided a number of indications on how he saw this work. Unsurprisingly, he mentioned the three major themes he intended to develop: a) every country in the eurozone should respect budgetary discipline. Obviously, he is referring to the clarification and strengthening of the Stability Pact; b) governance or economic government. Once again, Van Rompuy avoided choosing either of these terms and mentioned them both together. He is not interested in semantic differences but did point out, “I am astonished that some people are shocked by words such as economic governance”. He explained that his general view was that “the important thing is that we find an agreement. I don't find starting out from different points of view shocking. I think that it is the results that count, not the intentions”; c) budget crisis management. This involves taking into account the Greek crisis and “learning the lessons of what has happened so that such events are not repeated”.
His responses on a number of specific points are as follows. Should the Treaty be amended? “It will be very difficult to find the necessary unanimity. The question is whether it is wise to recommence a process after what we have experienced with the Lisbon Treaty. That was really painful.” Does he support reform of the Stability Pact? “The preventive aspect should be developed, examining how the instruments in place have functioned and how to enhance supervision. The pact allows for a lot of flexibility". What does he think of the possibility of excluding a country from the eurozone? “We will see if someone puts this on the table. I don't believe that unanimity exists”. And the creation of a European Monetary Fund? “It is part of the discussion but many people believe that this idea would require an amendment to the Treaty”. These orientations will obviously have an influence on the work that is expected to begin soon. (F.R./transl.fl)