Brussels, 22/09/2011 (Agence Europe) - The president of the European Economic and Social Committee, Staffan Nilsson, is calling for a renewal of the European project to deal with the economic and social crisis that is affecting the European Union so badly, and in a press release “strongly urges the European Union and its leaders to announce, without delay, significant measures to strengthen the European Union's economic governance. At the same time, it is vital to strengthen European political and economic integration. An ambitious investment and employment support policy is needed, the future must be prepared for generations to come and the most vulnerable social groups must be protected. Structural reform alone is not a solution and risks pushing Europe headlong into a period of recession.” In the financial arena, Nilsson supports the extension of the EFSF bailout fund, which should, he says, be able to buy up struggling countries' bonds on the secondary market and issue emergency loans to support banks, even if the banks are in a country not subject to a structural adjustment programme.
Independent funding. Nilsson says the EU needs its own sources of funding, like the introduction of a tax on financial transactions (see separate article) and “advocates the launch of eurobonds in order, among other things, to give a boost to investment, along with any instruments that will affirm solidarity within the European Union and give proof of the EU's political commitment to the irreversibility of the euro”. He added that the EESC was committed to “a strong, sustainable Europe that is a source of hope for its people”. (MB/transl.fl)