In his State of the Union speech before the European Parliament on Wednesday 13 September, the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, called for a new European Minister for the economy and finance, but rejected the idea of a Eurozone parliament.
Juncker started his address on the future of the Eurozone by stressing that the single currency should not be the currency of just some countries, but of all of the European Union, as it is the right and duty of all countries to adopt the euro, with the exception of Denmark and the United Kingdom, thereby expressing a desire for a united Europe. With EU member states, not including the United Kingdom, which does not intend to remain a member of the EU, currently outside the Eurozone, the Commission President proposes creating a Euro pre-accession instrument, which would support these countries at technical or possibly even financial level.
Juncker then touched upon two ideas that have been regularly mooted by senior European political figures in the last several months. He called for the creation of a European monetary fund, to be firmly anchored in the body of rules of the European Union, to replace the current European Stability Mechanism (ESM). He went on to call for the creation of the post of European Minister for the economy and finance, who would be answerable to the European Parliament, to replace the position of Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs, which is currently held by Pierre Moscovici. Juncker believes this minister could also take on the role of President of the Eurogroup, a post that is currently held by Jeroen Dijsselbloem. These proposals are a nod to the suggestions made by Moscovici at the Villa d'Este Forum (see EUROPE 11854) held in Cernobbio (Italy) between 1 and 3 September.
Finally, the President of the European Commission was considerably more reticent on two points. Although he hopes to see a strong budgetary line for the Eurozone in the framework of the EU budget, he opposes the idea of creating a dedicated Eurozone budget. Nor is he convinced by the need for the Eurozone to have its own parliament, contrary to the vision defended by the President of the French Republic, Emmanuel Macron (see EUROPE 11858). This speech will no doubt have made happy listening for the countries of Eastern Europe, as they fear the idea of a two-speed Europe. The Parliament of the Eurozone is the European Parliament, Juncker stressed. (Original version in French by Lucas Tripoteau)