Brussels, 29/10/2013 (Agence Europe) - Jean Claude Trichet from France, who was the head of the European Central Bank from 2003 until 2011 after being one of those who drafted the Maastricht Treaty, believes that, 20 years after the treaty's entry into force, Europe “is at a crossroads”. Furthermore, he is concerned about citizens' “uneasiness”.
“It's a great shame that Europeans tend to be constantly negative about themselves. There are many who are tempted to use Europe and the euro as a scapegoat (…). History teaches us how dangerous such tendencies are”, Trichet told French news agency AFP. In his view, although the eurozone suffered in the financial turbulence of 2008 and then in the debt crisis, it is not the text that is to be challenged but those who have not respected it. With regard to the famous “Maastricht criteria” - which forbid a deficit above 3% of GDP, for example - “the big countries refused [to accept] that these criteria were applicable to them”. “France, Germany and Italy, in particular, refused them in 2003 and 2004”, Trichet recalls. This lack of discipline “is the primary reason for the difficulties that we had”, he asserts.
Problem of democratic legitimacy. “There is a second reason that I believe is very important”, and that is that the euro member states let gaps in competitiveness rise. “Here there were necessarily developments that were not sustainable in the medium term”, Trichet says. He also says that, since the banks introduced the euro on 1 January 1999, the eurozone has created “600,000 more jobs than the United States”. In Trichet's view, the euro has proved “its remarkable resilience” - to the point of being considered today as “too credible” by certain countries. While he readily acknowledges that an uneasiness and “confidence crisis” exists, Trichet believes that the phenomenon affects “all the advanced economies”, not only the European states, and “all the institutions” - national and international. Describing European construction as extraordinarily ambitious on the historical level, he believes that Europeans are “at a crossroads” and that there can be no room for complacency, especially in the face of mass unemployment. Trichet also believes that there is a “problem of democratic legitimacy” in Europe. “The European Parliament's powers must be strengthened” because “it is elected by universal suffrage”, he states.
The Maastricht Treaty entered into force on 1 November 1993, taking its name from the small town in the Netherlands where it was signed. This treaty laid the foundations for the future monetary union, which started in 1999 with 12 countries and is due to increase to 18 countries on 1 January 2014 when Latvia joins the euro. (LC/transl.fl)