Strasbourg, 18/05/2006 (Agence Europe) - On 17 May, the Parliament, adopting the report by Dariusz Rosati (PES, Poland) on public finances in 2005, expressed concern at the budgetary policies pursued by Member States and the continued weak growth in Europe (see EUROPE 9181). MEPs felt that the failure to implement the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP) properly meant there was no significant improvement in Member States' budgetary positions last year, and that there had to be a more ambitious reduction in public deficits in 2006. Criticising the lack of coordination in economic policies in the euro zone, particularly the differences in budgetary policy, MEP called on the President of the euro zone (currently Jean-Claude Juncker) to present a detailed action plan covering the length of his mandate and defining clearly his objectives and actions. Parliament rejected a series of amendments from the Socialist group to re-introduce some critical appreciation of monetary policy and to examine the possibility of authorising public expenditure for clearly defined investments.
During the debate on Tuesday, French Socialist MEP Pervenche Berès raised the factors which, in her opinion, impinge on Member States' public finances. In particular, she pointed the finger at the rise in oil prices, and also the European Central Bank's policy of raising interest rates. Insisting on the need to link genuine support for growth with structural reform, Ms Berès, Chairwoman of the Parliament's economic and monetary affairs committee, argued for an investment strategy to support the implementation of the Lisbon Strategy. She considered several commitments, responsibility for which lay with the President of the Eurogroupe, had just been given, with the complicity of the relevant Commissioner, and felt that “we are on the right path, particularly on the harmonisation of the timetable and macroeconomic data which permit Member States to assess and draw up their budgets”. At the last Eurogroupe meeting (see EUROPE 9186), euro zone Finance Ministers had planned to make progress in this area, which Ms Berès has repeatedly said the minimum necessary for better coordination of economic policies within the zone. Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Joaquin Almunia pointed out that, since the Commission's communication, to which Mr Rosati's report responded, public finance figures had improved. While he agreed with most of the factors identified by MEPs, Mr Almunia considered it was incorrect to talk of a failure to implement the Stability Pact properly insofar as the reform of the Pact certainly would have contributed to the improvement in the finances of many Member States.