Brussels, 18/03/2015 (Agence Europe) - Addressing the European Commission on Wednesday 18 March, the French Prime Minister, Manuel Valls, reiterated his country's determination to respect its commitments regarding the setting of serious budgets and introducing reforms, as long as these do not hinder economic recovery.
At the end of his meeting with the College of European Commissioners, Valls stated, “I am not unaware of the questions being raised; where is France in the question of reform? My message is, I believe, very clear. France is shifting, nothing will interrupt the momentum begun. I'm convinced that France needs reforms in its own interest. And this will be useful for Europe as a whole”. He provided assurances that the new two-year deadline (from 2015 to 2017) to bring down the French deficit to below the 3% GDP threshold would be respected (see EUROPE 11271). Valls indicated “all measures will be taken to this effect” and that this would include an increase in 2015 of 0.2% in the structural budgetary effort (irrespective of the economic situation), which constitutes an additional saving of “€4 billion”. Nonetheless, he did warn that he would be making sure that the efforts made would not have a negative impact on growth.
Questioned about the excessive lenience displayed by the European institutions towards his country on economic questions, Valls said that he did not believe in a “punitive Europe… France has not requested or benefited from any exceptions. If this were the case, the decision to grant it an additional deadline would not have been unanimous”. He provided assurances that France would be able to meet the commitments it had made and that with regard to the additional measures for 2016 in 2017, these would have to take into account the deficits that had been reached and the effective level of growth over that period.
The President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, greeted these declarations favourably and said that not all the savings made would necessarily damage growth. He considered that not all reforms were “pernicious” and highlighted the “virtuous triangle” upon which economic and social policy advocated at a European level is based: budgetary consolidation, structural reforms and investment.
The French Prime Minister presented the reforms that his government would be examining. These “ambitious” reforms seek to improve business competitiveness, particularly among SMEs, modernise the labour market through a recasting of the social dialogue and unemployment insurance and simplify action at a public level. On the section on “investment”, he pointed out that France would contribute to the co-funding of projects supported in the Juncker investment plan, to the tune of €8 billion through the deposit bank and the Bpi (see EUROPE 11271).
Valls' visit also provided an occasion to discuss other questions such as terrorism (see other article) and climate, with the UN conference at the top of the list, which will be taking place in Paris in December. The French Prime Minister explained that a Europe with “clear priorities” was needed in order to be able to respond to significant challenges such as providing Europe's citizens with better protection and stimulating growth. He also said that although Europe's citizens found Europe difficult to understand, action by Europe was “very much expected on the subjects”. (Mathieu Bion)