MEPs defend investment and jobs
On 15 March 2011 the EMF invited Members of the European Parliament to make filmed statements on economic governance.
The recording was made in the VoxBox in the European Parliament in Brussels. Statements were made by Sylvie Goulard (ALDE: FR), Thomas Händel (GUE-NGL: DE), Stephen Hughes (S&D: UK), Philippe Lambert (Greens: BE) and Olle Ludvigsson (S&D: SE).
The MEPs gave their views on the Commission and Council proposals on economic governance and alternative proposals promoting investment, solidarity and jobs. The format was a roundtable chaired by Peter Scherrer, EMF General Secretary.
The video is available here now.
On 12 March, the eurozone heads of state agreed to a Pact for the Euro, which establishes “a stronger economic policy coordination for competitiveness and convergence”: setting out conditions for an increased European bailout fund to support member states in extreme sovereign debt crisis. The proposals combine the Franco-German ‘competitiveness pact’ with the Barroso-Van Rompuy economic governance proposals.
For the EMF the best way to reduce unemployment and economic deficits are growth-enhancing policies. Therefore, the main challenge for European economic governance today is turning the fragile economic growth into a self-sustaining long-term recovery. This cannot be done by coordinated fiscal contraction or European-wide wage and social dumping. At the same time, the EMF is aware that the financial crisis has exposed a structural problem of the eurozone which is the imbalance between a centralization of monetary policy at the European level, while the economic and fiscal policy instruments have remained at the national level. Greater attention should be paid to rebalancing this policy coordination ensuring effective European economic and fiscal policies, the EMF insists on concrete and focused steps in the direction of a fiscal and economic union. Moreover, wage coordination must be further promoted, organised by trade unions according to the EMF norm (inflation plus productivity). Fundamental labour rights to free collective bargaining must be guaranteed throughout and by the EU (and beyond).
The roundtable was composed of:
Sylvie Goulard (France - ALDE – Member of the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee; EP Rapporteur on budgetary surveillance) – they have made a recommendation on Euro-bonds
Stephen Hughes (UK - Vice-President of the Socialists and Democrats Group – responsible for economic and employment policies)
Philippe Lambert (Belgium - Co-chair European Green Party – spokesperson for Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee)
Thomas Händel (Germany - GUE-NGL member of the Bureau: Member of Employment and Social Affairs Committee)
Olle Ludvigsson (Sweden - S&D group: member of Employment and Social Affairs Committee)
