Brussels, 09/09/2015 (Agence Europe) - In the first half of 2016, the Commission is to launch legislative work to set in place a pillar of fundamental rights in the eurozone. On the reform of Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), it will propose to complete banking union and to streamline eurozone representation at international level.
“The crisis will be over when we are back to full employment”, said Juncker, adding that the “virtuous triangle” (budgetary consolidation, structural reforms and investment) remains a valid means of boosting recovery. Calling for an AAA rating for the EU in social matters, the President of the Commission argued in favour of “guaranteeing the same salary for the same work in the same place”. He therefore announced that work would commence in the first half of 2016 on a “European pillar of social rights” in the eurozone. According to a part of his draft speech which was not included in the final address, this European pillar would cover worker protection, working conditions, gender equality and access to social protection systems.
EMU. On the basis of the report of the 'five presidents' on reinforcing EMU (see EUROPE 11340), the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, said in his State of the Union address on Wednesday 9 September that it was “necessary” to complete banking union in the eurozone by making the 'deposit guarantee' plank a reality. This European deposit guarantee system will consist of a “reinsurance” scheme, but will not lead to any full mutualisation, he added.
The former Luxembourg Prime Minister went on to state that it is not as it should be that “Europe presents itself as a henhouse” in meetings of the international financial institutions. He argues that the President of the Eurogroup on his or her own, for instance, should represent the eurozone at the IMF. This proposal, which is included in the report of the 'five presidents', aims to rationalise the external representation of the eurozone and may become official in October, according to the Commissioner for the Euro, Valdis Dombrovskis (see EUROPE 11348).
The French authorities recently refloated the idea of an economic government for the eurozone, with its own budget and controlled by a Parliament. Juncker, who is very pleased at this late support for a position he has been defending for 20 years, nonetheless feels that the European Parliament should continue to be the Parliament of the eurozone. “Let us not go any further with this debate”, he said. He went on to take position in favour of a “European Treasury”, a kind of “slogan” to be defined at a later date, but which would be based on the European Stability Mechanism (ESM).
Gianni Pittella (S&D, Italy) said that it was “vital” to return to the discussion on pooling sovereign debt. In order to fight social dumping, he called for a “full revision” of the 'worker secondment' directive and a routing of zero-hours contracts. Speaking on behalf of the GUE/NGL, Germany's Gabi Zimmer criticised Juncker for having maintained silence on social priorities. (Mathieu Bion)