Brussels, 17/01/2005 (Agence Europe) - Chancellor Schröder's ideas on reform of the Stability and Growth Pact unleashed the fury of CSU members Markus Ferber and Alexander Radwan. Mr Ferber deplored in a press release the "undoing" of the Pact and recalls that: "the premise was that the euro would be as stable as the DM (…) and in 1996 Germany had, with Theo Waigel (the leader of the CSU and Finance Minister at the time), quite rightly managed to impose the Stability Pact. Now, it is the German government that has shaken Germans' confidence in the euro. If the EU becomes less popular in Germany, Schröder will be responsible for it". The MEP foresees that, during the Spring Summit in March this year, the Heads of State and Government will be patting themselves on the back saying that, by stepping up spending on education, they are on the right road towards achieving the Lisbon goals. Mr Radwan, on the other hand, sees a scenario in which, in order to have the Pact interpreted less strictly, Germany, would finally be ready to make concessions with regards the 2007-2013 financial perspectives (which, the MEP deplores, would worsen its position as net contributor to the EU budget).
Martin Schulz, President of the Socialist Group, spoke along quite different lines. The SPD member said in Spiegel Online on Monday that he urged for a more flexible Pact allowing job creation and investment. "The three per cent limit is now a few years old and it is not set in stone. So we can change it. (…) We need to decide over what period it is permissible for public deficit to be over the three per cent limit. Could it be over a full year, or even a period of a few years?", he asked.