Brussels, 24/05/2012 (Agence Europe) - Reaction from the main political forces to the informal European summit has been mixed: there is support for a European growth pact, provided the measures taken do not increase the deficits, and for eurobonds, but division over Greece.
Growth. Leader of the EPP Group in the European Parliament (EP) Joseph Daul (France) said that “competitiveness is the key to sustainable growth” and must be seen as a “taboo word”. However, “growth will not come with the flick of a magic wand, nor with additional expenses, for which we no longer have the means”. The EP has voted to make the objectives of the EUROPE 2020 strategy legally binding. Speaking on behalf of the EPP, Wilfried Martens (Belgium) urged swift ratification of the fiscal compact to tackle the excessively high levels of public debt. Austrian MEP Hannes Swoboda, the leader of the S&D Group, expressed his certainty that having French President François Hollande at the Council table will make a “clear difference”. “Angela Merkel will no longer be able to get away with her one-sided austerity policy”, he argued. “With the euro crisis deepening by the day, it is at least welcome that French president Hollande is trying to shift the debate” to job creation and growth, however, it is “essential that these 'growth plans' have environmental and social sustainability at their heart” stated the joint-leader of the Greens/EFA Group, Rebecca Harms (Germany).
Eurobonds. Prior to the summit, the Party of European Socialists (PES) came out in support of eurobonds. They are “a core democratic principle and are a valuable instrument to tackle the debt crisis”, said PES leader Sergei Stanishev. He stressed the importance of establishing a sustainable growth agenda in Europe. Swoboda, convinced that there are a number of ways to overcome the legal objections to the partial pooling of excessive debt, called on the Commission to bring forward definite proposals. Harms, like the S&D leader, called for new instruments, such as a “common redemption fund” which would reduce states' refinancing costs, though, ultimately, “we will only draw a line under the crisis by mutualising sovereign debt and introducing a system of eurobonds”.
Greece. At their meeting before the informal European summit, the leaders of parties which are members of the EPP gave their “full support” to the efforts being made by the leader of the Conservative party “New Democracy”, Antonis Samaras, to keep Greece in the eurozone. They said they were ready to consider new avenues for encouraging investment and pursuing the “necessary” structural reform while remaining within the framework of the objectives of the second bail out. Socialist Stanishev said “we must show our unwavering support for the Greek people and for Evangelos Venizelos' plan for a progressive, responsible way out of the crisis”. Swoboda made it clear: “Declarations are not enough, we must give clear signals”. He went on: “If the Greek citizens were to elect a responsible government, an improved and a more socially-balanced reform package could be offered”, which should also include a “stretching of the timeframe in reaching the agreed budgetary targets”. The Greens took a tougher line. “What most of our leaders are saying at the moment on the Greek crisis shows that they are disciples of the Coué method: on the one hand, they say that Greece must remain in the euro and adhere to its budgetary discipline, and, on the other, they do nothing to keep it there, imposing measures that are nothing short of Draconian”, regretted Greens/EFA Group joint leader Daniel Cohn-Bendit (Germany). Persuaded that it is “essential to give the Greeks oxygen”, he called for changes to the economic adjustment programme that Athens has to implement in exchange for international financial aid in order to make it “socially acceptable”. The Greens are proposing a specific sustainable investment plan that will allow Greece to lift its head out of the water (see related article). (MB/transl.rt)