Brussels, 31/05/2006 (Agence Europe) - As part of a general discussion on the future of Europe in the plenary session of the European Parliament in Brussels on Wednesday, Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt reiterated his calls for “Community economic governance” in the EU, “at least at the level of the monetary Union” and for a strengthening of the Eurogroupe “on the institutional level and on the level of content”. He also argued strongly for the continuation of the ratification process of the European Constitution, placing a great deal of hope in the option provided for by EU leaders in a declaration annexed to the Constitutional Treaty which states that once the text has been approved by 4/5 of Member States (20 ratifications, five more than the current 15), the European Council could consider the question with a view to deciding on how to proceed.
A common currency, like the euro, and a monetary union, like that of the Eurogroupe, “are condemned to fail if they are not supported by a common approach in the face of social and economic challenges,” said Mr Verhofstadt. Indeed, “a lack of reform at the level of one single country will inevitably have repercussions on the health of the other countries; in other words, of the whole euro zone”. If anyone still doubted the need for economic governance, at least in a monetary union, “it is enough to imagine the United States of America with its common currency, the dollar, with its Central Bank, the Fed, and with different economic policies in each of the 50 States. The situation would be unmanageable. Yet, this unmanageable situation is the one we have to deal with today in the EU, at least in the euro zone. And then we wonder why we don't have the same economic growth as the other economic zones in the world”. How can the Eurogroupe be strengthened? Mr Verhofstadt gave several suggestions: - joint preparation (by Euro zone countries) of the European Spring Council; - the creation of frequent reports and recommendations for the euro zone; - setting common macro-economic starting points for drawing up national budgets; - drawing up convergence criteria in areas such as social, taxation and economic policies; - holding sectoral meetings (other than those of Finance Ministers) of member states of the euro zone: Employment, Social Affairs, Scientific Policy Ministers etc.; - autonomous representation on international financial bodies, “which is quite simply logical if there is a financial union and a single currency”. He insisted on the fact that he did not wish to exclude anyone, because his proposal is aimed as much at the current Eurogroupe members as those who will join in the future. “If the 25 countries manage to develop a new Community strategy together, I will of course support such a joint approach. But if that were to prove impossible, something I believe a little more with each passing day, then doing nothing cannot be an option. In this case, the Eurogroupe has to act,” he said. The implementation of the Lisbon Strategy had not worked thus far because of the purely inter-governmental approach, which had led to a consequent fall, rather than rise, in Europe's competitiveness. “There is only one conclusion: the inter-governmental approach does not work, a binding Community approach is needed, genuine common socio-economic governance”. By strengthening the Lisbon Strategy, “with a binding Community method, the EU can again be as successful as it was in the past”. Other areas need “more Europe”, according to the Belgian Prime Minister: research and development (“a European patent is needed urgently”) justice, security, tackling illegal immigration and terrorism, and the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP). On this last point, Mr Verhofstadt was explicit: “Only a European defence can take us towards such a common foreign and security policy”.
He thought that, a year after the French and Dutch “no” votes on the European Constitution, there was still confusion, especially since the period of reflection had brought virtually no results. “Instead of an explosion of ideas, there is deafening silence!” he said. He also touched on the Europe of projects (re-baptised “Europe of results”), so close to José Manuel Barroso's heart: “We speak about a Europe of projects, when what we need is a project for Europe”. The process of ratification had be continued and it was to be hoped that after Estonia (the 15th member country to ratify) and probably Finland (which will be the 16th), other Member States will ratify the text, so that the threshold of 20 will be reached, allowing the European Council once again to consider the dossier. “Reaching the threshold of 4/5 is not being idealistic. If we reach it, there will be a whole new situation with new prospects,” he said. He also argued for the pursuit of the EU enlargement process. “The EU must be enlarged: it is the only way to guarantee lasting peace and stability on this continent”, but, in parallel, the EU had to consolidate: “Both are necessary”.