Brussels, 20/12/2010 (Agence Europe) - The main European political parties and political groups of the European Parliament have commented on the results of the European Council held late last week (EUROPE 10280). They welcomed the creation, in mid-2013, of the financial European Stability Mechanism (ESM), designed to support stability of the eurozone in the event of crisis. The attitude of a number of countries wishing to freeze the European budget was openly criticised (see other article).
ESM. “The very strong political support in favour of the euro, which was shown by the 27 at their meeting in Brussels, is vital for Europe, and the setting in place of a sustainable financial support mechanism is a highly positive thing”, said the chairman of the EPP Group of the European Parliament, Joseph Daul, in a press release. According to the French MEP, “the limited revision of the Treaty should be done as soon as possible, without remaining hostage to other parallel political ambitions”, such as the forthcoming fight over the multi-annual financial framework post-2014. The chairman of the European People's Party, Wilfried Martens, said that the formulation of a “very limited” Treaty amendment, “the swift implementation” of the stability mechanism, “a joint strategy” on strengthening economic governance, fiscal responsibility, and stimulating economic growth in Europe would help to make 2011 “a year of stability for the euro”. In the view of the chairman of the Liberal group at the EP, Guy Verhofstadt, the creation of the legal basis designed to support long-term solidarity and stability within the countries of the eurozone certainly constitutes “a step to reassuring the markets”, but “more complementary measures will be needed”. Modifying the Treaty will not exempt them from having to adopt “a concrete and global approach” targeting the following three reforms: automatic sanctions for excessive deficit, the creation of a eurobonds market and a closer union of economic and budgetary policies. The former Belgian prime minister is counting on the EP to use the legislative package of economic governance to put the question of eurobonds on the table. He went on to urge the European Commission, as guardian of European general interests, to present “a global economic strategy”, in the face of the “inability” of the member states to do so.
The European Left spoke out strongly against the attitude of the Conservative leaders. “The Conservative leaders are fundamentally mistaken. Yet again, they have failed to take control of the crisis. The reaction of the markets illustrates this clearly”, said the president of the Party of European Socialists, Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, referring to the sharp degradation of the rating allocated to the country risk for Ireland. The former Danish prime minister is of the opinion that the European Council did not go far enough. “The German, British, Swedish and Dutch governments formed a roadblock to progress on the eurobonds issue”, he stressed, speaking out against a “short-termist” attitude favouring national interests. He argues that this position is tantamount to telling the markets to keep picking us off one by one! Nor is the Greens/EFA Group convinced by the European Council's response to the crisis. “(Friday's) summit, under pressure from a blinkered German Chancellor, has (…) failed to offer a definitive and urgent response to the eurozone crisis. Instead of (…) agreeing to the far-reaching solidarity measures that are urgently needed to shore up the eurozone (…), EU leaders have agreed to a more minimalist treaty change”, said Rebecca Harms of Germany and Daniel Cohn-Bendit of France, the co-chairs of the group. They believe that creating a permanent financial stability mechanism will not be enough to get the EU out of crisis: “As it is the survival of the euro at stake, urgent measures are needed well before 2013 to prevent things from spiralling out of control”. “It is dumbfounding that Chancellor Merkel continues to resist the logical call for eurobonds to buttress the eurozone, as well as increasing the crisis funds available”, they said. In the spring, the countries of the eurozone created a temporary financial facility to raise up to €440 billion on the markets to come to the assistance of a country in difficulty, such as Ireland.
Budget. The chairman of the EPP Group also spoke out against the “populist” attitude of British Prime Minister David Cameron who, together with other European leaders, eventually wants “a reduced European budget”. “My Europe is not Mr Cameron's Europe, devoid of political ambition and the resources to achieve them. Any country which calls into question the long-term investments Europe needs to be competitive in a globalised world will find the EPP Group, and the majority of the European Parliament, against them”, he stressed.
The European Trade Union Confederation described the results of the European Council as “disappointing”, as it had not listened to the message of the day of European action against the austerity measures, “ruled out the idea of eurobonds” and approved “punitive measures” against countries which are struggling. The Confederation argues that the EU needs more of the spirit which led to the “Marshall Plan” in favour of Europe than of the spirit which culminated in the “Treaty of Versailles” of 1919, which was designed to punish Germany after the First World War. (M.B./transl.fl)