Wolf Klinz, on behalf of the ALDE Group. – (DE) Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, we are currently experiencing the most serious financial crisis in decades, and the European Central Bank and the euro have so far passed the litmus test of this financial crisis with flying colours. The ECB has acted quickly and decisively to deal with the crisis, and has done its job better than some other central banks; it has thus given an impressive demonstration of its crisis management abilities in difficult times. The euro has shown itself to be a strong currency, which has helped to keep the Euro Zone stable and has even been able to give a helping hand in the form of target measures to certain countries outside the Euro Zone.

The call for European economic government fails to recognise that much has already been, and is being, done to coordinate the policies of the individual Member States and to harmonise them. The achievements in this area can be credited, not least, to you, Mr Juncker, and I would therefore like to take this opportunity to thank you most particularly.

Countries outside the Euro Zone, such as Denmark and Hungary, are currently learning the hard way how expensive it can be not to belong to the Eurogroup and not be shielded by the protective umbrella of the euro. Countries that have previously been opposed to joining the Euro Zone, such as Denmark and Sweden, are now changing their minds and considering joining in a few years.

The financial crisis also shows how closely linked the financial systems are, and how vulnerable they are. It is therefore in our own interests for the countries that have not yet reached that stage to join the euro as soon as possible, and for the opt-out countries to change their minds, albeit not with concessions that do not fit in with the accession criteria. The European Economic and Monetary Union is a stable area with clear accession criteria, and this should not be watered down. The only thing that might be worth considering would be, with regard to the rate of inflation, not to use the three best countries in the European Union as the reference point, but instead to look at the Euro Zone as a whole, given that we are now a larger club with 16 members.

Since the Stability and Growth Pact was revised a few years ago, it has been flexible enough to respond appropriately, in times of economic imbalance, to challenges such as those of the current crisis. It would therefore be a mistake to try to weaken and redefine the requirements of the pact.

The crisis also makes it very clear that excessive deficits such as those seen in the USA are not sustainable in the long term, that economic development on credit on a massive scale does not work, and therefore that there is no alternative to measures for consistent budget consolidation. We are confident that, contrary to what is currently being said on the financial markets and peddled in the media, the financial crisis will ultimately strengthen, rather than weaken, monetary union.