Brussels, 12/05/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 12 May, Jean-Claude Juncker - the EPP candidate for the presidency of the European Commission - called on Europeans to turn out and vote in large numbers on 25 May, and to show that after the severe economic and financial crisis which started in 2009 “they have understood that Europe matters”. After meeting Spain's Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, Juncker again presented his priorities, stressing citizens' participation in the election and his understanding of the impact of the crisis on the daily lives of Europeans - be this a question of the financial crisis or, more recently, of the Ukrainian crisis.
The top priority of the person who will be president of the Commission will be to tackle the causes of unemployment - particularly youth unemployment - with national governments, Juncker stated. Spain is experiencing one of the worst levels of unemployment in the EU (over 50% youth unemployment). For the former head of the Eurogroup, Spain's case should serve as an example. “We had to learn that a deficit in the trade balance amounting to 10% of GDP (as in 2008) was not sustainable but the sign of a worrying lack of competitiveness of the national economy. (…) We also learned that a property boom can be a sign of financial instability. (…) We also had to learn that growth can't be built on too much private debt”, he said.
In Spain, “we also saw that only having relatively stable public finance is very important but far from being enough. In 2007, Spain had public debt well below the EU average, at 36%, even below that of Germany. At that time Spain also generated a budget surplus of 1.9%. However, when the financial crisis hit Spain and the property bubble burst, the banks had to be rescued and the economy stabilised with taxpayers' money”, Juncker stated. Spain has now become an illustration “of the fatal link between financial instability and public debt”. Spain has also been able to raise its head, said the former prime minister of Luxembourg. “Spain is also a country that shows that despite numerous difficulties, the national governments and EU institutions succeeded in taking good measures to resolve the crisis”. Most impressive, for Juncker, “is that Spain, after severe, and often painful, structural reforms, has become competitive again”.
Juncker set out the details of his programme on foreign policy, energy policy and industrial policy. He wants the weight of industry to rise to 20% of EU GDP by 2020 - compared with the current 16%. He also wants to review the competition rules applicable to the telecoms industry in order to make the European market more dynamic and competitive, and to enable companies to grow more easily - as Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel previously suggested (see EUROPE 11076) (our translation throughout). (SP)