Der Präsident. − Als nächster Punkt der Tagesordnung folgt die Aussprache über die Erklärungen des Europäischen Rates und der Kommission zu den Schlussfolgerungen der Tagung des Europäischen Rates (27.-28. Juni 2013) (2012/2808(RSP)).

  Herman Van Rompuy, President of the European Council. − Mr President, honourable Members, after the March European Council meeting I reported to you on the broad agreement among all leaders on our strategy to bring the European Union to recovery: first, restoring and maintaining financial stability; second, making our economies more resilient and competitive, with structurally sound public finances (using the flexibilities in our common rules) and long-term reforms; third, fighting, directly and indirectly, unemployment, and I added explicitly, especially for the young; and the fourth element of our strategy was working towards a genuine Economic and Monetary Union – preparing for the future.

Looking back at the decisions taken at or just before the June European Council – because sometimes the pressure created by having a European Council meeting can concentrate minds – it is striking to see that on each and every one of the four strands of this strategy we are moving forward, we are making progress – gradually, but decisively.

As is now the tradition every June, we discussed and endorsed the country-specific recommendations, thus closing this year’s European Semester, which is the cornerstone of our new economic governance. Though only three years old, it is already the most advanced surveillance and policy coordination mechanism in the world.

We welcomed the agreement reached by Finance Ministers the night before the European Council on the directive on recovery and resolution. This is a crucial matter, which can now be taken forward with Parliament in the legislative process before the end of this parliamentary term. Together with the Single Supervisory Mechanism and the directive on capital requirements (where Parliament’s efforts to finalise the legislative work have been of vital importance), this directive on resolution and recovery is essential for the completion of the Banking Union, which is a key element of the work on a genuine Economic and Monetary Union.

The Banking Union remains an immediate priority – and the European Council stressed this again forcefully – as it will help ensure financial stability, reduce financial fragmentation and restore normal lending to the economy. On the latter point – restoring normal lending to the economy – European leaders also took action and we agreed on an Investment Plan for Europe, based on a joint report by the Commission and the European Investment Bank.

The aim is to address the credit crunch that is holding back the very companies that should be driving the recovery: local SMEs, and the start-ups of today which will perhaps be the success stories of tomorrow. We need to bring oxygen deep into the system, across the whole Union, and especially in the most vulnerable countries.

We also agreed on concrete measures with an immediate impact to fight youth unemployment, which is a most urgent concern for our societies – and a concern we also discussed in the presence of the European social partners in a prime example of social dialogue at work at EU level.

We decided to scale up and speed up the Youth Employment Initiative, so that the money starts flowing as of 1 January 2014. Most of the money will now be spent in 2014-2015, the years when it is most needed; moreover, the flexibility offered by the MFF means, in effect, that there will be substantially more available for the Youth Employment Initiative than the EUR 6 billion we had initially foreseen for it; according to projections at least EUR 8 billion in total.

We made a clear link between this Youth Employment Initiative and the Youth Guarantee – to ensure that within four months of leaving school or becoming unemployed, every young person gets a good offer for a job, education or training. We also called for other important actions – for instance promoting cross-border mobility through the EURES and Erasmus+ programmes, including vocational training, as well as high-quality apprenticeships.

These measures will undoubtedly boost the efforts taken by national governments, with which the bulk of the responsibility lies. During the European Council it was clear that leaders are eager to exchange experiences and best practices, just as they will again at tomorrow’s meeting in Berlin.

The decisions that the European Council took just a couple of days ago on the financing of the economy and the fight against youth unemployment would not have been possible without the agreement reached on the Multiannual Financial Framework by the Presidents of the Parliament, the Council and the Commission just a couple of hours before the start of the European Council.

Last Thursday, the European Council unanimously and firmly gave its political backing to the MFF agreement. Based on that, Member State representatives have, in the meantime, formally approved it. I hope that you will equally approve the MFF later this week. It will be a catalyst for investment and growth and jobs across Europe – which is particularly urgent and necessary at a time of crisis, a time of high unemployment and of doubts about the European project.

Indeed, the best way to restore confidence and prove these doubts wrong is by showing that Europe is delivering, that we are leaving a difficult situation behind and can jointly cope with the challenges of the future.

Of course, there is still a lot of work ahead of us, on many fronts – for instance on the deepening of Economic and Monetary Union, on which I gave heads of government a detailed state of play last Friday. But this should not prevent us from reaffirming loud and clear that, even if the road is still long, we are on the right track and that when our institutions work together for the common European good – and the MFF is an example – Europe is capable of producing concrete, tangible results. As I have just said, we are producing results, and last week proved it.

The June European Council also proved that our European project remains attractive for those who are not yet part of it. On Friday morning, we agreed to move forward towards opening accession talks with Serbia, and to take an important step in our relations with Kosovo. We welcomed Croatia as a member of the European Union and Latvia as a member of the eurozone. So, we are welcoming new members, and not – as some had predicted – losing them!

To sum up, the June European Council reached some important agreements. I should add one more of special interest to Parliament – namely the formal adoption of the decision establishing the future composition of Parliament, on the basis of the consent it had given.

And at the same time we prepared the way for other decisions still to come. This may not, perhaps, be to the taste of those who want either spectacular revolutions or confrontations but nonetheless it was an important and useful meeting, taking our common strategy forward together gradually but decisively and in good cooperation with all other institutions of our European Union.

Allow me to mention another matter which I know is of great concern here, as elsewhere, and on which my spokesperson released a statement on my behalf yesterday. I am very concerned by the press reports with allegations of US surveillance of EU premises abroad and in Brussels. The European Union, via its External Action Service, is examining the allegations and is in contact with US authorities.

The European Union has demanded and expects full and urgent clarification by the US regarding the allegations. I take note of the remarks today by US President Barack Obama and his commitment to provide all the information that US allies want and what exactly the facts have been. At this stage, I cannot provide any further comments. I will continue to follow this matter with the attention it deserves.

  José Manuel Barroso, Member of the Commission. − Mr President, let me start by welcoming the new Members of this Parliament from Croatia. On behalf of the European Commission and in front of this House, I want to wholeheartedly welcome Croatia as the 28th Member of the European Union.

Before entering into the subject of today’s debate, there is an issue of political importance that I would like to raise immediately, as this is the first opportunity that I have had to do so in front of this House. It concerns the recent reports on American activities in the European Union and Member States.

If the reports prove to be true, it would be very disturbing and raise serious and very important concerns. This is why as soon as the media reports were released we asked the US for full and immediate clarification on the matter.

The Vice-President/High Representative Catherine Ashton, who has competence in such matters has raised the issue, together with her services, with the United States and discussed it personally with Secretary of State Kerry. Yesterday the Executive Secretary General of the European External Action Service, Pierre Vimont, asked the United States Ambassador to the European Union to meet with him at EEAS headquarters.

The Commission will also address this issue in the context of the working group of experts that is being set up by Vice-President Reding and Commissioner Malmström together with the Council Presidency – on the European Union side – and with US Attorney General Holder – on the US side – to exchange information on intelligence collection of information and get clarity notably on the PRISM programme. The Commission expects clarity and transparency from our partners and allies, and this is what we expect from our United States partners.

Over recent months and years, the European Union has made an impressive and unprecedented effort to stabilise the euro and adapt our structures and policies to meet the challenges posed by the crisis. We still have a lot of work to do, however, before we can leave the crisis behind.

As I said to the European Council last week: the crisis is not over. We should not let up in our efforts for stability and growth by completing the EMU, correcting our public finances, structural reforms for competitiveness and targeted investments for growth.

The June European Council was precisely about everyone taking up their responsibilities. It has delivered some very important results: by endorsing the country-specific recommendations for structural reforms as proposed by the Commission, by stepping up the fight against youth unemployment, and by taking decisions aimed at restoring normal lending to the real economy, notably to SMEs.

I have to mention first one result that was achieved a few hours before this summit actually started, and which turned out to be a precondition for its success. I am talking about the political agreement on the multiannual financial framework reached in the morning of Thursday 27 June between the Irish Taoiseach, the President of the European Parliament and myself.

I was delighted that both President Schulz and Taoiseach Kenny, holding the Presidency of the Council, were able to accept my invitation and strike this political deal, without prejudice to the final decision of this House and the formal decision of the Council. The deal reached was based on very extensive negotiations conducted by the Council, Parliament and Commission and their respective teams – I want to congratulate all of them – and I hope it will be formally endorsed both by you and by the Council.

The extremely challenging dynamics of the negotiation process – unanimity in the Council, consent by absolute majority at Parliament – mean that nobody was able to reach all of their objectives. This is why – even though the Commission has always supported a more ambitious European budget – I consider this agreement a crucial step for the European Union in demonstrating its capacity to act and to take difficult decisions. The EU budget is an almost one trillion euro investment fund for growth and jobs. Without it, everything we are trying to do for growth, for investment, for the regions, for young people, for employment and for research would be put at risk.

In terms of the structural reforms needed to get our socio-economic framework in line with the demands of today’s global economy, the agenda was set out clearly in the Annual Growth Survey and, in particular, in the country-specific recommendations presented by the Commission five weeks ago. With the endorsement of these recommendations by the European Council, a new step was taken in the European Semester process. Economic governance in the European Union has reached a new stage of maturity and common ownership.

Everyone can now see that this is not a top-down process with the Commission telling Members what to do. But governments now should accept that reform, or lack of reform, in one country seriously impacts on neighbours and economic partners across Europe, and sometimes across the world. We are all in this together, so we have to cooperate, coordinate, debate and decide together as well. This is what economic union means. This is economic governance at work. And it is working.

Now, we have to make our common efforts to work to tackle some of the social and economic challenges we are facing together – youth unemployment especially. Most of the groundwork to turn this economically untenable and socially unacceptable situation around must be done at national level.

Therefore, the Commission has proposed specific recommendations on youth unemployment for 19 countries: from reforming labour markets to reinforcing public employment services, from shifting taxation away from labour to improving education for the low-skilled, or supporting programmes for training and apprenticeships. There is a lot that national governments can and must do.

I welcome the fact that the European Council has clearly underlined that message. Now governments must honour their commitments. The European institutions are there to guide and support this effort, in particular through the structural funds: we will speed up the youth employment initiative and front-load the funds so that the initial EUR 6 billion is invested in the following two years, and not spread thinly over the full seven years of the MFF period.

If we want this money to really make a difference, we need to focus it on regions with youth unemployment rates of over 25%, and do so quickly. This is only possible if Member States prepare specific youth unemployment initiative programmes and submit their plans this year. This will enable us to hit the ground running early in 2014. And as this House rightly stressed in the MFF discussions, we need to guarantee funds for the years afterwards as well.

So now – thanks to the increased flexibility that the European Commission has always supported and that was finally agreed by the Member States – the total amount spent on youth unemployment over the seven years can be estimated at above EUR 8 billion.

We also need to re-launch and expand the Youth Employment Action Teams. Since we set them up early in 2012, these teams have helped eight Member States reallocate around EUR 16 billion in structural funds to the most pressing needs, to the benefit of about one million young people and 55 000 SMEs. The new teams will be sent to help countries prepare their Youth Employment Initiative projects and implement the Youth Guarantee scheme.

On top of this, we will boost the mobility of young workers – one of the unfulfilled promises of the internal market so far – by reforming EURES, which already gives access to over 1.4 million vacancies in Europe and nearly 31 000 registered employers across the European Union.

Later today, in the margins of the WorldSkills competition in Leipzig, the European Commission will launch another important initiative, following the Grand Coalition for Digital Jobs we set up earlier. We will launch today the European Alliance for Apprenticeships, because not everything can be done by governments or other public institutions. We should also mobilise the social partners. Business can do more to help create more and better quality apprenticeships.

Before the European Council we met with the European social partners, and I was happy to see that all of them, trade unions and business organisations, were very committed to a stronger response from Europe. And tomorrow, together with some twenty heads of state and government and labour ministers, we are also meeting with the President of the European Parliament, in Berlin, to add to the momentum of the fight against youth unemployment.

All taken together, I would say: finally youth employment as a top priority seems an idea whose time has come. But ideas are not enough. Our young people need actions, they need decisions, and they need jobs. So let us do it.

The June European Council also made measures to support financing to small and medium-sized enterprises a priority. I welcome that, on the basis of the recommendations in the joint report by the Commission and the EIB, the European Council has supported much-needed action in this field. Following the increase of its capital – that we were the first to advocate – the extra EIB activities are expected to increase its lending activity in the EU by at least 40% between 2013 and 2015, with a particular focus on innovation and skills, SME financing, resource efficiency and strategic infrastructure.

In our joint report with the EIB, the European Commission has outlined a number of options for launching ambitious joint risk-sharing financial instruments to leverage private-sector and capital-market investments in SMEs in the very near future. Our proposals aim at fully exploiting the joint potential of the structural funds, together with loans from the EIB. The European Council committed Member States to do their part of the further preparatory work in order for these instruments to be fully operational by January 2014.

It was also agreed to accelerate the implementation of the project bonds pilot phase, with nine projects in six countries in the pipeline already, of which the Commission will present its assessment later this year.

With our communication on the ‘Top Ten’ consultation of SMEs, we urge all parties involved to take a long hard look at themselves to see if their role in legislation is a burden or a help to SMEs. We should always try to lighten the load of regulation, where possible, without lowering our standards or losing sight of the agreed common European goals.

I believe these are the key issues that determine, in the short term, both the effectiveness and the legitimacy of our reform efforts. With the Compact for Jobs and Growth we wanted to pool and reinforce the broader agenda of measures to support growth as a priority. One year on, on the basis of the comprehensive implementation report I presented to the European Council – it is now publicly available – we can only conclude that follow-up to the Compact for Growth has been a mixed success.

There have been some real breakthroughs, such as the recent agreement on professional qualifications and public procurement, but in other areas progress has been uneven or simply too slow. We must speed up work on the Single Market Act proposals, on the digital single market, the internal energy market and the European research area.

Time is running out, so I hope to be able to count on your persistent and powerful support to push through as much of our growth and jobs agenda as possible by the end of the term of this Parliament. But decisions at European level are not the same as implementation at national level, so my message to the European Council was also clear: Europe’s economic recovery must begin at home.

The last point I would like to make concerns the deepening of the Economic and Monetary Union. One of the main reasons why we have been able to overcome the existential threat to the euro is that the European institutions and Member States have signalled their determination to learn the lessons of the crisis, to complete the EMU, and to make it irreversible. We cannot backtrack on that promise. The only way is forward, as set out in our blueprint towards a deep and genuine EMU. But sometimes we receive conflicting signals on the political will to move further.

Last week we saw an important breakthrough with the Council’s agreement on a common approach to dealing with failing banks without relying on taxpayers’ money. The Commission is now looking forward to working closely with Parliament with a view to finalising this by the end of the year at the latest.

The next step is a single resolution mechanism, on which the Commission will present its proposal in the next two weeks, and I hope that we can make swift progress on that. This will ensure effective European decision-making on problematic banks within the Single Supervisory Mechanism.

The forthcoming implementation of the two-pack takes us one step closer to a fiscal union. Today I would like to announce that, following our commitment towards the European Parliament as part of the overall agreement on the two-pack, the Commission is now setting up an expert group to look into all merits and risks, the legal requirements and the financial consequences of initiatives of joint issuance of debt in the form of a redemption fund and Eurobills

The members of this, group chaired by Gertrude Tumpel-Gugerell, a former member of the Executive Board of the ECB, combine impressive expertise with a varied background. I trust it will make a very good contribution for further work by the Commission and by this Parliament.

Last week in the European Council we also discussed the other building blocks of the EMU, based on the Commission’s ideas on ex-ante policy coordination and the competitiveness and convergence instrument. We will soon present a report on the social dimension of the EMU, which is an essential complement to fiscal and political integration.

To leave the crisis behind and to address the economic and social priority of fighting unemployment, we need to focus on small and medium-sized enterprises, because they form the heart of the European economy. These enterprises need to address the issues that matter for European competitiveness.

To continue on the path of structural reforms, the younger generations need to see a future for themselves. To recover the confidence of investors and citizens alike, we need to maintain the momentum of our efforts to reform the institutional set-up of the EMU. This European Council certainly represented progress, and we should be in no doubt about what the next steps towards growth and jobs will be.

Let us now focus on delivery.

  Joseph Daul, au nom du groupe PPE. – Monsieur le Président du Parlement, cher Martin Schulz, Monsieur le Président du Conseil, cher Herman Van Rompuy, Monsieur le Président de la Commission, cher José Manuel Barroso, chers collègues, avant de commenter les conclusions du Conseil de la semaine dernière, je voudrais d'abord saluer la Présidence irlandaise qui s'achève, et remercier le Premier ministre Enda Kenny et son équipe pour le travail qu'ils ont fourni. Mais je voudrais aussi saluer le travail, l'écoute et la présence de Lucinda Creighton, qui, pendant les six mois, n'a pas manqué une seule réunion du Parlement. Je crois qu'il faut le souligner. C'est probablement parce que c'est une femme, qu'elle est fidèle et qu'elle a été fidèle au poste et, surtout, au niveau de l'écoute. Il faut quand même le dire, Dany, parce que vous savez, les bancs sont souvent vides, que ce soit ici, ce matin, ou que ce soit de l'autre côté. Je crois qu'il faut le relever.

Au cours des six derniers mois, 80 engagements législatifs ont été menés à bien. Il y a bien sûr l'achèvement de gros dossiers, comme celui de la politique agricole commune. Nous sommes aussi parvenus à un accord sur le paquet Horizon 2020 pour l'innovation, la recherche et le développement. C'est un élément clé pour aider nos entreprises à se développer. Et, surtout, nous sommes parvenus à un accord sur le cadre financier pluriannuel. Le travail intense des négociateurs, de part et d'autre, a permis cet accord et je voudrais, ici, encore les féliciter. Ce travail était capital.

Nous, Parlement, en tant que colégislateur, étions attachés à notre responsabilité. Nous avons posé des conditions de bon sens nécessaires à tout accord. Nous ne pouvions pas accepter d'entraîner l'Union européenne sur la pente glissante de la dette. D'où notre exigence de trouver une solution aux crédits 2013 manquants. Et, avant de voter définitivement au mois de septembre, Monsieur le Président, il faut que le projet de 2013 et les millions manquants soient bien assurés.

Nous ne pouvions pas nous résigner à un budget restreint sans trouver une solution pour optimiser nos investissements. Il fallait un budget plus souple permettant d'affecter chaque euro non dépensé aux politiques qui en ont le plus besoin, d'où la flexibilité pour utiliser les marges non utilisées.

Nous ne pouvions pas nous satisfaire d'un budget d'austérité pendant sept ans. L'Europe doit pouvoir agir rapidement aux changements auxquels notre continent est confronté. D'où la clause de révision pour qu'en 2016, le prochain Parlement ait voix au chapitre.

Enfin, il n'était plus possible de laisser place à un tel marchandage tous les sept ans pour satisfaire les égoïsmes de certains. L'Europe, ce n'est pas une somme de rabais. L'Europe vaut plus que cela.

C'est pourquoi je demande au Conseil, à la nouvelle Commission et au prochain Parlement de travailler tout de suite, au début de l'année prochaine, après l'élection, sur un vrai budget doté de vraies ressources propres et je demande que soient définis les domaines dans lesquels l'Europe est plus efficace que les États membres, et vice versa. Nous devons prendre cette question à cœur tout de suite.

Nous en avons marre de ces marchandages. Nous avons maintenant soixante années d'Europe; je crois que nous avons le devoir de remettre tout sur la table, mais vraiment tout, et de redéfinir ce que fait l'Europe et ce que font les différents États membres.

La semaine dernière, lors du Conseil européen, nous avons mis l'accent sur le chômage des jeunes. Or, sans nos politiques communes financées par un CFP crédible, nous en serions encore à parler de ce fléau plutôt que d'agir. Je sais qu'il n'y en a que pour quelques années, mais j'espère que, si ces quelques années marchent, la sagesse nous permettra de continuer cet effort.

Le chômage en Europe, en particulier celui des jeunes, nous préoccupe tous. Un jeune sur quatre est sans travail et, dans certains pays, ce niveau atteint 50, voire 70 % de la population active. Grâce à nos fonds et aux fonds consacrés aux politiques structurelles, donc grâce aux investissements dans nos régions, nous soutenons la croissance et l'emploi. Avec le milliard d'euros supplémentaire, ajouté à la dernière minute au Fonds d'aide aux plus démunis, l'Europe montre qu'elle a aussi un cœur pour ceux qui souffrent le plus.

Avec les crédits supplémentaires pour Erasmus, les PME et les projets de recherche, nous donnons plus de moyens à la lutte contre le chômage. Certes, les politiques de l'emploi relèvent de la compétence nationale mais quand, dans toute l'Europe, il y a plus de deux millions de postes vacants, nous ne pouvons pas interdire de penser Europe. Et pour offrir plus de formations, plus de compétences, un meilleur apprentissage des langues, pour plus de mobilité, grâce aux dix milliards d'euros supplémentaires accordés à la BEI, l'Europe contribue aussi à financer les petites et moyennes entreprises. Elles sont le creuset d'innovation mais n'ont pas toujours l'argent nécessaire pour se financer, et surtout sont confrontées à des taux prohibés dans les pays qui sont le plus en crise.

Dix milliards d'euros qui peuvent générer cinq fois plus, c'est presque notre budget annuel, rien que pour les petites et moyennes entreprises, mais c'est un investissement de bon sens puisque les petites et moyennes entreprises ne se délocalisent pas.

Sans ce Conseil, et avec un accord sur le CFP, ces décisions n'auraient pas eu de sens. Il fallait faire preuve, tous ensemble, de responsabilité, celle de nous donner les moyens d'agir.

Je tiens, à nouveau, à remercier celles et ceux qui ont eu cette vision européenne, et je tiens pour cela à redire merci aussi à la Présidence irlandaise.

  Hannes Swoboda, on behalf of the S&D Group. – Mr President, I will be very brief as my colleagues are still coming in.

We finally got an agreement on youth unemployment, but, Mr Van Rompuy, it was this Parliament who pressed for the Youth Guarantee. It was this Parliament who pressed for the front-loading and it was this Parliament who said front-loading needs to be complemented by back-loading.

Finally we got something! Let me be honest: if we have six, eight or ten billion euros it makes a difference but we have to stop the austerity policy as it is now. We have to move into a growth policy. Even Foreign Affairs, which is not a left-wing paper, wrote recently, ‘the results of the experiment are now in and they are consistent: austerity doesn’t work’.

A small step you did take was to emphasise investment. This is something we have emphasised during many debates here. Another serious paper, Die Zeit, wrote ‘Deutschland geht kaputt’ because of the lack of investment in infrastructure. That is true not only for a rich country like Germany; it is true for many others too. I do not want to read in some years’ time: Europa geht kaputt. It is important of course that this does not happen either physically or mentally.

Therefore we need investment: public investment and private investment. I hope at least that everything from the budget will be spent on this investment because that is very important. As regards private investment, we did something via the banking resolution. Fine, thank you, but nevertheless we are far from having a real European banking union. It is important for private banks to give credit to private industry because without this investment, without this credit, it is not possible to go forward in our growth policy.

As regards the social criteria, again some progress has been made. I wish to emphasise that. However, we will fight really hard for a strong, social dimension in the EMU. It is not acceptable for our citizens that we take account of the debt rate and the deficit rate but that we do not take account of the poverty rate, for example. It is important that we fight against poverty and that we monitor all the governments on what they do on poverty, for example, or what they do to close the gap between the rich and the poor.

Finally, as regards the surveillance of EU premises: you said some words, I agree, but we need strong words. Dear colleagues, in this Parliament we need a data protection package before we come to any agreement with the US. We have to ask the US to respect what this Parliament and what Europe decides on data protection; that is very important. There should be no agreement without that kind of recognition from the US, and I hope you will take a strong stance towards the US because what they are doing is unacceptable.

I am very much in favour of good relations with the US but with these kinds of activities they are destroying the possibility of good relations between the EU and the US.

(The speaker agreed to take a blue-card question under Rule 149(8)

  João Ferreira (GUE/NGL), Pergunta segundo o procedimento "cartão azul". – Senhor Presidente, Senhor Swoboda, o senhor veio aqui verberar a austeridade, e está muito certo, mas a social-democracia europeia e os partidos socialistas europeus andaram a vender aos povos da Europa o tratado da austeridade, o tratado orçamental. Diziam que era a disciplina necessária, que queriam contrabalançar com a solidariedade, com o reforço da solidariedade necessária. Reparei que, na sua intervenção, evitou o acordo sobre o Quadro Financeiro Plurianual, um acordo que nos dá a dimensão da verdadeira solidariedade europeia. Pela primeira vez na história, reduz-se o orçamento em termos absolutos. Numa altura em que se agravam as desigualdades e a divergência, reduzem-se as verbas para a coesão, é esta a verdadeira face da solidariedade europeia. Com que cara, Senhor Swoboda, vão agora os partidos socialistas defender este acordo junto dos povos?

  Hannes Swoboda (S&D), blue-card answer. – Concerning the MFF, I would speak with the Irish Presidency about that, because it was something from the Irish Presidency and came about on that occasion. We were fighting to the bitter end to get more money. It was the Council which, unfortunately, was very resistant. Unfortunately, we know also whose position is dominant, from the conservative side, but life is a compromise too.

Let me tell you one thing. We have been fighting for many years for two things: first of all for budgetary discipline, which is necessary, but also against austerity, which is an extreme form of cutting salaries, cutting wages and cutting pensions. That is a policy we cannot accept, and we have always said that. When Portugal’s Finance Minister resigned recently it was a clear sign that austerity does not work, because this policy no longer has any support in Portugal. This was made very clear.

  Guy Verhofstadt, on behalf of the ALDE Group. – Mr President, I would like to tackle three topics in this debate: the agreement on the MFF – which Joseph Daul has also mentioned – the non-agreement on the banking union – let us be honest: there was an agreement in Ecofin on the Resolution Directive, but not on the main issue of the resolution fund – and the new revelations on NSA spying in the European Union.

Firstly, on the agreement on the MFF, we have taken the right decision to refuse the initial Council proposal as it was presented to us a few months ago. Because, as you will remember, the initial proposal offered no flexibility at all. In this agreement we now have close to full flexibility on the amounts. This means that we can now be very sure that the EUR 908 billion in payments will be fully available. This was not the case in the MFF for an amount of EUR 55 billion.

But we must not be naive in this debate. The fight is not over yet. There are a number of important outstanding issues. For example, we said that there should be no deficit; Joseph Daul said just that a few minutes ago. We need an agreement on the final EUR 3.9 billion, and that has to be decided by the Council.

Before we give our consent to this deal we must review it thoroughly, to be sure that the wording used by the Council really is compulsory and binding. We also talked about new own resources. I hope also that the high-level group that the Council has proposed can also start its work before we give our consent to this MFF, to save us from having to start this work in a few years’ time. Finally, we need a modern and innovative budget. We need to ensure that there is more money available for research, innovation and the digital agenda.

My second point concerns the outcome of the European Council. I deplore the fact that there are no paragraphs on the banking union in the conclusions. All the paragraphs on the banking union have been deleted from the conclusions. This means that we currently have no agreement about the banking union between the Member States. We have general ideas and general principles, but no agreement on the resolution mechanism. That it this very important because it is the lack of a banking union that is the main problem today.

Mr Van Rompuy said that we need more oxygen in our economy. That is true, but the way to put oxygen in our economy is to restore the transfer of money from the banks to the real economy – small and medium-sized businesses – and that is not happening today. You can make plans for whatever money you like in the European Investment Bank and in the European budget, but if there is no transfer of real money from the banks to the small and medium economy, we will never emerge from the current economic stagnation.

So my request to the Commission is – as Mr Barroso has just said – is for this proposal of a resolution fund to be put on the table at the Council as quickly as possible. Let us stop this discussion for the moment. The Council should take the initiative, and then we can start our legislative work on this resolution fund.

I say the same thing for Economic and Monetary Union. I was at the meetings with the Member States with Mr Brok and Mr Gualtieri. No progress is being made. They cannot agree on the future architecture of the Economic and Monetary Union. Everything has been delayed until the end of the year. So I ask the Council to put that proposal, based on the blueprint, on the table as well.

Finally my third point concerns the American spy scandal. We need to react firmly. It is now up to the European Parliament to do that, because the statements by Baroness Ashton and Mr Van Rompuy were worded too weakly. The only thing I heard from you is ‘we are concerned’. We are not concerned, we are angry. We are outraged about what is happening at the moment and what is being discovered.

Friends do not do that: spying in the EU Embassy in Washington, spying in the EU delegation in New York, spying in the Council building in Brussels, and probably also spying on our mailboxes and accounts. I am pretty sure that the Americans already knew about the offshore tax haven that Mr Farage has created for himself on the Isle of Man before we did. I am pretty sure that they knew about it and did not tell us about it. Yes, Mr Farage, you can laugh but you do not look very happy today.

So we need full clarification. Can we really continue with negotiations on data retention protection and data transfer? I am not talking about the FDA. That would be an idiotic idea because we have an enormous interest in the FDA.

But why not put the other negotiations on hold? We also have to start a special inquiry in this Parliament – a committee of inquiry or a special inquiry group in the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs as soon as possible.

(The speaker agreed to take a blue-card question under Rule 149(8))

  Liisa Jaakonsaari (S&D), sinisen kortin kysymys. – Arvoisa puhemies, olen täsmälleen samaa mieltä puheenjohtaja Verhofstadtin kanssa tästä vakoiluskandaalista. Mitä mieltä olette ajatuksesta, jos parlamentti vaatisi anteeksipyyntöä Yhdysvalloilta? Nopeaa anteeksipyyntöä. Koska nyt tämä näyttää aika selvältä tämä asia, niin miksi he eivät pyydä anteeksi? Jos me vaadimme anteeksipyyntöä, niin siellä voitaisiin reagoida. Mitä mieltä olette tästä?

  Guy Verhofstadt (ALDE), blue-card answer. – I think an apology is the minimum we can ask from the American side. More has to be done. For example, the Commission is currently negotiating on data protection, data transfer and on a number of files. Why should we continue negotiations?

First of all we need clarification on this, but I want to go further than only apologies. And I would like to see a special inquiry committee. We should set up a committee of inquiry or a special inquiry group in the European Parliament in the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs.

But what we also need is a genuine European Parliament position before the end of the year on this and on the measures we are going to take, not just apologies. Apologies are not enough.

  Rebecca Harms, im Namen der Verts/ALE-Fraktion. – Herr Präsident, sehr geehrter Herr Ratspräsident! Herr Kollege Verhofstadt, wer einen großen Mund hat, der muss dann auch mal springen. Und wenn Sie sagen, das ist alles so schlimm mit den Vereinigten Staaten von Amerika und den Spionageattacken – und ich teile diese Verärgerung –, dann muss man an dieser Stelle entscheiden: De Gucht eröffnet die Verhandlungen nicht!

(Beifall)

Und an dieser Stelle Komplimente an die starke Frau in der Europäischen Kommission, nämlich an Viviane Reding, die das als Erste ausgesprochen hat! In diesen Verhandlungen wird es ganz stark darum gehen, dass europäische Normen, zum Beispiel zum Datenschutz, in Frage gestellt werden. Deswegen dürfen die Verhandlungen nicht eröffnet werden, bevor wir nicht untersucht haben, wie groß das Problem eigentlich ist! Wenn es noch einer Klärung bedurfte, dann kam die gestern von Außenminister Kerry, der sich in der internationalen Öffentlichkeit hinstellte und erklärte, das sei doch alles ganz normal. Also Reding hat Recht: Stoppt De Gucht und zwar sofort!

(Beifall)

Zum Thema „große Klappe und nichts dahinter“: Der Haushalt, den wir verabschieden, ist vielleicht für die Duchessa von Alba sehr gut. Wenn man sich anschaut, was Großgrundbesitzer in der Europäischen Union an Direktzahlungen aus dem Agrarhaushalt bekommen werden, und das in Vergleich stellt mit dem, was wir gegen die Jugendarbeitslosigkeit aufwenden: Ich schäme mich dafür! Denn das ist genau das strukturelle Problem dieses Haushalts. Wir setzen nach wie vor die alten vormodernen Prioritäten! Wir haben mehr Geld für die Agrarindustrie als für die arbeitslosen Jugendlichen. 10 Euro pro Kopf bedeutet das, was in der Jugendgarantie steckt! 10 Euro pro Kopf – das ist wirklich der Hammer!

Martin Schulz, du weißt, dass ich sehr enttäuscht gewesen bin über die eilige Zustimmung zu diesem Haushalt. Es hat genau mit dieser armseligen Entscheidung zur Jugendgarantie zu tun. Wir wissen in Deutschland, was das Problem Jugendarbeitslosigkeit bedeutet. Wir haben zum Beispiel mit dem Aufbau Ost versucht, strukturelle Probleme zu überwinden. Was wir heute brauchen, ist ein Aufbau Europa, zumindest ein Aufbau Südeuropa! Die Rezession in Südeuropa ist das große Problem. Junge Menschen werden in großer Zahl täglich zusätzlich arbeitslos. Und solange die Europäer das nicht entscheiden, können sie sich diese Jugendgarantie an den Hut stecken!

(Beifall)

(Die Rednerin ist damit einverstanden, eine Frage nach dem Verfahren der „blauen Karte“ gemäß Artikel 149 Absatz 8 der Geschäftsordnung zu beantworten.)

  William (The Earl of) Dartmouth (EFD), blue-card question. – Ms Harms, is the termination or temporary cessation of the EU-US discussions designed to end in a trade agreement formal Greens policy, or is that just your personal opinion?

  Rebecca Harms (Verts/ALE), Antwort auf eine Frage nach dem Verfahren der „blauen Karte“. – Meine Haltung dazu ist, dass ich im Moment dank der Enthüllungen des Whistleblowers Snowden den Beleg dafür bekomme, dass in den USA eine vollständig andere Idee in Bezug auf den Schutz der Bürgerrechte und den Datenschutz besteht. Wir sollten prioritär über ein internationales Datenschutzabkommen verhandeln, bevor wir einem Freihandelsabkommen zustimmen, weil ansonsten die europäischen Normen am Ende wieder abgeschwächt werden. Meine Erfahrung mit SWIFT, meine Erfahrung auch mit dem Abkommen über den Schutz von Passagierdaten belegen eigentlich die Skepsis, die die Europäer da haben müssen.

  Martin Callanan, on behalf of the ECR Group. – Mr President, we keep debating unemployment and poor growth here, but what steps are we actually taking to solve this particular crisis?

We are of course taking some, but it is not nearly enough. We ask ourselves: why is that? It is because too often vested interests are obstructing the reforms that we desperately need in Europe. We fail to see that more laws, more initiatives, more red tape are actually harming businesses and stopping people from working. We need to understand that sometimes in Europe ‘less is more’.

Let me give you an example. This is from someone who works in a temporary work agency and actually deals with the agency workers directive. They said, and I quote: ‘In many cases drivers who are employed on a pay-as-you-earn basis are actually being stopped from working after their eleventh week as this is the point at which the EU regulations kick in’. People are actually being stopped from working because of the laws that we pass here in Europe.

The Commission’s own European vacancy monitor showed that after the Agency Workers Directive came into force, vacancies at Randstad, which is France’s leading temporary agency, fell by 20% in two months. This of course is legislation brought in to protect workers, but actually it persecutes them.

If we are serious about solving this problem then there are two good places to start. First of all we should scrap the laws that punish productivity, that damage entrepreneurship; secondly, we should open up markets so that enterprise is rewarded and not penalised. The best way to create more employment in Europe would be to create some unemployment in the European Commission – fewer officials dreaming up new rules and regulations; fewer pet projects; fewer vested interests standing in the way of the structural reform that we need.

The saying ‘less is more’ should of course apply to the EU, and that is why I fully support the Dutch Government’s recent efforts to draw a line in the sand to say that there are competences that we believe are better exercised closer to the people, that ever-closer union is not the answer to our problems in Europe. I am sure that Mr Verhofstadt will want to show his support for the position put forward by one of his own Liberal governments.

The problem is that we in this Parliament and officials in the Commission are dominated by those same vested interests. This Parliament seeks to extend its powers at every opportunity; Commission officials move their careers forward by formulating new ways to interfere in our lives here in Europe.

Ever-closer union has become synonymous with ever-more meddling regardless of whether it is the right thing to do, either for our economy or for our people. We will soon be perfectly harmonised, we will be perfectly equal in Europe. Unfortunately we will have harmonised unemployment and we will have equalised poverty across the Union.

There is an alternative, and that is to cut the red tape that binds us; to redirect our efforts and open up markets across Europe; to reward hard work. To do so of course will not be easy. There will be protests from many lobby groups, from trade unions and from others often funded by the EU itself, but by taking on those vested interests we will open to door to the economic reforms that we have to make.

That is why I would like to see President Barroso use the last few months of his term to take on those on the left and the Socialists who are actually preventing these reforms. In fact I have to admit that I am actually at a bit of a loss today because normally I like to stand here and reprimand President Barroso for stuff the Commission has done, or alternatively I like to denigrate the French Socialist government, but it seems to me that they are doing such a good job of slagging off each other that I am not sure I am actually required to interfere in this happy feast any more.

Frankly, some of the comments made by French Ministers in recent weeks have undermined their own credibility and demonstrated the desperate situation in which they find themselves. So they hit out at anybody and anything rather than take responsibility for their own poor decisions in France.

We now know that it is possible to overcome some vested interests. The long-term MFF budget has shown that change, even a little bit of change, is slightly possible in Europe.

The siren voices continue to argue that reducing the EU budget will somehow damage the economy in Europe. We all know that is not true. It will of course harm those that are dependent on EU handouts, such as the trade unions and the NGOs that the Commission funds. But does anybody outside the bubble really believe that we cannot reduce the budget in Europe and yet increase its value?

If we want to solve the EU’s economic crisis then we need to overcome those vested interests that stand in our way, that stop us from delivering a better Europe by constantly forcing us to deliver more Europe. We can do more to help Europe’s economy by doing less here in the Commission and in this Chamber.

  Gabriele Zimmer, im Namen der GUE/NGL-Fraktion. – Herr Präsident, meine Damen und Herren! Wir wollen ein Europa haben, das letztendlich allen Menschen auch eine Zukunft bieten kann, und wir wissen ganz genau, dass Verträge, Abkommen, Entscheidungen, die zwischen den Institutionen getroffen werden, die Entwicklungsmöglichkeiten der EU entweder einschränken oder sie erweitern.

Das, was uns in der vergangenen Woche als Kompromiss präsentiert worden ist, ist aus meiner Sicht ein schlechter Deal, bei dem es vor allem einen Verlierer gibt: Das sind diejenigen, die auf die Stärkung von Programmen, von Projekten angewiesen sind, damit sich ihre sozialen und ökologischen Lebensbedingungen verbessern. Dem ist vorige Woche ein Riegel vorgeschoben worden. Es gibt einen weiteren Verlierer, das ist die Demokratie, insbesondere die Beteiligung des Parlaments an diesem sogenannten Kompromiss und seine entsprechenden Rechte. Ich halte es für fatal, dass ja offensichtlich die Amerikaner eher informiert sind über das, was ausgehandelt wird, als wir im Europäischen Parlament in der Breite aller Fraktionen. Eher sitzen andere mit am Tisch als wir.

Ich war immer stolz darauf, dass sich das Parlament in den letzten Wochen gegen das, was im Februar im Rat ausgehandelt worden ist, in einer breiten Front zur Wehr gesetzt hat. Und jetzt brechen wir selber diese Front auf! Wir brauchen vielleicht morgen bei der Abstimmung über die Entschließung keine qualifizierte Mehrheit, da reicht eine einfache Mehrheit, da kann man sich vielleicht auf zwei Fraktionen stützen. Was ist aber im September, wenn die Verordnung kommt? Da brauchen Sie eine qualifizierte Mehrheit, und da werden Sie die Fragen beantworten müssen zu dem, was jetzt alles fehlt und was offen ist und was nicht behandelt wurde. Wie soll denn das bis September noch reinverhandelt werden, wenn wir jetzt schon die Positionen aufgegeben haben?

Was ist die Flexibilität wert, wenn ein Großteil der Defizite dieses Jahres in den nächsten Haushaltsrahmen verschoben wird? Was ist das wert? Es wird von einem Jahr ins andere verschoben. Letztendlich lassen wir Schlupflöcher zu, so dass die Mitgliedstaaten ihre Zahlungen nicht leisten, wie sie vereinbart worden sind! Was ist es wert, wenn eine neue Kommission kommt, die sich nicht an das gebunden fühlt, was dort vage formuliert worden ist? Was ist mit der Revision 2016? Wie verbindlich ist die denn? Was ist mit dem front-loading für die Jugendarbeitslosigkeit? Sechs Milliarden! Ja bitteschön, noch nicht einmal bei den sechs Milliarden können Sie doch konkret benennen, wo die herkommen! Wo stehen sie denn? Können Sie denn konkret benennen, wo diese sechs Milliarden für die ersten zwei Jahre sind, acht Milliarden für die sieben Jahre? Was heißt denn das dann, wir setzen etwas auf, was nicht fortgesetzt werden kann? Wir sagen den jungen Menschen: „Das ist nicht euer Ding, was hier abläuft“.

Rebecca Harms hat völlig Recht. Wir haben hier eine Struktur, die mit den Realitäten in der Europäischen Union nicht mehr Schritt hält, und wir tun nichts, um das endgültig zu beenden und zu sagen: Wir müssen das umkrempeln, weil die Leute uns sonst nicht mehr vertrauen, weil sie uns wegrennen. Welches Signal wollen wir denn noch aussenden? Wir rennen letztendlich dem schlechten Deal hinterher und werden morgen noch eine Begrüßungsentschließung annehmen. Ich fasse es nicht! Ich fasse es einfach nicht mehr! Dafür geben wir uns her? Ich kann meine Kolleginnen und Kollegen wirklich nur bitten, dass wir hier ganz klar sagen: Dieser Deal ist nicht das, was notwendig ist. Und Politik muss sich an dem messen, was notwendig ist, und nicht daran, wo man vielleicht gerade irgendwo eine Einigung zu einem ganz bestimmten Punkt erzielen kann, weil Bundestagswahlen anstehen, weil die Europawahlen anstehen, und nicht, weil es dringende soziale und ökologische Probleme zu lösen gilt. Das kann nicht sein!

Ein Wort noch zu dem Ausspähprogramm der Amerikaner. Eine Entschuldigung reicht überhaupt nicht aus! Bevor überhaupt an ein Freihandelsabkommen gedacht werden kann, muss erst einmal geklärt werden, ob die USA und die EU auf Augenhöhe stehen und ob wir uns gegenseitig respektieren mit all unseren Rechten, mit all unseren Errungenschaften und auch Standards, die wir uns erarbeitet haben.

  Nigel Farage, on behalf of the EFD Group. –Mr President, for the first time this year not just Mr Barroso but also President Van Rompuy have come to the Chamber, and yet look around you. What have we got? Five percent turnout amongst Members? They have not missed much. Just the usual drivel about the fight against youth unemployment.

With 62% youth unemployment in Greece, and with Spain not far behind, it is perhaps about time we were honest and admitted we are causing it ourselves. We are doing it through the misconstruction of the euro, through the obsession with global warming and the over-regulated business model.

Yet your recipe is more bureaucracy: a youth guarantee scheme, another six billion for the youth employment initiative, the setting-up of the European alliance for apprenticeships, backed up by the quality framework for traineeships, and the list goes on, and on: yet more highly-paid civil servants setting up organisations that will achieve nothing.

Until the euro is broken up, until you reverse the social market model you will not help youth unemployment. However I must concede you have had one great victory.

A couple of years ago Mr Barroso said that the European Union was an empire, and your empire has just expanded. Indeed David Cameron appears to be the biggest cheerleader for the EU extending all the way to the Urals.

No, you have got Croatia. You have planted your flag on Croatian soil. Not that there was much public support for this: only 22% of Croatians turned out to vote in the European Parliament elections. But there was plenty of support from the Croatian political class.

Oh yes, the Prime Minister who negotiated entry, Mr Sanader, who was jailed for ten years last year for selling national assets, has been backed up by the whole of Croatia. They have sold out their country for personal gain and to be on a bigger stage. A country that fought for 800 years to be independent has given it away after twenty years to these guys in front of us today.

Well you may be getting away with it for the moment, but it is not going to last very long. There is a gathering electoral storm. It is coming on the left, in the centre and on the right.

You can hardly fail to notice what has happened in big countries like France or Italy, what is happening in Finland, the Netherlands, and even in Britain. The European elections next year present the opportunity for us to show you, Mr Barroso, that the European project is reversible, and it needs to be reversed for the betterment of the peoples of Europe.

(The speaker agreed to take a blue-card question under Rule 149(8))

  Joseph Daul (PPE), question "carton bleu". – Monsieur Farage, simplement une question. Pour la Croatie, le peuple croate a choisi par référendum. Il a donc choisi librement d'adhérer. Je crois qu'il faut aussi respecter la démocratie et les référendums.

La deuxième question, simplement. Vous avez quel statut en tant que député? Vous êtes payé par l'argent européen ou par l'argent britannique?

(Interjection hors micro de Guy Verhofstadt)

  Nigel Farage (EFD), blue-card answer. – Well there was a referendum in theory. You will notice that less than 50% of people turned out to vote; you will notice that millions of euros from the European institutions were poured for many years into Croatia; and you will notice that there was something called pre-accession aid – we can call it bribery if you like – that was poured into Croatia, and there was a prize.

We, in turn, offered a prize for the first Eurosceptic article that appeared in a Croatian newspaper. In the three years leading up to the referendum we did not have to give away any money. That is the point: it is a one-sided political debate and it is all about the power of Brussels and the greed and vanity of politicians in Member States.

I am paid by the European Parliament and what I am doing – just as the Scottish National Party do, and just as the Irish Nationalists in the 19th century did – is using that money to expose the waste, the fraud and the extent to which our countries are now governed by these Chambers. The sooner I get the opportunity, Sir, to be the turkey that votes for Christmas, I will do so!

  Philip Claeys (NI). - Voorzitter, op de Top van vorige week werd bevestigd dat de onderhandelingen over de toetreding van Turkije een nieuwe impuls zullen krijgen. Het ongelofelijke wordt dus werkelijkheid: het blinde politiegeweld en de grootschalige schendingen van de mensenrechten door het islamistische Erdogan-regime worden door de Europese Unie niet bestraft, maar beloond.

In 2004 heeft men de kiezers beloofd dat de onderhandelingen zouden worden stilgelegd, als Turkije zich op flagrante manier niet aan de spelregels zou houden. Het is nu wel overduidelijk dat men de kiezers belogen heeft. Turkije móet en zál lid worden van de Europese Unie, wat er ook gebeurt.

Welnu, de EU bewijst daarmee dat ze het contact met de realiteit van de échte wereld volledig heeft verloren. De grote meerderheid van de kiezers is tegen de toetreding van Turkije, van een islamitisch en niet-Europees land als Turkije. Maar de EU houdt geen rekening met de wil van de kiezers. En ik kan u beloven, collega's, dat dit een thema wordt bij de volgende Europese verkiezingen en dat er met deze houding zal worden afgerekend.

  Gay Mitchell (PPE). - Mr President, first of all can I say at the outset that my country fought for its independence for 700 years and eventually got it and gained sovereignty the day we joined the European Union. Up until then the British Chancellor of the Exchequer set our interest rate and set the value of our currency and we got ten minutes’ notice. It has been a great experience for a small country like ours to get out from under that dictatorship and to be able to share sovereignty with other Member States.

Secondly, I would like to raise the question that George Soros has raised about Eurobonds. He says that, if Eurobonds are introduced, the danger of default would disappear, balance sheets and banks would receive an immediate boost and so would the budgets of heavily indebted countries. Could we please hear what is the position of the President of the Council and the President of the Commission on this? Is this a runner or is not a runner? We really need to do something to put this to bed or to put it on the agenda.

Can I say in relation to this crisis we are in that I believe it is time now for a solidarity charter and that is not just a question of the Germans showing solidarity to us; it is a question of us – particularly small states – showing solidarity as well. Let us put solidarity centre stage. What do we need to give in order to receive? I think that is the sort of thing we need to say.

Lastly, I would like to say that I believe the German Federal President yesterday quoting Benjamin Franklin was correct when he said: ‘whoever gives up freedom to gain security will, in the end, lose both’. We should have an explanation from the US Ambassador to the EU as to what is going on and he should then make himself available to a committee of inquiry in this House so we can determine exactly what has been happening in relation to these spying allegations.

PRESIDE: MIGUEL ANGEL MARTÍNEZ MARTÍNEZ
Vicepresidente

  Pervenche Berès (S&D). - Monsieur le Président, Monsieur le Président Herman Van Rompuy, je comprends que, lorsque le Conseil européen, avec le soutien de certains gouvernements, écoute le Parlement européen, les choses avancent.

Cela a été le cas, s'agissant de la priorité en faveur de l'emploi des jeunes, et notamment la question de savoir comment l'on pouvait utiliser de manière anticipée les 6 milliards et les reconstruire après 2015. Cela a été aussi le cas lorsque vous avez rehaussé le niveau du Fonds européen d'aide aux plus démunis, pour le porter à 3,5 milliards.

Mais pour le reste, Monsieur le Président, si le Conseil européen est cohérent, s'il veut vraiment faire de l'emploi des jeunes une question prioritaire, alors il faut traiter d'autres questions. Et lorsque je vois la façon dont vous renvoyez toujours aux réformes structurelles, sans remettre en cause l'impact des mesures d'austérité et le résultat qu'on a pu observer dans les pays où elles ont été, de manière disciplinée, mises en œuvre, il y a là une impasse que vous refusez de voir.

Il y a aussi, Monsieur le Président, cette conviction que le retour à l'emploi ne se fera pas dans les pays de la périphérie si vous ne résolvez pas la question de l'union bancaire, Or, ici, dès décembre 2012, vous aviez un accord de principe pour l'union bancaire, et nous ne voyons pas beaucoup de progrès.

Quant à vous, Monsieur le Président Barroso, qu'avez-vous fait du pacte de croissance, depuis un an? Pourquoi est-ce que, un an plus tard, on nous redit qu'il y a un accord sur un pacte de croissance? Où sont les résultats de mise en œuvre qui sont de votre responsabilité pour mobiliser ces milliards au service de la croissance et de l'emploi?

  Peter van Dalen (ECR). - Voorzitter, in Raadsconclusie nr. 11 lees ik dat de Europese Top verheugd is over de opening van de onderhandelingen over een vrijhandelsakkoord tussen de Verenigde Staten en Europa. Ik vind dat woord "verheugd" echt een misser, want toen afgelopen vrijdag die conclusies werden opgeschreven, was al bekend dat de Amerikaanse inlichtingendiensten Europese overheden op grote schaal bespioneren. Een goed werkend vrijhandelsakkoord tussen Europa en de Verenigde Staten moet gebaseerd zijn op vertrouwen en integriteit, maar de onderlinge relatie heeft door het afluisterschandaal een enorme deuk opgelopen.

Het is daarom van belang, Voorzitter, dat Europa samen met de Obama-administratie een top houdt waarbij Obama openheid van zaken geeft. Alleen op die manier kan er sprake zijn van een goede relatie tussen Europa en de Verenigde Staten. Pas dan, Voorzitter, zijn we écht verheugd.

  Lorenzo Fontana (EFD). - Signor Presidente, onorevoli colleghi, devo dire, intanto, che sono abbastanza incuriosito dal fatto che qualcuno si sia sorpreso che gli Stati Uniti ci spiassero – come se fosse una novità – ma devo anche dirvi – non so se lo sapete – che in una delle regioni italiane del nord, la Lombardia, si fanno più intercettazioni che in tutti gli Stati Uniti, quindi dovremmo guardare anche ai problemi di libertà e di privacy che ci sono all'interno degli Stati membri prima di andare a guardare quelli di oltre Atlantico.

Devo dirvi un'altra cosa, io ho visto che sono stati erogati più fondi, adesso, per la disoccupazione giovanile, ma mi chiedo una cosa: è stata chiesta l'austerità da parte dell'Europa e l'austerità ha portato a più tasse; più tasse hanno fatto sì che ci fosse maggiore disoccupazione e quindi adesso l'Europa, che è quella che ha creato la disoccupazione dà dei soldi – pochi, a dir la verità, perché sembra quasi un'aspirina che cerca di curare un malato terminale – per la disoccupazione giovanile.

Non è il caso che magari togliamo un po' d'Europa e facciamo respirare un po' di più i paesi e gli Stati membri, facciamo in modo che ci sia un po' meno tassazione, per fare in modo che le aziende riprendano la loro capacità produttiva e così si riprenda anche l'occupazione?

  Mario Borghezio (NI). - Signor Presidente, onorevoli colleghi, è stato molto pubblicizzato quello che si è inteso fare in questo Consiglio europeo, si dice, per tutelare i piccoli risparmiatori con la clausola dei 100 mila euro.

Mi sembra però invece più che evidente il grandissimo favore finanziario che le scelte del Consiglio hanno inteso fare alle banche dei paesi a economia più forte. Se infatti nella graduatoria delle azioni creditrici nei casi di default bancari si dà precedenza negativa ai grandi gruppi, questo è come dare un bell'annuncio ai gruppi con sede nei paesi europei a economia più debole di trasmigrare il più presto possibile verso le più sicure banche dei paesi forti, con tanti saluti alla strategia spesso strombazzata di riavvicinamento fra le economie del nord e del sud Europa.

Sono tutti provvedimenti, quelli che sono stati divulgati che lasciano – a parte questo – il tempo che trovano, non parliamo nemmeno, per carità, di patria europea, di quelli sul lavoro giovanile: quattro ciliegie. C'è una sola cosa che si deve fare, abrogare i derivati che sono la causa del default bancario, della truffa internazionale bancaria voluta e protetta dai superpoteri occulti tipo Trilateral e Bilderberg Club che attualmente governa il mio paese.

  Giuseppe Gargani (PPE). - Signor Presidente, onorevoli colleghi, qualche giorno fa il G8 si è chiuso auspicando un lavoro per i giovani, ma è stato detto nel comunicato finale che l'economia globale è debole e che l'Europa, signor Presidente del Consiglio, è un buco nero.

È un buco nero perché gli errori della politica europea – rigore senza nessuna progettazione per lo sviluppo, senza strategia politica – hanno portato alla situazione di difficoltà nella quale ci troviamo. Persino la Germania – l'on. Swoboda ce l'ha spiegato stamattina, l'ha ricordato – è in difficoltà, si era illusa di poter probabilmente esportare anche fuori dall'Europa e non si è resa conto che se l'Europa era debole finiva per essere debole essa stessa.

Il vertice ha avuto un risultato molto parziale, ha rinviato le scelte vere, ha indicato somme anche superiori a quelle che erano previste di 6-8 miliardi per concretizzare un programma di occupazione giovanile, ma non si sa come vengano spese, quale sarà la concreta ed effettiva possibilità di poter addirittura nel 2014 e nel 2015 avere la concretizzazione e la spesa di questa somma.

Il ruolo della BEI – che è la cosa più importante – il ruolo cioè della Banca europea per gli investimenti, non viene assolutamente individuato e, come è stato detto, essa non è neppure citata nel comunicato finale. Le scelte politiche non ci sono e la divisione tra i paesi del nord e i paesi del sud è acuita e quindi se l'ammontare del bilancio dell'UE dell'1% rispetto al PIL e gli Stati impongono il pareggio di bilancio, io credo che non ci sia la possibilità di poter programmare a oggi, con questa politica, uno sviluppo per l'Europa.

  Alejandro Cercas (S&D). - Señor Presidente, señores Presidentes del Consejo y de la Comisión Europea, permítanme que, con el mayor respeto, pero también con la mayor sinceridad, les exprese mi indignación, porque es tal —no solo mi desilusión—, con los resultados del último Consejo.

Señor Van Rompuy, no conozco a un solo europeísta español ni a un solo europeísta belga ni de ninguna otra nacionalidad que pueda afirmar hoy, como usted, que estamos por el buen camino; al contrario, hay división de opiniones. Unos piensan que el Consejo ha sido totalmente indiferente; otros, que ha sido totalmente negativo con relación a la recuperación económica, la creación de empleo, la construcción de una Europa más democrática.

Hay una unanimidad total en la opinión de que estamos equivocados. Aún más en cuanto a la unión económica y monetaria, ya que no solo no existe una verdadera unión económica y monetaria, sino que ni siquiera se han cumplido las promesas que ustedes hicieron en el Consejo de julio del año pasado. No nos ha traído el pilar social. Ni está ni se le espera.

Por tanto, señores, la desilusión es profunda. No entre gente que busca la confrontación o la revolución, sino entre los que creen que Europa es algo más que una libre zona de comercio. Una indignación por lo que han hecho en sus recomendaciones a los Estados miembros (más austeridad y nada nuevo con respecto al crecimiento) y también por lo que no han hecho. No han hecho nada por incrementar el contenido democrático del proyecto europeo, no han hecho nada por devolvernos la Europa ilusionada, la Europa de la cohesión, de la justicia social, la Europa de una comunidad de valores.

Están ustedes, señores, muy equivocados y lo peor es que están conduciendo a Europa a un callejón sin salida.

  Bastiaan Belder (EFD). - Voorzitter, de Top van eind vorige week stond goeddeels in het teken van de schrikbarend hoge jeugdwerkloosheid en Europese financiering om de groei te bevorderen. Van dat laatste verwacht ik eerlijk gezegd niet veel. De maatregelen moeten immers uit de lidstaten zelf komen.

Daarom ben ik ook blij met de oproep dat de lidstaten met hoge werkloosheid de arbeidsmarkt moeten hervormen. Dit laat onverlet dat de weerbarstige eurocrisis het echte probleem vormt. De bankenunie geeft daarop niet het juiste antwoord. Een wisselkoersmechanisme biedt perspectief op verbetering van de concurrentiekracht waar we zo om verlegen zitten in Europa. Meer Europa en centralisatie doen dat echt niet. Daarom sta ik afwijzend tegenover een Europese economische regering en verwacht ik weinig heil van de vergezichten van de heer Van Rompuy.

Tevens is er afgelopen week een akkoord gesloten over het meerjarig financieel kader 2014-2020. Onwenselijk zijn de stappen op weg naar eigen middelen voor de Europese Unie. De EU staat ten dienste van de lidstaten en dat moet blijken in de financiering door middel van lidstaatbijdragen.

  Elisabeth Morin-Chartier (PPE). - Monsieur le Président, Monsieur le Président du Conseil, Monsieur le Président de la Commission, le Conseil européen de février nous avait fortement déçus, et il a bien fallu que le Parlement pèse de tout son poids pour rectifier un peu le tir. Merci à Alain Lamassoure de ce qu'il a fait en ce sens.

Mais je vous mets en garde. Vous n'êtes pas encore au rendez-vous de l'Europe sociale. Avec l'initiative pour l'emploi des jeunes, vous envoyez un signal de mobilisation aux chefs d'État et de gouvernement. Mais vous savez combien ce phénomène du chômage des jeunes est en pleine accélération. Aujourd'hui, il y a 10 % de chômeurs en Europe, mais 23,5 % des jeunes sont des chômeurs. Nous désespérons les jeunes. Ensuite, depuis 2008, ce chômage des jeunes est en pleine accélération et a été multiplié par 2.

Il y a un point à propos duquel je voudrais vous suggérer de revoir votre vision des choses. Cette initiative pour l'emploi des jeunes cible les jeunes de 15 à 25 ans. Mais pensez qu'aujourd'hui, avec la crise, les jeunes allongent leurs études. Nous avons de plus en plus de jeunes diplômés entre 25 et 30 ans qui sont des chômeurs. Si nous passons de 15 à 30 ans, nous doublons le nombre de jeunes chômeurs. Vous ne pouvez pas désespérer cette génération des 25-30 ans. Vous ne pouvez pas les abandonner.

Il y a un deuxième point sur lequel je vous demande de revoir votre copie. Il s'agit des régions qui comptent 25 % de jeunes chômeurs. Vous devez introduire une vision dynamique de l'évolution de ce chômage des jeunes. Vous devez introduire une vision des départs des jeunes vers d'autres régions. Vous ne garantirez l'efficacité de cette politique que si vous avez cette vision dynamique. Vous courez toujours après la réalité. Nous vous demandons de tomber dans la réalité, vraiment!

  Véronique De Keyser (S&D). - Monsieur le Président, je me joins aux voix de ceux qui, tout en reconnaissant qu'il y a eu un compromis et que mieux vaut un compromis que rien du tout, se disent que ce compromis, en tout cas, ne répond en rien aux besoins immenses des populations aujourd'hui et de celles qui voudraient encore croire en l'Europe.

On a parlé des jeunes. On a dit "bon, il y a la garantie jeunesse, il y a des choses qui vont être faites pour eux", mais – celle qui m'a précédée l'a dit aussi – le problème est tellement important que ceci est une goutte d'eau dans la mer. Les plans d'austérité, aujourd'hui, empêchent les pays de pourvoir à leurs obligations.

Mais l'Europe n'est pas le relais suffisant. Je voudrais revenir sur un point qui n'a pas été évoqué aujourd'hui. On parle des plus vulnérables. On n'a pas dit un mot sur le fait que, dans ces accords aujourd'hui, la coopération au développement et l'aide humanitaire ont été complètement sapées. Nous savons aujourd'hui qu'en tant que partenaire mondial, l'Union européenne a des engagements envers le tiers-monde, qu'il y a des engagements dans des crises qui sont prévisibles. Ce n'est pas l'instrument de flexibilité qui doit jouer, il ne s'agit pas de flexibilité. Nous savons que la Syrie, aujourd'hui, est un désastre, nous savons que le Sahel est un désastre et nous coupons allègrement là-dedans.

Alors, si nous ne faisons rien pour nos jeunes, si nous faisons trop peu pour les plus démunis et si, en plus, nous n'en faisons pas assez par rapport aux crises du monde, c'est l'image même de l'Europe aujourd'hui qui va en prendre un coup. Et je voudrais bien que, puisque nous n'en sommes pas encore exactement au vote du cadre pluriannuel, ces considérations-là soient prises en compte.

  Jacek Protasiewicz (PPE). - Panie Przewodniczący! Moje poprzedniczki bardzo krytycznie wypowiadały się o ustaleniach szczytu, ale ja mam wrażenie, że właśnie o ile nie zawsze mamy do czynienia ze szczytami, które przynoszą wymierne rezultaty i konkretne pozytywne decyzje, to właśnie zeszłotygodniowa Rada Europejska należy do tych, o których można powiedzieć, że przywódcy Unii Europejskiej potrafią właściwie odczytywać problemy, reagować na wyzwania i próbować zaradzać największym plagom, jakie spotykają zwłaszcza młodzież europejską.

Mam tutaj rzeczywiście na myśli dwie decyzje, które były z mojej perspektywy kluczowe. Pierwsza dotyczy porozumienia w sprawie wieloletnich ram finansowych – to jest tego budżetu Unii, na który ludzie, przedsiębiorcy, samorządowcy, działacze organizacji pozarządowych, ale też zwykli obywatele, w wielu regionach Europy naprawdę czekali. To są czasami jedyne pieniądze, które uruchomione od przyszłego roku mogą procentować konkretnymi inwestycjami, dlatego że rządów narodowych czy władz regionalnych nie stać na prowadzenie inwestycji publicznych bez użycia funduszy europejskich. Chciałbym za tę decyzję serdecznie podziękować i pogratulować zarówno przewodniczącemu Parlamentu jak i przewodniczącemu Komisji i Rady – wiele milionów Europejczyków na nią czekało.

Druga decyzja, może mało ambitna z pewnej perspektywy, ale jednak również zasługująca na uznanie, to zwiększenie o 30% wydatków (minimum 30% jak słyszeliśmy z ust pana przewodniczącego Van Rompuya) na walkę z tą plagą jaką jest bezrobocie młodzieży.

Mam nadzieje, że te fundusze na wsparcie programów narodowych przyniosą wymierne rezultaty, nie tylko w liczbie nowych miejsc pracy, nie tylko w zmniejszeniu liczby młodzieży, która jest bezczynna, nie ma możliwości podjęcia pracy, albo kontynuowania zatrudnienia, ale również, co ważne, że wśród tych młodych ludzi, którzy dzisiaj są rozczarowani, sfrustrowani, przywróci ona wiarę w sens projektu europejskiego, w sens Unii Europejskiej jako tej instytucji, która rozumie potrzeby zwykłych obywateli, a nie tylko polityków i bankierów.

  Jaime Mayor Oreja (PPE). - Señor Presidente, señor Van Rompuy, señor Barroso, simplemente quiero decir que, para nosotros, el Consejo Europeo constituye la confirmación de que se está gestando una nueva agenda de prioridades que sin duda caminan en la buena dirección y por eso, sin duda, les felicito. Porque la Unión Europea debe afrontar a corto plazo dos problemas especialmente dramáticos: en primer lugar, el desempleo —y especialmente el juvenil— y, en segundo lugar, la fragmentación de los mercados financieros.

Por eso, en la medida de sus competencias, esta Cumbre va marcando una preocupación por el desempleo juvenil que no se había producido hasta la fecha y al que se han destinado 8 000 millones de euros; y, claro que no es la panacea, pero va en la buena dirección. Como también va en la buena dirección que hoy en España, en el mes de junio, haya más de 125 000 parados menos. Va en la buena dirección, es un paso más en la buena dirección.

Y también acogemos con satisfacción las medidas que se están produciendo para evitar la fragmentación de los mercados financieros y eso será bueno para las pequeñas y medianas empresas y también para la Unión Europea, porque no se puede castigar a determinadas empresas en función de su localización geográfica.

En definitiva, claro que hace falta avanzar en muchas cosas en la Unión Europea: en la unión bancaria, en el sistema de arquitectura institucional de la Unión Europea, en la supervisión, en la recapitalización directa de los bancos, en el mecanismo de resolución única, en el fondo de resolución común. Pero ustedes están acertando en que van por la agenda de la buena dirección en los problemas que preocupan realmente a los europeos.

  Ildikó Gáll-Pelcz (PPE). - Először is szeretném azzal kezdeni a hozzászólásomat, hogy gratulálok a tanácsi ülésnek a következtetéseihez. Nagyon fontos kérdésekben született végmegállapodás, és ezek jó része előremutató. Itt szeretnék gratulálni Horvátország csatlakozásához, a megkezdendő további csatlakozási tárgyalásokhoz, és elsőként ki szeretném emelni, hogy üdvözlöm, hogy a Tanács következtetéseiben a válságkezelésre talán most először egy komplex megközelítést javasolt, komplex megközelítést, rájött arra, hogy nincs pénzügyi válság külön, nincs gazdasági válság külön, nincs munkaerő-piaci vagy éppen szociális válság külön.

Annak is örülök, hogyha lépés születik olyan irányban, hogy a tanácsi ülésen elfogadják a tagállami megoldásokat, és rájönnek végre, hogy más feltételrendszerek között az egyes tagállamok nem alkalmazhatnak ugyanolyan válságkezelési módokat.

Örülök annak is, hogy hazám, Magyarország ezen az úton indult el, és ennek eredményeképpen elmondhatom, hogy a foglalkoztatottság nőtt, a munkanélküliség csökkent, az államadósság csökkent, a költségvetési hiány tartósan csökkent, és ennek eredményeképpen több mint 9 év után végre kikerültünk a túlzottdeficit-eljárás alól is.

Annak is örülök, hogy a bankunió témájában előrelépés született, mégpedig oly módon, hogy a szolidaritást is figyelemmel kísérve és figyelemmel tartva tekintettel vannak arra, hogy azon országok, amelyek nem tagjai a zónának legalább olyan beleszólást kapjanak a későbbi esetekben is.

Öröm az is, hogy a kkv-témakörben is határozott ajánlás születik a hiteláramlások növelésére, mert mégiscsak ez az egyedüli potenciális növekedési lehetőség a gazdasági növekedés beindítására. Amit zárásként szeretnék hangsúlyozni: nagy öröm számomra, hogy az Európai Tanács ülése kiemelten foglalkozott az Európát sújtó árvizekkel, és egy olyan megállapítással zárta a következtetéseit, amely iránymutató lehet a Bizottság számára, és segítheti a mi munkánkat is a délutáni vitában, amely ugyanezzel a kérdéssel foglalkozik.

  El Presidente. − Comprenderán todos ustedes que, entre otras cosas por el sentido de la Historia que tengo y que comparto con el señor Pöttering, me sienta muy feliz y muy emocionado por poder dar la palabra al primer colega croata en la historia del Parlamento Europeo que va a intervenir en el Pleno. Con mucha emoción le doy la palabra al amigo Andrej Plenković para que tome la palabra, también en nombre de su pueblo.

(Aplausos)

  Andrej Plenković (PPE). - Hvala lijepa, gospodine potpredsjedniče, hvala Vam što ste bili u Zagrebu prije dva dana s nama na proslavi članstva Hrvatske u Europskoj uniji. Zahvaljujem i predsjedniku Europskog vijeća, g. Van Rompuyu, i predsjedniku Europske komisije na toploj dobrodošlici, kao i svim kolegama koji su zaista učinili ova prva dva dana izuzetnim za sve nove izravno izabrane hrvatske zastupnike.

Drago mi je da je Europsko vijeće prije nekoliko dana donijelo nekoliko bitnih, važnih odluka koje se reflektiraju i na prioritete i očekivanja Republike Hrvatske od članstva u Europskoj uniji. Prije svega, drago mi je da je uoči Europskog vijeća postignut dogovor i o proračunu, o takozvanoj Dab1 reviziji za 2013., tako da Hrvatska od ovog tjedna kad izglasamo taj proračun može normalno funkcionirati u proračunskom smislu kao država članica. Isto tako, cijenim napore kolega u Parlamentu koji su u pregovorima s Vijećem došli do kompromisa o višegodišnjem financijskom okviru (MFF) na tih pet bitnih elemenata: i o jedinstvu proračuna, i o reviziji MFF-a, i o vlastitim prihodima te transparentnosti i fleksibilnosti. Za Hrvatsku su posebno bitni oni aspekti zaključaka koji se odnose na zapošljavanje mladih, to je problem koji je jednako prisutan i u Hrvatskoj kao i u mnogim članicama Unije te od njega očekujemo da nam upravo s ovim unaprijed koncentriranim sredstvima između 2014. i 2016. olakša rješavanje ovog bitnog društvenog problema.

Također, veselimo se i novim investicijama u malo i srednje poduzetništvo jer je upravo ono kičma europskoga gospodarstva, a važno je i za gospodarski oporavak Hrvatske. Također smatram da je za Hrvatsku ova prigoda koja se ukazuje sada važna zato što ćemo dogovorom o MFF-u imati mogućnost brzo donijeti i dinamične odluke za sve ostale odredbe koje će omogućiti naše financiranje.

A samo na kraju, g. Farageu poručujem da smo imali debate uoči našeg referenduma. Nije nikada bio u Hrvatskoj prije 2011., a pokušao nam je patronizirati raspravu i strateški cilj od 20 godina. Savjetujem mu da se drži svog Isle of Man.

Intervenciones con arreglo al procedimiento de solicitud incidental de uso de la palabra («catch the eye»)

  Mairead McGuinness (PPE). - Mr President, I have moved from the back benches to the front rows in recent times and – Mr Farage will be disappointed when I say this – the new mood in this House is much calmer than it has been for some time.

That is a reflection of the solid, calm work of the Commission, Council and Parliament in taking step-by-step, measured responses to the crisis. They are not headline-grabbers, Mr Farage – something you always try to do – but they are important for our citizens. The day we stop taking a measured step-by-step approach to the problems will be the day that Europe will fail.

So I would say to all of us in this House who have families, children, parents and who have responsibilities: do not to be led by the noises of the extremists.

  Csaba Sándor Tabajdi (S&D). - Egyetértek azzal, hogy az európai állam- és kormányfők 8 milliárdra megnövelték az európai ifjúsági garanciára elkülönített forrásokat, bár meg kell, hogy jegyezzem: ez az összeg messze elmarad a Nemzetközi Munkaügyi Szervezet, az ILO által becsült 21 milliárd eurós minimális összegtől. Ahhoz, hogy az Európai Unió eljusson Ausztria vagy Finnország jelenlegi szintjére, ahhoz évi 30 milliárd euróra lenne szükség. Örömteli, hogy az Unió egyik legsikeresebb kezdeményezését az Erasmus programot is sikerült megmenteni. Ami pedig a kohéziós politikát illeti nagyon fontos, hogy annak a felhasználási szabályaiból kerüljön ki a makroökonómiai feltételrendszer, amely a kistérségeket, a vállalkozásokat bünteti a rossz politika miatt. Végezetül magyarként nagy öröm volt hallani déli szomszédunk...

(az elnök elveszi a szót)

  Izaskun Bilbao Barandica (ALDE). - Señor Presidente, coincido con el señor Van Rompuy en que, sin sobresaltos, vamos dando pasos para poder consolidar una verdadera unión económica y monetaria.

La crisis ha sido definitiva para conseguir estos avances, pero sus urgencias nos exigen más velocidad y decisión en asuntos como la lucha contra la pobreza, la recuperación del crédito o los programas de reactivación y creación de empleo, especialmente en el ámbito juvenil, más políticas de crecimiento, adaptar la consolidación fiscal a las condiciones económicas, contemplar los bonos-proyecto a emitir por el BEI, así como otro tipo de bonos para poner en marcha los programas destinados a microempresas, trabajadores y familias, y también para impulsar proyectos de I+D+I ha sido la aportación de mi partido a la posición común con la que España se presentó en esta Cumbre.

Les pido, además, que no olviden que —como ha dicho el señor Barroso— la recuperación empieza y requiere un esfuerzo coordinado de los Estados miembros. Animo por ello a la Comisión a que impida...

(El Presidente interrumpe a la oradora)

  João Ferreira (GUE/NGL). - Senhor Presidente, as conclusões do Conselho Europeu, embrulhadas em novas doses de propaganda, não iludem a dura e crua realidade dos factos. Olhemos para as medidas sobre desemprego jovem: proposta de 6 mil milhões de euros que não sabemos de onde vêm nem para onde vão, mas sabemos que a OIT admitiu serem necessários, pelo menos, 21 mil milhões para que um programa de promoção do emprego possa ter algum impacto. Outras propostas: subvenções salariais e promoção da mobilidade laboral transfronteiras, ou seja, o orçamento comunitário a financiar diretamente a precariedade laboral e a fuga de cérebros da periferia para o centro. Outra proposta: redução dos custos não salariais do trabalho, ou seja, descapitalizar ainda mais os sistemas públicos de segurança social e aumentar os lucros do patronato, sem nenhum efeito prático na criação de emprego, que só crescerá com o aumento da procura, o que só acontecerá com a melhoria dos salários que estão a ser esmagados. Em suma, nada de novo, tudo velho, tudo muito velho.

  El Presidente. − Gracias João y felicidades a los intérpretes por su trabajo.

  Andrzej Grzyb (PPE). - Panie Przewodniczący! To, co mnie szczególnie interesuje, to ważne decyzje, które zostały podjęte. Po pierwsze, zaakceptowanie porozumienia budżetowego na lata 2014–2020. Nie było wcale oczywiste, że to porozumienie dojdzie do skutku. Po drugie, są nowe środki – choć niewystarczające – na bezrobocie młodzieży, ale ten problem staramy się rozwiązać. Powinniśmy zrobić więcej! Po trzecie, podjęta została próba rozwiązania kryzysu kredytowego. Małe i średnie przedsiębiorstwa potrzebują kapitału. Małe i średnie przedsiębiorstwa to są te podmioty, w których można utworzyć nowe miejsca pracy. Podobnie jest również z tworzeniem nowych przedsiębiorstw.

Chcę podziękować prezydencji Irlandii i powitać nową prezydencję, prezydencję litewską, która przejmie szereg zadań. Irlandia dokończyła jednak ważne dzieła. Chciałbym także z zadowoleniem stwierdzić, że Chorwacja jest nowym członkiem, że pan poseł Plenković – pierwszy raz jako poseł Chorwacji będącej już pełnym członkiem – zabrał tutaj głos. I z zadowoleniem witam...

(Przewodniczący odebrał mówcy głos.)

  Phil Prendergast (S&D). - Mr President, having rejected the Council’s initial proposal for the MFF, we pushed as far as we could for more funding to address a mounting unemployment crisis, particularly amongst our youth, for investment in training, regional development and infrastructure and for more flexibility in the use of funds in order to address our priorities at a time of recession.

In the face of conservative austerity-bent majorities across the EU institutions, we find ourselves forced to settle for a minimum. At the same time, the Council continues to drag its feet on a resolution mechanism for broken banks, to release the public purse from the vice-grip of toxic banking debt, which was – let us not forget – the foremost cause of the economic crisis we face.

The austerity experiment goes on, ignoring the fact that the root of the problem – public expenditure on public goods, social services and welfare support – did not bring us to the brink. We have to acknowledge reality and stop suffocating our economies – for growth’s sake.

  Alda Sousa (GUE/NGL). - Senhor Presidente, as conclusões e o acordo a que se chegou em relação ao Quadro Financeiro Plurianual para 2014-2020 vão condenar esta Europa à austeridade eterna e é de lamentar que o grupo dos socialistas, que esteve em oposição a este quadro em fevereiro, agora esteja de acordo com as conclusões e que tenha sido uma parte integrante importante e a muleta do PPE neste acordo.

Este acordo não só não traz nada de novo como mascara a realidade. Os 6 mil milhões de euros para o emprego jovem não são dinheiro novo, metade desse dinheiro vai ser retirado do Fundo Social Europeu. É um insulto, não consegue de maneira nenhuma reverter o desemprego na Europa. A ajuda aos mais desfavorecidos é apenas uma migalha de que este Parlamento deveria ter vergonha.

Gostava agora de perguntar ao Senhor Presidente da Comissão ...

(O Presidente retira a palavra à oradora)

  Daniel Cohn-Bendit (Verts/ALE). - Monsieur le Président, vous devriez changer l'énoncé, ce n'est pas catch the eye, c'est catch the list.

  Le Président. - Non, vous vous trompez, Monsieur Cohn-Bendit, ce n'est pas catch the list, c'est catch the eye.

Mais vous avez une liste.

  Le Président. - Non, je n'ai pas de liste. Enfin, j'ai une liste, mais j'ai un catch the eye. Ce qu'on ne peut pas faire, c'est s'interrompre à chaque fois que quelqu'un souhaite intervenir au milieu du débat parce qu'alors, on n'en finirait jamais. Je vous remercie, Monsieur Cohn-Bendit. De toute façon, je prends note de votre remarque.

  Andrew Henry William Brons (NI). - Mr President, increased mobility is not so much a cure for youth unemployment as it is a cause, at least in the West. Unemployment in the South is caused directly by a euro that is over-valued for those countries, but the European Council is determined to keep on expanding the zone. The European Council wants to improve growth and competitiveness, but the EU’s energy policy pushes up energy costs, making industry less competitive. It even provides incentives for manufacturers like Corus near Middlesbrough to move production to India. Immigration – two thirds of it from outside the EU in the case of the UK – is giving our jobs to people from outside. Increasing globalism will make industry in the EU try unsuccessfully to compete with emergent economies. The European Council does not so much have a cure for the recession, it is part of the problem.

  Juan Andrés Naranjo Escobar (PPE). - Señor Presidente, como de costumbre a lo largo de estos años de crisis, el Consejo Europeo reacciona a trompicones, como lo demuestran las decisiones en el ámbito de la unión bancaria, que avanza con lentitud exasperante.

En lo que se refiere al presupuesto para los próximos siete años, partimos de una realidad dura, un importe de gasto que se sitúa a niveles de 2008, pero que es explicable por dos razones insoslayables: la crisis fiscal de casi todos los Estados miembros y la lógica de los ingresos de la Unión, que obedece más a los intereses nacionales que a un bien general comunitario.

Detrás de esta cuestión late, en el fondo, la necesidad de una reforma profunda que nos lleve a la unión fiscal, sin la que no pueden funcionar correctamente las políticas económicas y presupuestarias de la Unión y de los Estados en un área de moneda única.

Pero también tenemos noticias buenas para el presupuesto: revisión de cifras, flexibilidad para pagos y compromisos, ayuda al empleo juvenil y, por fin, la posibilidad de reformar los recursos propios.

  Monika Flašíková Beňová (S&D) - Hlavnou témou samitu bola otázka nezamestnanosti mladých a hoci témy, ako je zvýšenie konkurencieschopnosti, rastu a zamestnanosti, sa preberajú stále dookola, akosi sa nám stále nedarí dopracovať sa ku konkrétnym výsledkom.

Považujem za veľmi dôležité pripomenúť, že miera nezamestnanosti mladých ľudí v rámci Európskej únie vzrástla už na 21 percent, čo zodpovedá 5,5 miliónu mladých ľudí. Za ostatné roky navyše počet mladých ľudí bez práce dramaticky narastá.

Boj proti nezamestnanosti mladých si vyžaduje komplexný prístup a správne cielené investície a je našou povinnosťou zmobilizovať všetky dostupné nástroje. Máme predsa štrukturálne fondy, máme Európsky sociálny fond, ktorý je jedným z hlavných finančných nástrojov na úrovni Európskej únie. Uvedomme si konečne, že sociálne investície, to nie sú len výdavky, sú to investície, ktoré v budúcnosti prinesú reálne zlepšenie.

  Ana Miranda (Verts/ALE). - Senhor Presidente, Senhor Barroso, estamos a falar hoje de políticas centradas no emprego, de políticas para combater a crise, de políticas para combater o desemprego juvenil. No dia 17 de abril, o Colégio de Comissários vai tomar uma decisão estratégica sobre o setor naval, na Galiza, no País Basco e nas Astúrias. Uma decisão estratégica que também está no Quadro Financeiro Plurianual porque são políticas industriais, de luta contra o desemprego e nós, neste Parlamento, pedimos-lhe, e esta será a oportunidade antes dessa reunião do Colégio de Comissários, que tenha em conta o setor naval e essa possível multa pelo sistema de tax lease que vai deixar sem emprego mais de 30 mil famílias.

  El Presidente. − Gracias, señora Miranda. Seguro que el señor Barroso la ha comprendido a usted perfectamente en su versión del portugués.

  Jan Kozłowski (PPE). - Panie Przewodniczący! Z zadowoleniem przyjąłem konkluzje z zeszłotygodniowego posiedzenia Rady, zarówno te dotyczące uzgodnienia wieloletnich ram finansowych, na które czekały wszystkie regiony i wszystkie środowiska, jak i decyzje dotyczące bezrobocia młodzieży. Dramatyczna sytuacja młodzieży na rynku pracy wymaga zdecydowanych i szybkich działań, dlatego za słuszną uważam decyzję o koncentracji większości środków na walkę z bezrobociem młodych w pierwszych dwóch latach nowej perspektywy finansowej. Unia Europejska dysponuje instrumentami, które dobrze wykorzystane dają możliwość wsparcia. Szczególny potencjał posiada Europejski Fundusz Społeczny, ale poza tzw. gwarancjami dla młodzieży, które są głównym środkiem polityki społecznej, należy skupić się przede wszystkim na działaniach, które będą pomagały tworzyć nowe miejsca pracy i pobudzały przedsiębiorczość.

(Fin de las intervenciones con arreglo al procedimiento de solicitud incidental de uso de la palabra («catch the eye»))

  José Manuel Barroso, President of the Commission. − Mr President, regarding the European Council issues, the question that was directed to me was about what the European Union has been doing regarding the implementation of the growth compact.

Before the European Council I sent to all Heads of State and Government, and also to the European Parliament through its President, a very clear and transparent report on the implementation of the Growth Compact, where I signalled, in very clear terms, what has been done, what has not been done and what is in the process of being completed.

I invite all of you – those who have not yet seen that report – to look at it attentively because I think it is a very important exercise in transparency as regards the real implementation of the Compact for Growth and Jobs.

As I said in my introductory remarks, the ‘bilan’ is rather mixed. There are, it is fair to say, important points of progress, but there are still matters where we need to do more, namely in terms of implementation. Most of the bottlenecks, if you look at this report, are mainly in terms of national implementation. This is the fair, objective assessment we can give to you.

The Commission, apart from many initiatives that it has taken – from the initial proposal to the increase of the EIB lending capacity, to the project bonds, to the Youth Guarantee scheme and many other initiatives – has committed to redirect and redeploy the structural funds for growth.

I would like now to report to you more concretely. I am pleased to confirm that the EUR 55 billion representing the last tranche of the European Union budget to complete current programmes – the 2013 tranche – has now been allocated to all programmes. In other words, the full budget of cohesion policy for the period 2007-2013 – EUR 346 billion – has been made available to Member States.

The Commission is now working with Member States to ensure that these resources are mobilised rapidly and efficiently to support growth in investment and jobs. Several Member States – Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Sweden – have reported on frontloading their programmes and have already allocated all the 2013 funds or will do so soon. Other Member States have indicated that selection processes are well underway – for instance Germany, France, Poland and the UK. I urge those Member States who have not yet done so to accelerate selection processes for prompt implementation.

Concerning structural fund reprogramming to date, I would like to remind Members of this House that, since 2009, more than EUR 39 billion has been reprogrammed to support the most pressing needs and reinforce effective measures – with the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund accounting for EUR 32.7 billion and the European Social Fund (ESF) accounting for EUR 6.5 billion.

These measures have been accompanied by exceptional increases in the European Union cofinancing rate for nine Member States, reducing national financing by EUR 19 billion by May 2013 and adding a further cofinancing top-up for the programme countries, namely paying EUR 1.7 billion.

These measures have reduced national cofinancing requirements by EUR 20.7 billion. This takes pressure away from national budgets in the most vulnerable countries at a time of crisis. I could go on at length explaining some of the measures, namely the action teams for tackling youth unemployment and many other concrete measures. I invite you to look at this report on the Compact for Growth and Jobs where you will see afterwards, in a very graphic way as well, all the measures that were announced by the European Council and the Council where we have shown the different levels of implementation in green, yellow and red.

I believe that when we speak about transparency and accountability this should not be only words, but we should really put them into practice. I think this is clearly important.

If I may now make a more general political remark, I hope that Members of the European Parliament, namely those coming from the pro-European families, resist the temptation that is unfortunately very common among some national politicians when there is a problem in the economy to put the blame on Brussels or on the European Union, instead of doing their own homework and instead of doing what they should do at home to reform their economies, to promote investment and in fact to make our economies more competitive.

I think this point is very important bearing in mind the European Parliament elections we are going to have next year. Because if the main political forces, those with the great tradition of supporting the European project, start criticising the European Union, if they think they will gain or make points with that, they are completely wrong. Because in the business of attacking the European Union there are others that are much better than the mainstream political forces and at the end they are going to be the ones who will benefit from these kinds of populist attacks.

That is why I want to conclude, and since I cannot mention all the statements, by praising one statement that I particularly liked during today’s meeting. It was Ms McGuinness’s remark. It was brief but she touched on a very important point. We have to deal with these matters with a great sense of responsibility. We should not ask the European level what the European level cannot deliver now. I can assure you that at European level, together with the European Parliament, we are using to the full all the instruments we have to promote growth and stability in Europe.

However, we have to do it in a spirit of responsibility on a step-by-step approach; highlighting what has been achieved and also being honest about what has not yet been achieved.

It is true that there are many matters where we need to do more and in a more determined and quicker manner. But I think this is the language of truth. This is the only way to reconnect Europe to citizens; to talk with them responsibly; to tell them the truth and not to create illusions that we are not able to fulfil and to avoid the narrow vision of some nationalism or some chauvinism that can only do harm to our European Union – a European Union that, despite all the difficulties, is indeed showing its resilience and its very strong power of attraction. Not only has Croatia now joined the European Union, but also the Union is giving the green light for Latvia to become the next member of the euro family.

My dear friends of the European Parliament, I remember that more or less one year ago people were speaking about the implosion of the euro and now I see new members for the euro, new members for the European Union. In spite of all the difficulties I see this Europe has a great future if we do it in a responsible constructive way.

  Herman Van Rompuy, Conseil européen. − Monsieur le Président, chers collègues, je remercie d'abord tous les intervenants. Je remercie tout particulièrement ceux qui sont intervenus d'une façon positive par rapport aux conclusions du Conseil européen. C'est tellement rare que je chéris ces moments et que je les retiens.

Certains d'entre vous ont parlé de la faillite de la politique menée – ce qu'on appelle la politique d'austérité. Eh bien, la politique que l'on mène, c'est beaucoup plus qu'une politique d'austérité. Je l'ai expliqué tout au début de mon introduction. C'est une politique, une stratégie en quatre points: assurer la stabilité financière, favoriser le rétablissement de finances publiques saines, restaurer – dans la mesure du possible – la compétitivité, travailler sur l'union économique et monétaire et prendre des mesures directes visant l'emploi et, surtout, l'emploi des jeunes.

Sur cette stratégie, il y a depuis longtemps un consensus au Conseil européen, et ce sont des gouvernements de centre-gauche, des gouvernements de centre-droite, des coalitions autres que celles que je viens de citer, qui l'approuvent dans la continuité des dernières années. Ce n'est donc pas une stratégie imposée par quelques institutions, par quelques gens têtus. Non, c'est une stratégie partagée par les gouvernements, appuyée par leurs parlements nationaux. Je tiens à le redire.

Concernant la politique d'assainissement budgétaire: bien sûr, c'est une politique qu'on continue à mener. La direction, c'est toujours la direction qui a été établie il y a quelques années. Elle se concrétise au travers des plans de stabilité, mais vu la situation économique, et vu aussi les résultats qui ont été obtenus – c'est-à-dire qu'on a diminué de 50 % en moyenne les déficits budgétaires –, on a pu assouplir le rythme, on a donné des délais à certains pays pour atteindre les objectifs budgétaires. Dans le cas de six ou sept pays, on a gardé la direction, mais on a changé le rythme, pour précisément tenir compte des résultats obtenus et de la récession qui les frappent. Mais donc, garder le cap est extrêmement important, afin également de maintenir la crédibilité.

Cette politique est donc beaucoup plus consensuelle qu'on ne le croit à travers l'Europe – l'Europe des gouvernements nationaux, appuyée par des parlements nationaux. Mais on sait très bien que cela prend du temps et qu'on ne peut pas attendre, disons, le retour d'une croissance forte sans travailler sur l'emploi, et surtout sur l'emploi des jeunes.

C'est pour cela qu'on a besoin, outre une politique générale – et personne, je l'espère, n'est partisan d'une politique d'augmentation des déficits budgétaire –, d'une politique directe, d'une politique spécifique. Et je constate que les pays qui ont les plus faibles taux de chômage des jeunes dans notre Union européenne sont précisément ceux qui ont cette politique spécifique, axée sur la formation, sur une bonne éducation et sur une coopération entre le monde des entreprises et les écoles de tout niveau. Et ce sont ces pays qui ont davantage de succès, même dans une période – également pour eux – de récession ou de quasi-stagnation. Il faut tirer toutes les conséquences des politiques menées dans certains pays. Il faut apprendre ce que certains pays ont pu réaliser. Et c'est l'exercice que l'on mène, c'est le travail que l'on continuera aussi, d'ici quelques jours à Berlin.

Alors, en ce qui concerne l'union économique et monétaire, est-ce que le rythme est trop lent? Chers collègues, on s'est prononcé, en juin de l'année passée, en faveur d'une supervision unique, d'une surveillance unique, de toutes les banques. Six mois plus tard, on a le cadre législatif, tout au moins au niveau du Conseil. Six mois, c'est peu pour une réforme qui est en fait, dans ce monde financier, une réforme quasi révolutionnaire! Je l'avais déjà dit, il y a un an, dans ce Parlement. Bien sûr, il faut maintenant réaliser cela sur le terrain. Il faut engager des gens. Il faut une infrastructure, une logistique. Cela prend du temps. On a travaillé à une cadence très élevée, et on continue à travailler à une cadence très élevée.

On s'est mis d'accord, il y a quelques jours, sur une harmonisation des résolutions de crise dans les différents pays, avec un critère concernant la manière de procéder. Ce sera très utile d'ailleurs, lorsque la Commission présentera sa proposition relative à un mécanisme de résolution de crise unique pour toute l'Union européenne. C'est là aussi un pas extrêmement important parce que les deux composantes centrales d'une union bancaire sont la surveillance et la résolution de crise. Pour ce qui est de la surveillance, on en est au stade de la mise en œuvre et, en ce qui concerne la résolution de crise, on a déjà une harmonisation. On attend la proposition de la Commission et on travaillera au cours du deuxième semestre au Conseil et au Parlement, de sorte que toute cette procédure soit terminée avant les élections européennes.

Mais, bien sûr, cela prend du temps, je l'ai dit, parce que l'on doit combattre la fragmentation financière au sein de la zone euro, et qu'on ne peut pas attendre d'avoir une union bancaire totale et complète. On doit avoir, ici aussi, des mesures ponctuelles, et c'est pour cela qu'on a demandé à la Commission européenne et à la Banque européenne d'investissement de travailler, d'avoir un partage de risques, de manière à pouvoir aider le plus possible les petites et moyennes entreprises afin qu'elles aient accès au crédit.

Donc, comme pour le chômage des jeunes, il faut mettre en place des politiques spécifiques en attendant que les réformes structurelles portent leurs fruits, et j'aimerais que vous compreniez cette démarche, qui est effectivement une démarche graduelle, une démarche pas-à-pas, mais qui suppose de garder le cap, de garder la direction.

On a dit qu'il n'y avait pas de solidarité dans l'Union européenne. Dans le budget européen que, j'espère, on approuvera, il y a beaucoup de solidarité européenne. Le mécanisme de sauvetage financier, le MES, est un mécanisme de solidarité. On a parlé aussi, à un moment donné, de l'aide au développement. On n'a pas coupé dans l'aide au développement. On a mentionné la Syrie. Qui est le plus grand donateur d'aide humanitaire à la Syrie? C'est l'Union européenne et ses États membres, avec une somme totale d'un milliard d'euros. On bat tous les autres joueurs mondiaux, et de loin. L'Union européenne reste, d'une manière générale, le plus grand donateur d'aide au développement dans le monde, avec plus de 50 %.

Je ne suis pas masochiste. Je ne fais pas dans l'euphorie non plus. Mais il faut dire les choses telles qu'elles sont. Et donc je ne demande pas de la compréhension, mais j'insiste pour que l'on voie toujours la vérité dans tous ces aspects.

Sur les récents incidents et révélations, dont plusieurs d'entre vous ont parlé, on doit d'abord avoir une clarification complète, avoir toutes les informations avant de se lancer dans des accusations. Si ces accusations, bien sûr, se révèlent exactes, alors le moment sera venu d'agir et j'emploierai, à ce moment-là, d'autres mots que ceux que j'emploie aujourd'hui. Mais on a demandé aux autorités américaines davantage de clarification sur ces suspicions et sur ces accusations.

Voilà, c'est un Conseil européen qui, sur différents plans, a pris des mesures concrètes conformément à la philosophie que j'ai exposée, une philosophie basée sur une stratégie en quatre points, sans que l'on s'attende à ce que cette stratégie donne tous les résultats escomptés dans les domaines du chômage des jeunes et de l'accès au crédit. C'est pour cela qu'on prend, entre-temps, des mesures directes, spécifiques, pour s'attaquer aux problèmes dans la mesure du possible, tout en sachant que, par exemple, quand on parle de l'emploi, la plupart des compétences sont des compétences nationales. Il est trop facile d'accuser l'Europe pour les problèmes non résolus au niveau national. On doit en finir avec ce proverbe qui dit que "s'il pleut, c'est la faute de l'Europe!". Non, il faut voir où se trouvent les responsabilités, particulièrement quand on parle de la politique de l'emploi.

  El Presidente. − Se cierra el debate.

Declaraciones por escrito (artículo 149 del Reglamento)

  Zigmantas Balčytis (S&D), raštu. – Norėčiau pasveikinti Airiją sėkmingai užbaigus pirmininkavimą Europos Sąjungai bei pasiekus susitarimą dėl 2014–2020 m. daugiametės finansinės perspektyvos. Savo pirmininkavimo programoje Airija siekė priimti realius ir apčiuopiamus sprendimus, kurie tiesiogiai įtakotų darbo vietų kūrimą bei ekonomikos atsigavimą ir augimą. Manau, kad pavyko pasiekti nemažai. Vien tik sprendžiant bedarbystės problemas Airijos pirmininkavimo metu buvo rastas kompromisas ir priimta 80 teisės aktų, kuriuose įtvirtinamos trumpojo ir ilgojo laikotarpio priemonės kovojant su nedarbu. Taip pat labai svarbūs sprendimai buvo priimti ekonominės valdysenos bei bankų priežiūros stiprinimo srityse, šiais sprendimais siekiama stabilizuoti valstybių narių ekonomikas bei sukurti saugesnę, stipresnę ir geriau reguliuojamą bankinę sistemą. Airijos pirmininkavimo metu buvo susitarta dėl vieningo bankų priežiūros mechanizmo, kapitalo reikalavimų direktyvos, dviejų paketų ekonominės valdysenos stiprinimo rinkinio bei užtikrintas veiksmingas Europos semestras. Šie sprendimai jau netolimoje ateityje leis kurti stipresnę, stabilesnę ir patikimesnę ES.

  Elena Băsescu (PPE), în scris. – La reuniunea Consiliului European au fost aprobate recomandările specifice de ţară, în contextul Semestrului European. În cazul României, pe lângă recomandări referitoare la continuarea consolidării fiscale, combaterea şomajului în rândul tinerilor, reforma învăţământului, se mai cere continuarea măsurilor de reformare a sistemului sanitar. Astfel, se cere ca România să sporească eficienţa, calitatea şi accesibilitatea sistemului de sănătate, în special pentru persoanele defavorizate şi pentru comunităţile îndepărtate şi izolate, dar şi să reducă recurgerea la spitalizarea excesivă a pacienţilor, inclusiv prin îmbunătăţirea serviciilor de tratament ambulatoriu. Reforma sănătăţii este imperativă. Din păcate, până în prezent, aceasta s-a făcut doar la nivel declarativ. Lipsa personalului medical, salarizarea necorespunzătoare şi condiţiile din spitalele româneşti reprezintă probleme care trebuie abordate de urgenţă de Guvernul României. De asemenea, accesul la servicii sanitare pentru persoanele defavorizate, precum romii, este o altă problemă care va trebui rezolvată. E nevoie de un plan pe termen mediu şi lung, care să remedieze deficienţele şi să pună în aplicare recomandările Uniunii Europene.

  Carlos Coelho (PPE), por escrito. – Só conseguiremos ultrapassar a atual crise económica e financeira com medidas fortes e de grande alcance que permitam restabelecer a confiança e colocar a Europa na via do crescimento forte, inteligente, sustentável e inclusivo. Entre as várias medidas acordadas, gostaria de realçar as decisões tomadas para combater o desemprego jovem, que atingiu proporções dramáticas, com cerca de 5 milhões de jovens desempregados na Europa, e na sequência do qual corremos o grave risco de ver toda uma geração crescer sem quaisquer perspetivas reais de futuro. Aplaudo o reforço financeiro previsto no âmbito da Iniciativa para o Emprego Jovem. Receio que a escassez orçamental que resulta da miopia do Conselho e da imposição britânica não esteja à altura dos desafios que temos que encarar. Os Estados-Membros deverão desenvolver esforços para adaptar a formação dos jovens às reais necessidades do mercado de trabalho, com a introdução, por exemplo, de novos estágios e formação que permitam aos jovens saírem mais bem preparados para o mercado de trabalho. Em paralelo, deverão incentivar uma maior dinâmica e competitividade no mercado de trabalho, por exemplo, através da adoção de incentivos fiscais à contratação de jovens. Foram igualmente aprovadas medidas de apoio ao empreendedorismo e de reforço dos Programas Europeus Erasmus + e Erasmus Primeiro Emprego.

  George Sabin Cutaş (S&D), în scris. – Acordul din cadrul Consiliului European de săptămâna trecută reprezintă un succes al forului nostru legislativ, în urma acceptării de către Consiliu a unor amendamente esenţiale aduse variantei iniţiale a Cadrului financiar multianual pentru perioada 2014-2020. Chiar dacă suma totală a bugetului rămâne la nivelul stabilit la reuniunea din februarie a Consiliului: 960 de miliarde, acest lucru este compensat de flexibilitatea în utilizarea fondurilor, în special prin posibilitatea reportării lor de la un an la altul, precum şi de la un capitol bugetar la altul. Astfel, finanţările sectoriale vor putea fi suplimentate faţă de forma iniţială. Măsurile decise în plan social, în special majorarea fondurilor pentru combaterea şomajului în rândul tinerilor şi cele referitoare la cercetare sunt menite să contribuie la atenuarea efectelor crizei prin stimularea creării de locuri de muncă şi creştere economică bazată pe inovaţie. Varianta de compromis a bugetului UE pentru perioada 2014-2020 oferă premisele depăşirii impasului politic actual. Sper ca acesta să conducă, în acelaşi timp, la relansarea economică mult aşteptată.

  Andreas Mölzer (NI), schriftlich. – Wenn nun Milliarden nicht mehr in die Rettung ob waghalsiger Spekulationen angeschlagener Banken investiert werden, sondern in Jugendliche, muss eines klar sein: Alleine wird die EU-Jugendgarantie keine Wunder leisten können. Nur allzu groß ist die Verlockung, Jugendliche in Arbeitsbeschaffungsmaßnahmen zu „parken“, damit sie aus den offiziellen Arbeitslosenstatistiken verschwinden. Eine Jugendgarantie ist also nur sinnvoll, wenn wirkliche Perspektiven geschaffen werden. Und dazu gehört auch, dass sich die EU der Problematik der Flexibilisierung auf dem Arbeitsmarkt annimmt. Denn welche Perspektive sollen die Aneinanderreihung von Dauerpraktika, Mini- und Teilzeitjobs sowie befristeten Verträgen schon bringen? Nicht zuletzt ist es keine Lösung, wenn gut ausgebildete junge Menschen aus den betroffenen Ländern in Massen in den Norden ziehen. Die Qualifizierten werden in ihren Heimatländern gebraucht, um die Krise zu bewältigen. Kommt es hingegen zu einem Massenexodus, so würde dies die tiefgreifenden Probleme der südlichen EU-Staaten nur noch weiter verschlimmern. In Erinnerung rufen sollten wir uns auch, dass die Jugendarbeitslosigkeit schon vor der Krise in den Ländern mit strukturellen Problemen hoch war. Im Süden mangelt es an guten Ausbildungssystemen und diese gilt es entsprechend aufzubauen, damit die Jugendgarantie langfristig wirken kann.

  Моника Панайотова (PPE), в писмена форма. – Уважаеми колеги, Приветствам постигнатото споразумение по МФР за периода 2014-2020 г., чрез което европейските институции показват, че трябва да работят заедно и да не превръщат бюджета на ЕС в междуинституционален заложник. Постигането на компромис е от ключово значение, за да се осигури стабилна и предсказуема среда за инвеститорите, както и за страните членки при програмирането на техните бюджети и подготовката на големи дългосрочни инвестиционни проекти. Според мен, основният недостатък при планирането на рамката бе не обемът на заложените средства, а липсата на фундаментално преструктуриране на неговата логика с цел превръщането му в дългосрочно инвестиционно средство - тоест да отпаднат неефективни бюджетни линии, а не просто схематично да се добавят нови приоритети. Предизвикателствата днес изискват средствата от МФР да се разходват разумно, с оглед на ефекта и "добавената стойност" за нашите граждани и ЕС като цяло. Европейският бюджет не трябва да е единственото средство за реализиране на „Европа 2020”, но има основната роля на двигател и гарант за реализирането на общите цели. В тази връзка, приветствам осигуряването на по-голяма гъвкавост на бюджетната рамка, което ще позволи средствата да бъдат насочвани към приоритетни сфери, като насърчаване на младежката заетост, образованието и увеличаване конкурентоспособността на европейската икономика чрез инвестиции в научно-развойна дейност. Благодаря!

  Joanna Katarzyna Skrzydlewska (PPE), na piśmie. – Porozumienie polityczne dotyczące wieloletnich ram finansowych Unii Europejskiej jest bardzo dobrą wiadomością dla wszystkich, którym zależy na rozwoju wspólnej, zjednoczonej Europy.

Niezmiernie ważne jest, że szukając kompromisu finansowego, nie zapomnieliśmy o istotnych społecznie potrzebach. Mam na myśli te postanowienia wieloletniego budżetu, które dzięki konsolidacji środków, już w pierwszych latach jego obowiązywania, poprawią sytuację młodych ludzi na rynku pracy. Bardzo się cieszę, że od początku przyszłego roku, za sprawą unijnych funduszy, istnieje realna szansa skutecznego przeciwdziałania bezrobociu wśród młodych ludzi.

Wielkim sukcesem jest to, że korzystając z budżetowych środków, instytucje Unii Europejskiej, w porozumieniu z rządami państw członkowskich, będą mogły tworzyć programy skutecznie zwalczające bezrobocie wśród młodych oraz pozwalające im zdobywać nowe umiejętności i zawodowe kwalifikacje. Plan zagwarantowania młodym Europejczykom możliwości podjęcia pracy lub dalszej edukacji w okresie czterech miesięcy od zakończenia szkoły, ma szansę zdecydowanie poprawić sytuację młodych ludzi na rynku pracy. Dlatego bardzo ważne jest, by Komisja, nadzorując wykorzystanie środków na walkę z bezrobociem wśród młodych ludzi, jednocześnie inicjowała i koordynowała programy na rzecz zatrudnienia ludzi młodych, funkcjonujące w poszczególnych państwach członkowskich.

  Nuno Teixeira (PPE), por escrito. – Nos dias 27 e 28 de junho, os Chefes de Estado e de Governo dos 27 países europeus chegaram a acordo sobre diversas medidas de promoção do emprego jovem, a adesão da Letónia à zona euro e União Económica e Monetária. Gostaria de enfatizar os resultados alcançados na área do emprego jovem, devido ao facto de finalmente as instituições europeias terem adotado uma resolução com medidas concretas que poderão ser aplicadas na generalidade dos Estados-Membros. Num momento em que a taxa média de desemprego jovem na Europa já supera os 23 % e já é superior a 60 % em alguns países, considero urgente a implementação de novas medidas de promoção do emprego jovem que passem por promover uma crescente mobilidade à escala europeia, reduzir o desfasamento entre o ensino superior e as necessidades do mercado de trabalho ou ainda apoiar empresas de capital de risco, business angels ou a criação de incubadoras de empresas que permitam dinamizar o empreendedorismo jovem. Por fim, apelo ainda aos Estados-Membros que reduzam os impostos coletivos das empresas quando estas contratem um número significativo de jovens, reduzindo a taxa de desemprego, os custos sociais que lhe são inerentes e aumentando a capacidade de inovação e liderança tecnológica.

  Silvia-Adriana Ţicău (S&D), în scris. – Consiliul European din 27-28 iunie 2013 a avut ca principale teme: ocuparea forţei de muncă în rândul tinerilor; creştere, competitivitate şi ocuparea forţei de muncă; finalizarea Uniunii Economice şi Monetare; mobilizarea resurselor financiare pentru a sprijini reconstrucţia şi acţiunile de prevenire în regiunile şi statele membre afectate de inundaţii. Salut alocarea a 6 miliarde EUR Iniţiativei privind ocuparea forţei de muncă în rândul tinerilor, iniţiativă care ar trebui să fie funcţională până în ianuarie 2014. De asemenea, reamintesc importanţa programului Erasmus, care promovează formarea profesională transfrontalieră, dar şi a unor măsuri de la nivelul statelor membre, destinate modernizării învăţământului profesional şi tehnic, consolidării cooperării dintre educaţie şi întreprinderi sau reducerea contribuţiilor sociale. În ceea ce priveşte implementarea Pactului pentru creştere economică şi locuri de muncă, subliniez importanţa reconstruirii bazei industriale europene. Conform statisticilor Eurostat, patru dintre cele 27 de state membre — Germania(27,29%), Italia(12,44%), Marea Britanie(11,93%) și Franța(11,65%) — au realizat peste 60% din producția industrială a UE în 2010, iar 10 state membre au realizat împreună sub 4% din aceasta. Solicităm Consiliului European să se asigure că de dezvoltarea industrială a UE vor beneficia toate statele membre ale UE. În final, salut deschiderea negocierilor de aderare cu Serbia.

(La sesión, suspendida a las 10.45 horas, se reanuda a las 10.50 horas)

VORSITZ: MARTIN SCHULZ
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