Strasbourg, 24/02/2005 (Agence Europe) - “I have to say that a right-wing majority has disfigured my report and voted against article 4 of the treaty calling for a coordination of economic policies”, said the Luxembourg Socialist Robert Goebbels on Wednesday, calling for his colleagues to vote against his report on the broad economic policy guidelines (EUROPE of 23 February, pages 11 and 12). This appeal did not, however, prevent the plenary from adopting the report by 331 votes in favour, 273 against and 34 abstentions. Apart from a handful of French members, the EPP-ED and ALDE groups voted for the report, and the PES group with the exception of a few British Labour members, the Greens/EFA and GUE/NGL voted against. In the plenary, the Parliament confirmed the amendments of the economic and monetary committee and rejected those tabled by the rapporteur and the Greens/EFA and GUE/NGL groups. These amendments aimed to stress the need for a closer link between the Lisbon Strategy and the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP) and for coordination between the monetary and budgetary policies in favour of growth. The report as it was adopted, however, underlines the need to clean up public finances and stresses the shortcomings of structural reforms in the Member States.
The plenary spoke out against the considerable delays in implementing the Lisbon Strategy and recommends that greater importance be attached to growth and job creation “by increasing competition and growth”. The Parliament also considers that given demographic changes in Europe, covering all economic and social needs “makes a general increase in working time inevitable”. The report also stressed the need to create an environment which is conducive to the creation of new businesses “by reducing the administrative burden on SMEs and by simplifying the regulatory environment”, but also “by reducing the general level of taxation in the EU”. A point challenged by an amendment by the socialist group- which was rejected- in favour of “tax regimes which work in favour of SMEs”. The plenary also threw out another amendment by Mr Goebbels, who spoke out in favour of a “reform of the Stability Pact to ensure both stability and growth”.
More generally, the report supports the independence of the Central Bank and considers that the “influence on monetary policy of bodies determining economic policies would go against the treaty”. Whereas the second half of 2004 saw oil prices shoot up, the report also stresses the need for the Union to work gradually towards energy independence, particularly by promoting renewable energy sources and alternatives such as hydrogen. It calls on the Member States to “firmly support investment in the future”, particularly for the research and development of environmental-friendly activities and education and life-long learning. Furthermore, it sees investment in social services, especially childcare, as an essential condition for genuine gender equality.