Brussels, 21/09/2001 (Agence Europe) - The trade union Euro-demonstration that took place in Liège on Friday 21 September at the ECOFIN Council was a clear success. Fourteen thousand demonstrators called for "greater Europe, a more social, citizens' and democratic Europe". The biggest delegations came from Spain, Italy, France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria and Poland (see EUROPE of 8 September, p.16).
After the demonstration, the Secretary General of the European Trade Union Confederation, Emilio Gabaglio, met the President of the ECOFIN Council, Didier Reynders, to demand that the Council 1) look more deeply into the repercussions that the New York attacks might have in terms of the economy and therefore of jobs; 2) commit itself to completing the tax package; 3) also analyse the Stability Pact from the viewpoint of growth; and 4) in terms of the Tobin Tax, take measures to control speculation and move towards tax harmonisation. In response, Didier Reynders assured him that after its exchange of views on the impact of the attacks in the United States on the US and European economies, the Council would send out a strong message in order to maintain confidence in the European economy. He added that as a Belgian, he agreed that qualified majority voting be applied to all taxation issues.