Brussels, 19/01/2005 (Agence Europe) - The EP's Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs on Wednesday held an exchange of views with Commissioner Joaquin Almunia. Due to the lengthy discussions devoted to review of the Stability Pact during the Ecofin Council on Tuesday, the presentation to be made by the Commission on its strategy for budgetary statistics was deferred (EUROPE of 29 December, p.7). The Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs confirmed that he would soon (probably in February) be proposing “a new regulation aimed at increasing the powers of Eurostat for on the spot control of figures forwarded by Member States if they are not sufficiently coherent”. Currently, Eurostat does not have this kind of legal power, he recalled, before saying: “except if a Member State agrees to receive Eurostat of its own initiative”. In this aim, and at the Council's request, the Commission is also reflecting on a series of minimum rules for national statistical institutes. These standards are to be adopted by June, and a working group made up of Eurostat and national institutes has been set in place, Almunia said.
Further to the Ecofin Council's decisions, the number of Member States concerned by excessive deficit procedures has been reduced to just two: Hungary and Greece. “We are preparing recommendations for the Council” on the basis of Article 104(7) in the case of Hungary, and Article 104(9) for Greece, the Commissioner recalled. For Greece, the recommendation will be more severe and means the phase prior to sanctions has been entered, although Mr Almunia adds: “We shall bear in mind the amount of adjustment needed and the short time required for making the change”. In his view, adjustment could therefore be expected in 2006 and not in 2005. As far as France and Germany are concerned, Mr Almunia considers that “the limit between compliance and non-compliance with the objectives has almost been reached” and that, in the absence of any absolute certainty on current projections, “vigilance is needed”.
Mr Almunia spoke briefly on reform of the Pact stressing the points of agreement. Strengthening the preventive aspects, making medium term objectives more credible, better defining debt evolution - those are the elements on which the Council has a clear view, he said. Speaking to MEPs who, like French Socialist Pervenche Perès or German Liberal Wolf Klinz, are concerned about the credibility of the budgetary hypotheses forwarded by France and Germany, Almunia gave his assurance, saying: “We shall work on the basis of our evaluations, which are the same for all”. “The rules of the Treaty are there to be respected”, he told the elected member of the Spanish Partido popular, José Manuel Garcia-Margallo, confirming that all countries “enjoy the same treatment” and that, if in 2005, France and Germany do not stick to their targets, then the “Commission will apply the rules and continue with the process”. Regarding future adjustments, Mr Almunia explained that it was necessary to take inspiration from “Member States that have strengthened their public financing and do not have any difficulties with the Pact today, even in periods of weak growth”. Turning to the MEPs who are keen on a link between the SGP and the Lisbon Goals, Mr Almunia recalled that it is in the countries that keep to the rules of the Treaty that one finds “the best examples in terms of growth, cohesion and reforms”. He went on to cite “Denmark, Finland and Ireland” before summarising: “Budgetary discipline and rules are needed if there is to be growth”. More generally, the Commissioner assured Dutch Socialist Ieke van den Burg who, when returning to Chancellor Schroeder's proposals (EUROPE of 18 January, p.7) spoke emotionally about concentrating powers in the hands of the Council. “The Commission will continue to fully exercise its powers (…) without giving up one inch”, Joaquin Almunia said, recognising that the Council will do the same. Furthermore, Commissioner Almunia told Greek GUE member Diamanto Manolakou that for now no sanctions are planned against Greece, which has until the month of February to answer the Commission's formal letter of notice and to give details of measures taken to strengthen the national statistics system. The Commission will act “according to the response”, he concluded.