Brussels, 11/05/2011 (Agence Europe) - In order to save the European social model in the face of the global crisis and the economic crisis care must be taken to ensure the proper balance between citizens' rights and duties. Greater weight should be put on income from work than on benefits, and the better off should contribute to the funding of solidarity systems. That is the tenor of the statement made in Strasbourg on Tuesday 10 May by the members of the French delegation of the EPP Group in the European Parliament.
In their statements, the MEPs say that, to encourage return to work, it is essential that people are better off working than on benefits. It is, they say, a matter of human dignity and economic competitiveness. They argue that the principle of rights and duties must also apply to the better off who have to contribute, through their taxes, to funding solidarity systems. This is a battle that will only be won if it goes hand-in-hand with greater coordination of EU member states' fiscal and social policies, they say. They make the point: “We share the same currency and the same market”. To find a lasting resolution to the structural problems of our economies and return to growth, fiscal and social convergence among member states must be sought as quickly as possible.
Those co-signing the statement were Damien Abad, Sophie Auconie, Jean-Pierre Audy, Philippe Boulland, Alain Cadec, Michel Dantin, Joseph Daul, Gaston Franco, Marielle Gallo, Jean-Paul Gauzès, Françoise Grossetête, Brice Hortefeux, Agnès Le Brun, Constance Le Grip, Véronique Mathieu, Elisabeth Morin-Chartier, Maurice Ponga, Dominique Riquet, Marie-Thérèse Sanchez-Schmid, Michèle Striffler, Christine de Veyrac, Dominique Vlasto. (G. B./transl.rt)