Warsaw, 21/10/2011 (Agence Europe) - The president of the European Parliament, Jerzy Buzek, the president of the European Central Bank, Jean-Claude Trichet, and the president of Poland, Bronislaw Komorowski, have issued a joint call for closer European integration and a joint effort to tackle the crisis, speaking at a conference in Warsaw organised by the Polish National Bank.
Markus Belka, head of the Polish National Bank, said Poland was still determined to join the eurozone but it is difficult, given the current circumstances, to give an exact date for joining the euro. Bronislaw Komorowski said that although not yet part of the Eurogroup, Poland was planning to play a proactive part in saving the euro, getting fully involved in reform of the monetary union system and the Euro Plus Pact, like five other non-euro countries
Buzek said there was a danger of a two-speed Europe emerging and to combat this, true economic governance had to be introduced. In order to achieve genuine economic union, the EU Treaty would need to be changed, he said, to introduce more integration in the EU. The EU's medium-term plans include, he said, recapitalising the banks and creating backstops to prevent the crisis from spreading. Buzek urged member states that are not yet in the euro to follow Poland's example. He said that nobody would deny that there were advantages to having one's own monetary policy, but joining a European community in which decisions are taken jointly and one attends meetings at the highest level where decisions can be taken that decide the fate of the whole of Europe is priceless. (VW/transl.fl)