Brussels, 08/11/2010 (Agence Europe) - The joint meeting between members of the European Parliament and of the national parliaments on the subject “Beyond the Crisis: How should Europe respond to the challenges ahead?” started its work on Monday 8 November, under the joint chairmanship of Jerzy Buzek, President of the EP, André Flahaut, President of the Belgian Chamber, and Danny Pieters, President of the Belgian Senate. After the speeches of the key-note speakers, the vice-president of the ECB, Vitor Constancio and the president of the French Autorité des Marchés Financiers, Jean-Pierre Jouyet, the participants held a debate, followed by three meetings in working groups focusing respectively on the subjects of growth and employment, economic governance and the single market. The parliamentarians had three notes of information as a basis for their discussions:
(1) “What growth, what jobs for the employment of tomorrow?”: for the attention of the first working group, this note is an introduction to the priorities of EUROPE 2020, pledging to highlight what the design of this strategy owes to the current economic context, then looking at the consequences of these choices for the employment policies and the employment market. The role of the structural and cohesion policies during the recession and the current period of recovery will also be analysed. The note also lays emphasis on the fact that the active involvement of the EP and the national parliaments in the strategy EU 2020 may prove of decisive importance in boosting the effectiveness of the implementation of this strategy. Lastly, the success of the reform will depend directly on its ability to boost the external trade of the EU.
(2) “What type of economic governance?”: this note, for the attention of the second working group, briefly reviews the development of the financial and economic crisis in EU27 and, more specifically, in the eurozone. It defines the term “economic governance” and categorises its various forms, on the basis of the degree of political coordination. The note presents and examines the fundamental elements of the recent legislative proposals made by the Commission with a view to reforming economic governance in the EU, but it also highlights any elements which may be missing from it. Lastly, it explains what it means by the European semester of political coordination.
(3) “How to complete the European single market?”: this note, which will be on the table of the third working group, offers, amongst other things, a non-exhaustive overview of the political responses: the appropriate application and implementation of the legislation on the single market, problem resolution instruments, the awarding of public procurement contracts and the laws on consumer rights, product safety, accreditation and market monitoring.
The reports of the three working groups will be presented this Tuesday 9 November at the plenary session co-chaired by the EP vice-president Miguel Angel Martinez Martinez, André Flahaut and Danny Pieters. Then, speeches by the Belgian prime minister Yves Leterme and the president of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso will be followed by a general debate, with the participation of the Belgian Presidency of the EU Council of Ministers and the Commission. The conclusions will be stated at the end of the morning by the joint presidents of the sessions. (G.B./transl.fl)