The President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, said on Tuesday 15 January in Strasbourg, at a ceremony held in the European Parliament chamber, that the euro adventure, which began twenty years ago, was "a policy of peace by other means", because it binds its nineteen member countries to a common destiny.
As one of the architects of the “successful" Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), he did not deny certain "weaknesses" in the governance of the single currency at European level, citing the absence of "economic government" for the euro zone as well as the "thoughtless austerity" imposed after the 2008 financial crisis, especially in Greece. Above all, he regretted that the EMU had not led to political integration in Europe.
According to ECB President Mario Draghi, only together can the euro area countries address global challenges. "It is this togetherness that magnifies the ability of individual countries to retain sovereignty over key issues, sovereignty that would otherwise be lost in this global world", he said.
Like Mr Draghi, the President of the European Parliament noted that, despite a satisfaction rate of around 75%, the 340 million European citizens who use the euro in their daily lives do not benefit fully from it in terms of employment. In some regions, one in two young people are unemployed", said Mr Tajani.
As the euro was "not an objective, but a means of creating well-being and employment", he called for a further deepening of the EMU, in particular by developing an appropriate "budgetary capacity".
Democratic legitimacy must also be improved by giving more power to the European Parliament", added Jean-Claude Trichet, Mr Draghi's predecessor.
Eurogroup President Mário Centeno recalled that the Euro Summit in December had decided to increase the powers of the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) (see EUROPE 12160). In the lead up to summer, the Eurogroup will focus on a budgetary instrument to stimulate convergence and competitiveness in the euro area, with a view to policy decisions to be taken in the context of an agreement on the 2021-2027 multiannual financial framework. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)