Brussels, 07/07/2010 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 6 July, the president of the Commission, José Manuel Barroso, presented the European Parliament with the proposal on economic governance and the monitoring of the national budgets (see the ample summary of this in EUROPE 10170). This proposal aims to make a positive contribution towards reinforcing the coordination of economic policies, particularly as regards the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP). The response to the crisis is a global one, based on a preventative approach, on more effective rules and on a stricter system of monitoring, explained Barroso. A “cocktail” of encouragement and sanctions will ensure that countries failing to observe the rules will have to take the consequences, as all countries will be treated absolutely equally. An automatic mechanism and a specific timetable will make it possible to intervene “before the situation gets out of all control”. Budgetary rigour, the Commission president added, should not discourage innovation and the creation of jobs: quite the contrary, it should help to create a “virtuous circle” in which the growth of one country will encourage that of the others. Lastly, economic and monetary union should have the instruments it needs for its success. José Manuel Barroso is confident and promised the Parliament that the Commission will use its right of initiative to respond to the citizens' expectations.
The Parliament reacted fairly positively to the Commissions' proposal. Although the agreement of the EEP, voiced by Dutch member Corien Wortmann-Kool, is virtually total, the spokesperson of the S&D Group, Stephen Hughes of the UK, voiced a number of reservations: the Commission has not, in his view, taken sufficient account of the problems of unemployment and social justice. Very good, the Belgian Guy Verhofstadt added on behalf of the ALDE Group, who nonetheless raised the question as to who would manage economic governance. According to the former Belgian prime minister, this is an issue which cannot be left up to just the governments. As for the sanctions, if we want these then they must be applied to all fields, not just the Stability Pact. Verhofstadt also called for a credible economic growth strategy: it is not enough to reduce the deficits, and I am telling you that as a former budget minister. On financial supervision, which was the subject of a broader debate, he said: there will be no agreement with the Parliament if the Council does not agree that the European authority must have the final word in the event of conflict. Finally, we talk of imbalance, observed the German Green Sven Giegold, regretting the fact that various major areas of the economy remain uncontrolled. Some claim that the United States are further forward than Europe in their supervision proposals, said UK member Kay Swinburne, and have announced an agreement, but the 27 are making faster progress on a legislative level. (L.G. /transl.fl.