Brussels, 25/03/2009 (Agence Europe) - The debate of the European Parliament on the results of the European Council of 19 and 20 March took place under somewhat unusual circumstances, as the Czech government had (only just) been defeated, in a vote on Tuesday evening at Parliament in Prague (see other article). Many MEPs stressed the importance of implementing the decisions which have already been taken, not to fall into protectionism or a subsidy race. Several others, however, pleaded in favour of investment targeted to the technologies of the future, knowledge and the green economy. Disappointed overall by the lack of ambition in the European relaunch plans, the Socialist MEPs most of all lamented the absence of decisions of the European Council on employment and the fact that the informal Summit devoted to this issue will be just a troika between the Presidency, the European Commission and the social partners.
The President of the Council, Mirek Topolánek, started off by voicing his regret at the "obstruction” of the Social Democrat opposition in the Czech Republic, which is trying to "undermine" the Presidency of the EU, before going on to state that this situation would have no effect on its work. Analysing the results of the European Council, the Czech prime minister, who was somewhat on the defensive, refuted the criticism of those who claim that decisions taken to face up to the crisis are either not enough or too late. 400 million euros, that's a considerable package, which, Mr Topolánek explained, will have a "stabilising effect". On top of this comes the 75 billion euros contributed by the Member States to the resources of the IMF, the 25 billion of support to the balance of payments for the Member States outside the Eurozone and the 5 billion for specific projects for energy interconnection and broadband. This is a great proof of solidarity, which has been the leitmotiv of the Council, Mr Topolánek added. It is thanks to this solidarity that workers at Saab, for example, are in a different situation from those of staff in the American automotive sector, despite having lost their jobs. If necessary, the Council may take additional measures, but only when it is possible properly to assess the effects of decisions already made, he stressed. Mr Topolánek also welcomed the results of the Council as regards the regulation of the financial markets, which he hopes to see enter into force very quickly (this depends on you, he told the MEPs), preparations for the G20 and for the Copenhagen Conference on climate change, energy issues, approval of the Eastern Partnership and the organisation of the Prague Summit with the United States, to be held by April. The Czech prime minister attaches great importance to this Summit, which will allow all 27 Member States to meet President Obama, even though we must not expect miracles of him, he warned. The final agenda has not yet been established, but the financial crisis, the results of the G20, energy and geopolitical issues will be discussed.
In Mr Topolánek's view, the appeals sent out by the Americans to the Europeans to increase their budgetary efforts are not required. The Czech prime minister even appeared somewhat critical of the formulas for relaunch set in place by the American administration, saying: "The US Treasury Secretary (Timothy Geithner) talks about permanent action and we, at our Spring Council, were quite alarmed by that. He talks about an extensive US stimulus campaign. All of these steps, their combination and their permanency is a way to hell", he explained, concerned at budgetary expansionism and possible protectionist measures in the United States (such as the Buy America clause which was once looked into).
“Concrete” is the word which sums it up best, said José Manuel Barroso, referring to last week's European Council. According to the President of the Commission, the decisions made show that "solidarity is not a word spoken in vain in Europe". On top of the measures to support the IMF, the balance of payments facility and specific projects, comes the creation of an ambitious programme to reform the European system of financial supervision, based on the proposals of the "Larosière" group. All of this makes a "solid and coherent agenda... an agenda of leadership", the object of which is to reinject ethical values into the global financial system. If the institutions adopt the package of financial measures before the June elections, this, explained Mr Barroso, will send out a powerful message to the citizens. We must then closely follow the concrete implementation phase of the relaunch plan, without losing sight of the "number one concern": the workers, who need to feel that the European leaders have their interests at heart. In the view of the President of the Commission, it is disappointing that the informal Summit on employment of 7 May is to be held in the form of a troika. He feels that all of the countries which wish to take part in it should be to do so, because although most of the measures in this field are decided upon on a national basis, the government should be able to discuss them at European level. Speaking on this point at the end of the debate, Mr Topolánek disclaimed all responsibility on the part of the Presidency in choosing a limited format for this summit. Many of the Member States felt that it would be difficult to hold a discussion between 27, but as far as he is concerned, the question remains open. The recommendations of this "informal Summit" will certainly be of use to the June European Council, he added, laying emphasis on the importance of preparatory meetings ahead of the meeting in May.
The contributions of the MEPs gave rise to a number of spats between the MEPs of different sides: French MEP Joseph Daul, the president of the EPP-ED, commented that there was no need for "Socialist" measures to relaunch the economy and employment, provoking an immediate reaction from Martin Schulz. Mr Daul particularly welcomed the proposals concerning the Eastern Partnership: the Union is finally showing that it is taking these countries seriously, he said. The president of the Socialist group, Germany's Martin Schulz, who said that he would be disappointed if the employment summit ended up as a troika meeting, asked Mr Topolánek to take steps to maintain the initial format and ambitions. He also asked him for greater clarity from an institutional point of view, whilst acknowledging that Mr Topolánek's situation regarding the ratification of the Treaty of Lisbon has been complicated by the fact that a President of the Republic was defending a position which was not his own. But let us know you wish to move forward on the basis of Nice or on the basis of Lisbon, he asked. Mr Topolánek replied by stating that if the Parliament would like to postpone the European Council of June until a date after the elections, then he was prepared to do so. In the view of the president of the ALDE group, Graham Watson of the UK, the results of the European Council will largely positive. But he warned that some people feel that a choice needs to be made between "robust" international regulations and a solid relaunch package: this is an incorrect choice, both are needed, observed Mr Watson, who also voiced his hopes for a meeting of the leaders of the Council, Commission and Parliament "before the month of May", to agree on the future configurations of the Commission and Parliament "with legal security". Poland's Adam Bielan is one MEP who fears that the current version of the relaunch package will not be enough. On behalf of the UEN group, he voiced concern at signs of protectionism (illustrated, for example, by the withdrawal of Renault factories from Poland), which he feels runs counter to the official anti-protectionist rhetoric. For his part, Claude Turmes, speaking on behalf of the Greens-EFA group, seems to be dreaming of a European Roosevelt. The Luxembourg MEP quoted the successes of the American President, who has succeeded in gaining the confidence of the citizens by means of ambitious programmes, particularly for youth (and what are we offering our young people, he asked). Mr Turmes would like to see major investments in activities which support ecological development. For the GUE-NGL party, the Czech Vladimir Remek also emphasised the social aspect of the crisis: we must not come to the rescue of big business if we are neglecting the workers and sectors which genuinely need aid, such as energy and infrastructure.
“A Council of silence and illusions" said the president of the Party of European Socialists, Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, in reference to the result of the meeting of the Heads of State. The agreement over the 5 billion (which represents just 0.04% of EU GNI, he stressed) is not enough to hide the absence of concrete measures. "We must do more" and invest 2% of GNI this year and next in the relaunch, continued Mr Rasmussen, who lambasted the calculations of the Commission concerning the EU's efforts. To claim that Europe is investing 3.3% of its GNI is pure fantasy. When we have a few million more unemployed, we will reach 5% of GNI simply due to automatic stabilisers (unemployment benefit payments will increase at the same time as the number of unemployed increases). "We must not tell citizens that we are doing more, because the Member States are paying out more in unemployment benefits”, he said, calling for additional decisive action.
“Give us a bit of time for these decisions to take effect”, asked Alexandr Vondra. Speaking towards the end of the debate, the Czech Minister for European Affairs said that the European Council had "shown that the EU is prepared to take its responsibilities". Listing the successes scored by the Presidency since the beginning of the year (energy package, single sky, measures to resolve road and river transport problems, pesticides package, etc), he said: "The second half of the Czech Presidency will be just as productive as the first". In the view of José Manuel Barroso, the main thing is to "trust" these efforts. "We must not have an inferiority complex towards the United States", said the President of the Commission, adding: "I get the feeling that the Americans are rallying behind our position" on a number of issues. (A.B./L.G./trans.fl)