Brussels, 24/01/2006 (Agence Europe) - Karl-Heinz Grasser, current President of the ECOFIN Council, told the European Parliament's Economic and Monetary Committee on Monday that the Stability and Growth Pact must be used fairly when making decisions. Othmar Karas (EPP/ED, Austria) asked him how he would act on Germany, referring to that country's excessive debt. “I don't know if the procedure will be deferred or not,” answered the Austrian Finance Minister, who is awaiting definitive figures before coming down on one side or the other. Mr Grasser said he thought the euro zone had been a “success” and was convinced that it could be enlarged as soon as 2007 if the enlargement was based on “very strict” assessment and criteria.
The re-launch of the Lisbon Strategy would also be given the full attention of the Austrian Presidency, said Mr Grasser, stressing that it was important that national programmes be more binding on Member States and that blame should not be put too often on the Commission, since it was Member States which were responsible for the implementation of structural reforms. The Austrian Presidency stressed the role that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) had to play. “SMEs are the backbone of the economy” in terms of employment and taxation, and “we have asked the Commission what we can do to better support them,” said Mr Grasser. The Austrian Presidency also intends to give greater impetus to the work already ongoing on the Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base (CCCTB), he added, opining that greater cooperation was required in this area. While noting that most Member States were affected, he pointed out that the exercise did not constitute harmonisation of levels.
Sophia in't Veld (ALDE, the Netherlands) welcomed the “courageous” words of the Austrian Presidency on the EU's own resources which, she said, cut the sensitivity of the Dutch government to the quick. “We intend to send a clear message saying how we have financed the EU this far and what the needs are in the future,” replied Mr Grasser, giving assurances that tax payers must expect tax neutrality, since it was not about introducing an new tax at European level. If that line was followed, he added, “everyone would have to do it at the same time to avoid competition distortion” (see article on Chancellor Schüssel's words on the same topic).
When asked by Wolf Klinz (ALDE, Germany) about what the Austrian Presidency intended to do in the financial services area, Mr Grasser said his position was in line with that of the White paper which proposes a pause in regulation, transposition and implementation by Member States of measures adopted and pursuit of targeted action. He stated that, in particular, the recent Commission proposal on a payment directive “is of great interest to us” (see EUROPE 9080).
In conclusion, French Socialist Pervenche Berès expressed the deep worry of the parliamentary committee which she chairs about the so-called “Lamfalussy” procedure used to adopt legislation regulating financial services. She said that her committee did not intend to let itself be stripped of its responsibilities, citing the example of the adoption of execution measures relating to the Directive on financial instruments (“MiFID”).