Brussels, 15/09/2015 (Agence Europe) - Several MEPs on the European Parliament's economic and monetary affairs committee (ECON) quizzed the European Commission on Tuesday 15 September about the role to be played by the national competitiveness authorities whose creation is foreseen in the report by the five presidents on enhancing economic and monetary union (EMU).
Pervenche Berès (S&D, France), author of an EP report on EMU (see EUROPE 11343), said during a debate attended by Economic and Financial Affairs Commissioner Pierre Moscovici and Euro Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis that she was concerned about proposals outlined in the five presidents' report. She wanted to know what the competitiveness authorities and European budget committee would actually do. She said that the first phase set out in the report, which includes measures to be introduced by 2017 without changing the treaty, was the stick and the second phase, long-term and fundamental reform of EMU, was the carrot that never comes. In order to encourage convergence among the eurozone nations, she recommended focusing on the drawing up of social and economic recommendations at eurozone level. Her Portuguese colleague, Maria João Rodrigues, said that although the first phase of EMU enhancement focused on competition alone, then member states would be competing against each other when it came to the lowest social costs.
Attempting to reassure them, Moscovici said there would not be a single model for national competitiveness authorities, which would not deal solely with pay, but also with productivity and social aspects. Dombrovskis pointed out that competitiveness was important in terms of international competition and pay had to change in line with productivity. He stressed that the national competitiveness authorities would also have to study non-cost aspects of competitiveness, such as innovation. Moscovici did not hide the fact that the member states are no more enthusiastic about a European budgetary authority than they are about national competitiveness authorities. He said the European budgetary committee would need to be an independent body close to the European Commission.
In mid-October just before launch of the European Semester process for 2016, the Commission will unveil proposals to facilitate convergence in the eurozone. The macroeconomic imbalance procedure (MIP) may well exist, said Dombrovskis, but it is not used and the use of social criteria in the MIP and the involvement of the social partners in the European Semester would both be strengthened. He mentioned the employability package to be unveiled later this year, which will include measures on workers' skills and mobility, the mismatch between training and jobs, and also the problem of tackling long-term unemployment.
Deposit guarantees. When it comes to completing Banking Union, the two Commissioners said that the Commission is working on rapid implementation of the deposit (savings) guarantee, something that Markus Ferber (EPP, Germany) is unhappy about. He echoed the German government's view on this (see EUROPE 11388). He pointed out that the directive on national deposit guarantee systems stipulates that the rules will be revised in 2019. (Mathieu Bion)