Brussels, 29/10/2010 (Agence Europe) - Guy Verhofstadt, the leader of the Liberal and Democrat Group at the European Parliament (ALDE), said on Friday 29 October: “If the treaty is going to be changed, the European Parliament must use this momentum to sharpen the current proposals on the table and to install a more automatic crisis-mechanism based on the Community method. Moreover, real economic governance needs to be put in place”.
In his view, the Council's proposals for strengthening the Stability and Growth Pact do not go far enough. He went on to say: “The fact that the member states need to give their green light before the procedure starts is undermining the credibility and effectiveness of the entire mechanism. That is why we should use the decision of the Council to change one of the articles in the treaty, in order to change other articles.
The aim is to give the Commission the power to start the procedure of sanctions directly when needed. The role of the Council and the member states should therefore be limited to the possibility to reverse the Commission decision with a qualified majority”. (L.C./transl.jl)