Brussels, 16/03/2011 (Agence Europe) - The two main political groups of the European Parliament differ in their analysis of the political agreement reached on Tuesday 15 March by the Council on the package of six legislative texts to reinforce economic governance in Europe (EUROPE 10337). Despite the willingness of the MEPs to act together to meet the Council head-on, the gulf between left and right has reappeared.
The EPP Group welcomes the political agreement. “A strong (legislative) package is needed to prevent another crisis and to assure economic growth throughout the European Union. The EPP Group calls for more ambition to ensure that the stability and growth pact will be better respected”, said Dutch member Corien Wortmann-Kool in a press release. Portuguese member Diogo Feio said that “it is vital that we manage to reach an agreement amongst the EU institutions, bearing in mind that, contrary to what has been observed to date, this new package is to be respected by member states”.
It was quite a different story with the Socialists, who described the political agreement of the Council as “irresponsible”. Speaking out against the obsession of the European finance ministers with making budget cuts, Germany's Udo Bullmann believes that the compromise of the member states “will lead the European economy down the wrong path”. “We need more fiscal discipline but not to the extent that it stifles growth”, he added. Portugal's Elisa Ferreira takes the view that “this deal may strengthen economic governance in the short term, but it will weaken Europe's growth and job prospects for many years to come” and limit the investment capacity of the EU. Unless there are major changes to the package, it has “no hope” of winning a strong majority in the EP, she warned. (M.B./transl.fl)