Brussels, 10/09/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 10 September, the president of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, called for increased coordination of economic policies based on the elaboration of “fundamental principles” to guide member states in the introduction of structural reforms in “key areas” including the “labour markets”.
In his speech in Lisbon on the future of the Economic and Monetary Union, Van Rompuy argued that “an alternative needs to be found to the idea of “contractual arrangements” that I put forward in my 2012 report (...) One alternative could be to build a consensus on a number of fundamental principles that should guide structural policies - but only in those areas crucial for the smooth functioning of the EMU. Labour markets are one of these areas”.
In 2012, Van Rompuy suggested that Eurozone countries develop contractual arrangements at a European level in the adoption and introduction of structural reforms in exchange for financial incentives that could be covered by a specific Eurozone budget (see EUROPE 10989).
According to Van Rompuy, the idea would be to set out a gradual and monitored process of structural convergence, “a bit like the fiscal converging process that preceded the establishment of the euro” the end of the 1990s. He also said that the Eurozone countries that successfully meet these criteria could more easily develop and join risk-sharing mechanisms, which would help further strengthen their resilience to macroeconomic fluctuations. (MB)