In an address at the Brookings Institution on Monday 18 September, the Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs, Pierre Moscovici, presented the challenges facing the Eurozone over the next few months.
Moscovici first of all expressed his optimism regarding the economic health of the Eurozone, stressing that growth could be slightly above 2% this year (see EUROPE 11844). He also welcomed the favourable political context on the old continent, where populists have suffered several fairly damning defeats in recent months.
All of this opens up opportunities to strengthen the Eurozone, as Jean-Claude Juncker, the President of the Commission, said in his State of the union speech to the Parliament on 13 September (see EUROPE 11681). Moscovici reiterated that it is the vocation of all member states of the EU to adopt the single currency and that convergence within the Eurozone was necessary.
The rest of his speech covered the subjects closest to his heart: democracy and institutional reforms within the Eurozone. The Commissioner called for the zone to have its own budgetary capacity and, more importantly, a permanent Minister of the Economy and Finance, who would be answerable to the European Parliament. Although these reforms will not take effect overnight, Moscovici stressed that he hopes to move forward with the reflection in the coming months. (Original version in French by Lucas Tripoteau)