At the end of next week, we'll know what member states' intentions are with regard to the plan proposed by the European Commission on growth and jobs, once heads of state and government have held discussions on 11-12 December. Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy, however, signed a common text last week that anticipates how, for the mostpart, the summit and its results should turn out. By publishing it at the same time in France (Le Figaro) and Germany (Frankfurter Allgemeine), the president of the European Council and the Chancellor of the most industrially and financially powerful member state have been very explicit, even too explicit from an institutional point of view, according to certain observers. Quotations from the draft will undoubtedly be of interest to our readers who have not had the opportunity to read it in any detail. And here they are:
1. National plans but which are coordinated and part of a common framework. “There is no single recovery plan model that can be applied by 27 countries with different economic situations. On the contrary, we believe that a coordinated budgetary relaunch could re-establish consumer and investor confidence and prevent any opportunist responses within the body of member states, which share much more than just institutions…It will be up to each country to devise its own plan, by promoting measures that have as robust and swift an impact as possible. These measures should be coherent with the Lisbon strategy because structural reforms remain more necessary than ever. These measures should also be coherent with our goal of long term budgetary sustainability. This is why it is essential that our policies are part of a common framework.”
2. Role of Community action. “Community institutions should participate in the relaunch…by complementing action decided on in each country. The car industry and the energy sector could be supported by mobilising new instruments at the European Investment Bank. The mobilisation of structural funds should be accelerated through the pre-funding of certain programmes, such as the one promoting energy savings.”
3. Institutional flexibility. “We need neither formal approval or over-fastidious monitoring but guidelines that the European Council on 11-12 December could adopt…Greater flexibility, temporarily, in the application of European rules on state aid and more ambitious goals on infrastructure, such as in high speed areas, transport networks and energy distribution, which could also become sources of additional growth. The Stability and Growth Pact should be applied with flexibility. The debate may be brief on this point, given that the pact includes short term margins of manoeuvre that ought to be used. It will then be the right time to build a real budgetary recovery plan.”
4. Speed. “Member states should not be slowed down by Community procedures in implementing their recovery plans. Similarly, if additional Community spending is necessary, it should be given speedy approval, in respect of the financial perspectives for 2007-13.”
Too much off-handedness and a little arrogance? This paper might appear too off-hand with regard to the competencies of the Community institutions and almost arrogant from an institutional point of view. We may recognise in it, the invisible hand of a number of figures close to the Elysée, who do not harbour any excessive enthusiasm about supranational procedures. But in situations such as the one we are now experiencing, substance is more important than form and balance will be able to be re-established.
The European Commission has got its colour back after launching its plan, which goes as far as is possible and highlights the European character of the operation (see this column yesterday). It will certainly not forget the limited period for a flexible approach to application of the Stability Pact: this is not about building a budgetary recovery plan later, by taking its time, but rather, applying the pact as it is, with the already anticipated temporary derogations. Mr Juncker, as president of the Eurogroup, will undoubtedly take this line. The European Parliament (which will discuss the recovery plan in its Wednesday plenary session) will not miss an opportunity to discuss its competencies in this connection.
(F.R./transl.rh)