Brussels, 22/03/2012 (Agence Europe) - The Robert Schuman Foundation says that the economic crisis demands a genuine change in the way economic and political governance operates. Two years after the Lisbon Treaty came into force, there has clearly been a failure in European governance, said the foundation's head, Jean-Dominique Giuliani, in its sixth State of the Union report, to be presented at the European Parliament on Tuesday 27 March in the presence of the head of the EPP Group, Joseph Daul of France. Recommending greater political integration before expanding the EU any further, Giuliani calls for action to boost investment and solidarity.
Investment strategies to encourage growth are needed at both EU and national level. The Schuman Foundation moots the idea of a solidarity pact for the budget and makes tangible recommendations for the EU to fund itself independently of the member states. If it wants to have a political presence in the years to come, the EU foundation says it cannot avoid greater unity through a more federal dynamic. On Wednesday 28 March, the Schuman Foundation will be unveiling its vision of the future of the eurozone in the presence of Jean Arthuis, former French economy and finance minister. (MG/transl.fl)