Brussels, 22/05/2012 (Agence Europe) - An informal dinner will be held on Wednesday 23 May in preparation for the June European Council, for taboo-free discussion on growth, employment and investment. On Tuesday 22 May, the Council and Commission explained to the European Parliament what they expect to result from these forthcoming gatherings. MEPs were sometimes brusque in their reactions.
Denmark's Minister for European Affairs Nicolai Wammen, speaking on behalf of the Council, said they defended a dual approach aimed at discipline and growth. He said it was now a matter of taking concrete measures to promote growth, on several levels: - budgets aimed more at growth, including the cohesion budget; a search for budgetary consolidation allowing a sufficient margin for economic recovery; the development of external economic policy through better use of strategic partnerships; and mobilisation of the EIB to support SMEs and infrastructure projects. He also spoke of the agreement on a “pilot phase for project bonds” (see related article).
Economic Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn announced that, on 30 May, the European Commission planned to present recommendations for the Union as a whole and country by country, with a growth package based on long term sustainability and taking into consideration the characteristics of each. Rehn also called on member states to give the Commission a mandate for negotiation on fiscal fraud (two states out of 27 are currently blocking this initiative) as well as for trade talks with third countries, in order to make better use of the chances provided by the global economy (exports towards third countries fell by 20% in 2011, he pointed out).
Eurobonds linked to projects, the development of renewable energy sources, initiatives allowing countries “penalised by the digital era” to take full advantage of digital technology - these are fields in which Olli Rehn also wants action, not forgetting the fight against unemployment and the creation of jobs. And, on the subject of Greece, which is part of the European family and of the eurozone, the Commission confirms that, if times are difficult, then the Union must show its solidarity and invite the Greeks to make a responsible choice during the next elections.
Though all agree on the need to reactivate growth, MEPs are divided over how this can be achieved. Speaking on behalf of the EPP Group, Corien Worthmann-Kool of the Netherlands underlined the need for reforms to make root improvements to European economies, as well as for innovation and the reduction of red tape. She also advocated binding objectives for combating youth unemployment. Expressing his opposition to what he calls the “enormous disaster” of unemployment, Johannes Swoboda of Austria, who heads the S&D Group, said he wanted the EIB to have an increased role. He also spoke in favour of a financial transaction tax, the reduction of credit costs, and the launching of eurobonds. European Socialists, Swoboda said at the press conference, suggest the timetable for bringing member states' deficits under the 3% of GDP mark should be more flexible, in order to take account of the recession. He insisted it was only a matter of putting off the deadline for reaching that objective, without bringing it into question.
The leader of the ALDE Group, Guy Verhofstadt of Belgium, said it was the 18th extraordinary Council since the crisis began, and yet the situation has grown worse. He pointed out that, after Greece (which only accounts for 2% of European GNI), the third and fourth largest economies of the Union, Italy and Spain, are in danger. He called for a three-level European Commission initiative: - pooling of the debt with a permanent redemption fund to allow interest rates to fall; - the launch of a concrete growth plan; - and a decision on “project bonds”, albeit with sufficient financing. He exclaimed: “You are proposing €230 million - but it is billions that we need.”
The co-leader of the Greens/EFA Group, Rebecca Harms of Germany, was indignant at the treatment inflicted on Greece. In her view, the European Council must speak openly of the faults committed in the past and give Greece more time to stabilise its situation. Greece must remain in the eurozone, she said. Philippe Lambert of Belgium, a member of the same group, accused Commissioner Karel De Gucht, who commented on Greece leaving the eurozone, of having contributed to the recent “banking panic” in this country.
British eurosceptics take the view that one does not need more state intervention to overcome the crisis. On behalf of the ECR Group, Martin Callanan says what is needed is deregulation, strong external trade and competitiveness. Nigel Farage, speaking on behalf of the EFD Group, goes further, expressing his desire for a “break up of the euro”.
German MEP Gabriele Zimmer, speaking for the GUE/NGL Group, criticised the “inhuman recipe” applied by the Council and Commission and advocated the “Hollande model” for growth, rather than the “Merkel model”.
Pervenche Berès (S&D, France) highlighted the “window of opportunity” opened by the French president, but made clear that, in Europe, there was not just one single model. “We form a union in diversity”, she said. She argued that the growth strategy cannot be based solely on development of the internal market but must also contain a genuine industrial policy.
Jean-Pierre Audy (EPP, France) regretted one of the consequences of a permanent presidency. Since that innovation, “we have not seen enough of Mr Van Rompuy and we have had less contact with representatives of governments”, he noted. To release more money for growth, he proposed an audit of the efficiency of public expenditure, with the involvement of the European institutions and national parliaments.
Internal Market Commissioner Michel Barnier highlighted “the paradoxical situation of the internal market, which is the major victim of the crisis and the major asset for recovery”. The Commission has for months been proposing measures forming “the body of what could become the growth initiative” (40 proposals), he said. He would like the EU to return to the boldness of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), by launching, for example, a European savings book and ensuring that the strategic technologies, on which the EU's independence will depend, are safeguarded. “What was it that shattered growth?” Barnier wondered, pointing the finger of blame at “a number of bankers who haven't yet learned anything” and painting a caricature of liberalism. Financial markets have to be based on solid foundations; they have to work for the real economy, Barnier argued. (LG/transl.jl/rt)