Der Präsident. − Als nächster Punkt der Tagesordnung folgt die Aussprache über die Erklärungen des Rates und der Kommission zur Vorbereitung der Tagung des Europäischen Rates (27.-28. Juni 2013) (2012/2807(RSP)).

  Lucinda Creighton, President-in-Office of the Council. − Mr President, I am very grateful for this opportunity to discuss the preparations for the next meeting of the European Council. The Irish Presidency will be working, as always, very closely with President Van Rompuy to ensure the best possible preparation for this important meeting.

The June European Council will continue our focus on the goal of improving competitiveness, returning to strong and sustainable growth, and creating jobs. President Van Rompuy has therefore decided to focus the debate on the European Semester, the fight against youth unemployment, improving access to finance and further deepening EMU.

On the European Semester, the June meeting will bring this year’s exercise to a close through the endorsement of the country-specific recommendations. The European Council is expected not only to underline the need to continue with fiscal consolidation, but also to acknowledge the importance of extending certain EDP deadlines, given the current economic situation. This is part of a renewed effort to accelerate and consolidate structural reforms.

The discussion should help create ownership of the recommendations at the highest level. This will in turn contribute to ensuring their swift and effective implementation at national level.

In our preparations for the Presidency, we identified effective management of this third European Semester cycle as a key focus, and an instant contribution which we could make towards enhancing European stability. We felt it important to work very closely with others, ensuring that the lessons learned from last year’s exercise were fully taken on board, and building on the stronger bilateral dialogue now in place between the Commission and the Member States.

What is important is that relevant Council formations work in a coordinated and consistent manner towards a thorough preparation for the June European Council. Our work will continue over the coming weeks, particularly in terms of streamlining committee work under the aegis of EPSCO and ECOFIN, recognising their overlapping responsibilities on issues such as pension reforms, wage indexing, and the tax wedge on labour. The June European Council will then set clear country-specific orientations for the national budget cycles across the Union in the second half of the year.

It is crucial that we keep up the momentum behind national-level reforms, underpinned by the goals of the Europe 2020 Strategy. This means restoring competitiveness, and unlocking the necessary investments across the Union in growth that is smart, sustainable and inclusive. It is also appropriate that I acknowledge again on behalf of the Presidency the crucial work Parliament has been doing towards strengthening the democratic legitimacy of the European Semester.

Parliament has been in the vanguard in highlighting that these must be open and inclusive processes, supporting meaningful engagement with all relevant stakeholders at both the national and European levels.

Stepping up our efforts to fight youth unemployment remains, of course, a top priority. There is a very strong focus at the top political level on the importance of confronting this enormous challenge, and its significance to all of our societies. I know it is of particular concern here in this Parliament.

It is very welcome therefore that President Van Rompuy has given such prominence to this issue for the June European Council meeting and it is why getting agreement on the Youth Guarantee at EPSCO in February – that every young person should be in education, training or work within four months of leaving school – will rank amongst the most important Presidency achievements for us.

I expect that early proposals for national-level implementation must now be the key next step. This is of course an issue which is primarily the responsibility of individual Member States, but one where there is clear added value at EU level, both in terms of support and learning.

We should also acknowledge that different Member States face very different implementation issues. This is where the EUR 6 billion Youth Employment Initiative, as part of the new MFF, can make a crucial contribution. We look forward to Parliament’s cooperation in making sure it is ready to go from the beginning of next year.

And we also need to explore the other options, such as better mobilising structural funds to tackle youth unemployment. EU support will also be key to helping increase the mobility of young workers, and among other measures, the Commission has made considerable efforts to develop EURES into an effective tool for recruitment at European level, and plans to expand this further.

It has also put forward a directive to tackle the remaining barriers to the freedom of movement of workers. We hope that both the Council and Parliament will be able to reach a rapid agreement on this.

Let me now turn to the issue of access to finance. Financial fragmentation and the lack of access to credit are seriously undermining growth and must be tackled urgently. All the economic indicators are telling us that we need to redouble our efforts here: further contraction this year for both the EU and the euro area, and unemployment up nearly two million on a year ago.

The key to bringing down unemployment across Europe will, of course, be recovery in the real economy: companies growing their businesses and creating new jobs.

The Compact for Growth and Jobs, agreed last June, represents an important reinforcement of political commitment to doing what is necessary to support recovery. There will be a full review of the Compact in June, one year on from its adoption. A top priority is to facilitate the take-up of financing instruments by companies, in particular SMEs, which constitute the backbone of the economy in most Member States and which are absolutely key to creating jobs.

Rapid agreement on the COSME programme is a particular priority in this context, given its importance to SMEs. I would like to thank Parliament for its cooperation on this extremely important file. But more needs to be done to encourage private investment and the European Council is expected to decide on further action.

The EUR 10 billion increase in the EIB’s paid-in capital that was agreed as part of the Compact is now in place and will support a 40 % increase in lending capacity over the 2013-2015 period.

It is also welcome that President Draghi has made clear the ECB’s commitment to working closely with the other institutions, including the European Commission and the EIB, to improve business lending conditions.

Europe will have recovered from the current crisis only when its economies are growing again and creating jobs. This means, above all, unlocking new business investments in the real economy: successful firms expanding their activities at home and abroad, including new firms and new growth areas.

There are a number of further issues that arise in June in the context of the Compact, including industrial competitiveness and smart regulation. In the current difficult economic climate, a strong EU industrial base is absolutely crucial. The European Council is expected to discuss action needed to assist recovery of European industry in the short and medium term and to ensure its long-term competitiveness and sustainability.

Focus will be on those strategic sectors which have the potential to underpin growth and create jobs. This will help to prepare for a more substantive discussion which is planned for the February 2014 European Council.

Finally, on smart regulation, the Heads of State and Government will take stock of progress, in particular the Commission’s ongoing work on the most burdensome regulations for SMEs and on regulatory fitness. The focus of the discussion will again be on competitiveness and job creation, in particular through avoiding unnecessary burdens on SMEs and micro-enterprises. All institutions have a part to play in this work.

The other major issue on the agenda, of course, is economic and monetary union. Although the situation on financial markets is less volatile than a year ago, we must continue to make progress on completing EMU. The June European Council will take stock of work so far, and will place particular emphasis on the top priority of completing the banking union, which has been advanced through the agreements on CRR/CRD IV and the SSM.

Banking union is intended to break the vicious circle between banks and sovereigns, and minimise the risk to taxpayers of having to deal with failed financial institutions.

Our earlier debate showed broad agreement and I think that more has yet to be done. We must agree quickly on the directives on bank recovery and resolution and deposit guarantee schemes. We must also concentrate on the single resolution mechanism. The discussions in the European Council are certainly not the end of the story.

I am very pleased to note that the European Council is also expected to hold a discussion on Latvia’s application to adopt the euro as its currency. The recent positive Commission convergence report on Latvian accession to the euro was hard-earned, and is testament to a country which has shown huge determination in confronting enormous economic challenges in recent years.

The European Council may also take decisions on the opening of accession negotiations with candidate countries, but this will of course depend on progress in the Council in the run-up to the meeting. And the European Council will also formally adopt the decision establishing the future composition of this Parliament, based on a proposal from Parliament, provided that you have given your consent.

The June European Council will be a further step in our efforts to return to growth, embed stability, create jobs and improve competitiveness in Europe.

This is part of a process which is absolutely essential for the future well-being of our societies and for the good of Europe as a whole. I want to thank Parliament for its support in working towards this shared goal.

  José Manuel Barroso, President of the Commission. − Mr President, the next European Council takes place in a very challenging context. Several years of very weak or negative growth have led to very high levels of unemployment. Youth unemployment and poverty are rising in many parts of Europe.

We need to go further with our efforts for growth at European level and in the Member States. And I see this European Council mainly focused on two issues: employment, particularly youth employment, and financing the economy, particularly SMEs.

The June European Council is expected to endorse the country-specific recommendations which the Commission presented two weeks ago under the third European Semester of economic policy coordination at European level. Our analysis has shown that, in spite of all the difficulties, the European Union and its Member States are making progress in meeting many of the challenges.

A rebalancing of the European Union economy is taking place on the back of wide-ranging reforms but is not yet finished. Significant adjustments are under way simultaneously across Europe and need to be completed, also because of the interdependence of our economies.

Fiscal consolidation is ongoing and releasing pressure from the markets. This is precisely why it must continue in order to ensure a return to sustainable growth. We have seen, we have learned the hard way, that growth fuelled by high levels of debt, public debt or private debt, is simply not sustainable.

Reforms for competitiveness have been undertaken, particularly to improve the resilience and flexibility of the labour markets. This must be complemented by further urgent action to address the unacceptably high levels of unemployment and increasing poverty rates in a number of our Member States. We must support the young so they succeed in the transition from education to work.

Restoring lending to SMEs, indeed to the economy in general, remains an absolute priority. Lending conditions remain tight and the supply of credit limited in spite of massive support given to the banking sector. We need solutions for businesses with solid business plans that cannot get financing.

Above all, we need to accelerate these structural reforms. We need to step up their pace across the European Union to secure recovery and ensure the rebalancing of the economy. ‘Deficit’ countries need to boost their competitiveness. ‘Surplus’ countries need to remove the structural obstacles to the growth of their domestic demand.

The Commission’s country-specific recommendations clearly say that Member States can, and should, do more to help themselves get back to growth and move Europe beyond the crisis. Employment creation and measures that will restore lending to SMEs were already highlighted as priorities in our Annual Growth Survey and are now at the core of our European Semester.

Let me focus on the first point. 26 million Europeans are unemployed, of whom over six million are young people. We must deliver effective measures to tackle this social crisis here and now. To this end, the Commission will leave no stone unturned in its efforts.

The Commission and Parliament have long been pushing for concrete action in terms of employment. Indeed, as some of you remember, it was already in 2009 that I first proposed that the European Council should meet specifically to address the issue of employment. Frankly, at the time, there was little interest in this idea. Instead of a special European Council, there was a meeting of the trio of Presidencies and in Prague we met with the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, the Prime Minister of Sweden and the Minister of Labour of Spain. I welcome the fact that now we have a consensus among Member States to move this forward as a priority and that different Member States are now taking initiatives nationally and bilaterally. It is important that all these initiatives are integrated in the European Framework and momentum.

The forthcoming European Council should give a new impulse, building on what has already been set in motion.

Almost a year and a half ago the Commission established Youth Employment Action Teams for those Member States where youth unemployment was at its highest. Over EUR 16 billion from the Structural Funds have been reallocated. This has allowed eight Member States to establish national youth action plans backed by real resources and we are seeing the first results on the ground.

For example, in Ireland an education and training fund, ‘Momentum’, will provide skills training to 6 500 long-term unemployed. The ESF will contribute 50 %, around EUR 10 million, to this fund.

In Slovakia projects worth EUR 70 million from the ESF are being implemented with micro-enterprises and SMEs. To date 6 200 new jobs have been created.

In Latvia the focus is on upgrading vocational education schools in order to double the supply of vocational training to cover 40 % of young unemployed people.

And in Portugal a major initiative called ‘Impulso Jovem’ aims to promote youth employment and job creation, as well as targeted support for the private sector. Some 90 000 young people and 4 500 SMEs are expected to benefit by 2015.

In Greece a major reprogramming has allowed the creation of a national youth action plan with European Union funding of EUR 571 million.

And while these programmes took time to start in some countries, there will be hundreds of thousands of young people across Europe who will benefit.

But more work is needed and more work is already under way, because unemployment affects not hundreds of thousands but millions across Europe.

So we need more to make the Youth Guarantee a reality. The Youth Employment Initiative should make a real difference in parts of Europe where the youth unemployment rate is above 25 %. From our side we are working to frontload this initiative to hit the ground running at the very start of 2014. That means concentrating the financing in the very first years of the next programming period. By this I mean 2014, 2015 and 2016. These efforts need to be complemented with an appropriate allocation from the ESF. It is therefore essential to assure a significant minimum share of the European Social Fund within the overall Structural Funds.

Programmes for education and mobility of young people, such as the proposed ‘Erasmus for all’, are crucial. The ‘Your First EURES Job’ programme will be strengthened by using the European Social Fund to support mobility of young jobseekers across Europe.

Well-established apprenticeship systems are a feature of the Member States with a better performance in terms of youth employment: for instance, Austria and Germany. Therefore the Commission is launching on 2 July 2013 the ‘European Alliance for Apprenticeships’ to improve the quality and supply of apprenticeships all over the European Union, by bringing together national authorities, social partners, companies and relevant stakeholders.

Addressing skills mismatch in sectors with recognised job creation potential is also a priority. The Commission has launched a multi-stakeholder partnership, the ‘grand coalition for digital jobs’ to tackle the challenge of the anticipated 900 000 vacancies in the ICT sector.

Action for employment is a focus of the measures set out for the four programme countries. Our proposed country-specific recommendations include youth employment-related recommendations for a further 17 Member States: recommendations ranging from improving vocational training and effective employment services to reducing skills mismatches and expanding apprenticeships.

We will support the Member States wherever we can with the instruments that we have at European level and we will intensify the work with the social partners, which have a vital role to play in this matter.

To create jobs we need growth, and for growth we need investment, smart investment – at European level, in the Member States. The first point I want to make here is that Europe can have a growth fund, a fund with almost EUR 1 trillion, if the multiannual financial framework is adopted.

That is why I urge all the Member States to cooperate with the Irish Presidency and to make a move in accepting Parliament’s justified requests, for example on flexibility. As the Commission has always said, the difference between commitments and payments in the European Council conclusions makes flexibility indispensable to a final agreement for the MFF. If the MFF is to have the desired impact on investment and growth it should be completed as soon as possible. Some of our Member States have a dramatic need for the investment it will bring. And all Member States – I stress, all Member States – have to realise there is no time to lose.

Ahead of the European Council I will report, together with the European Investment Bank, on possible short-term measures to restore lending to the economy. Our focus will be first of all on the financing of SMEs. SMEs in particular are feeling the pinch as bank loans dry up. SMEs, in fact all our companies, need a return to normal lending conditions. The need is most acute in those Member States which have been hardest hit by the crisis.

Excessively tight access to credit remains a key obstacle to the revival of economic activity – especially in the most vulnerable Member States. The differential in lending spreads across the Union implies a wide variation in financing conditions for companies in the single market and, particularly, in the euro area. These spreads seem to relate less to the intrinsic credit quality of the borrower and more to their geographical location! This is absurd in an economic and monetary union. SMEs are particularly affected by these constraints in the credit supply.

Here is the vicious circle which we need to break. Those countries most in need of investment and of a return to a normal financial sector are those where national actions alone are unlikely to achieve this result in the short term. If there is no confidence, banks will not lend and firms will be reluctant to borrow.

A European consensus will help restore confidence, break the vicious circle and boost economic activity. Let me give you some examples. The net savings rate in Portugal, in spite of all the extreme difficulties that country is facing, is higher than at any time in the last decade. In France, in Ireland, in Slovakia, in Sweden and in the UK, savings rates post-crisis are above – sometimes well above – pre-2008 levels. Yet savers are not prepared to invest their funds, nor is there a willingness to consume. That shows that confidence is key to growth.

We are also exploring other ways to improve access to finance. We need to provide companies with alternatives to bank loans – for example, private equity, risk-sharing instruments with the European Investment Bank. We will soon come forward with a proposal for a regulatory framework for long-term investment funds.

The Commission was at the forefront of the successful efforts to increase the capital of the EIB. We now hope that the EIB will be able to contribute to our efforts to improve access to finance. We are working actively with the EIB to that end.

Three types of ‘joint instrument’ are currently under consideration. All three involve pooling of resources from the Structural Funds, Horizon 2020, COSME and the EIB/EIF and other public banks to increase lending to SMEs by providing guarantees to banks. In every case the provision of public support will be conditional on the benefits being passed through to SMEs in the form of increased lending.

Restoring this confidence by setting out a vision of where the European economy is headed is the reason for working towards deeper economic and monetary union. The progress of Latvia towards joining the euro area is a sign of confidence in the euro. It is a concrete message. Contrary to what some have predicted, what is happening is not that countries are leaving the euro, but new countries are joining the euro.

Creating a banking union is essential. It is the most important short-term action in the process of deepening economic and monetary union and our efforts towards the banking union cannot be relaxed.

Next week the Council should reach a general approach on the Bank Recovery and Resolution Directive. The single supervisory mechanism will be formally adopted before the summer. This paves the way for the Commission’s proposal for a single resolution mechanism which will be ready in the coming weeks.

At the same time, the Commission is working on the other dimensions of EMU; on the ex-ante coordination of major economic reforms; on the Competitiveness and Convergence Instrument and most importantly on the social dimension of EMU. In all of these areas the Commission will come forward with specific proposals.

We must also do more on implementation. For this, we need to complete and fully enact the Compact for Growth and Jobs which also includes the important measures to strengthen the internal market, presented as Single Market Acts I and II.

Let me take just one example, an example that we discussed yesterday in the College of Commissioners: the digital market, and telecommunications specifically. One of the main problems we have is that we do not have a digital market in Europe at this time of digital transformation. Indeed, instead of one single market for the digital field, we have 27 mini-markets, or even micro-markets. I would even say nano-markets, when you compare them to the other big markets in the world, like the United States or China. This is why we need to address this issue, and the Commission will put forward new proposals in early September.

We have also worked on proposals to develop an industrial policy which delivers industrial competitiveness. The Steel Action Plan which we adopted yesterday shows that we are responsive to the difficulties which European industries face.

The Commission is also working to reduce the overall burden of regulation, especially on SMEs. Our forthcoming Communication on the top ten burdensome regulations is an example of how we are working to make life easier for European firms.

At the same time, the work on fair burden-sharing between all parts of society is continuing. Just yesterday, the Commission adopted a proposal for the automatic exchange of information on savings taxation. We will continue to deliver on the tax agenda, and in the G8 in Northern Ireland next week we will push forward this priority at global level. Indeed, we will work on the other priorities set out by the British G8 Presidency: transparency and trade.

As a conclusion, let me tell you that this is the time to develop what I could call a European consensus: if we do not pull together, we will be pulled apart. We need a consensus built on practical steps to resolve the crisis. A consensus not just on the need for growth and jobs, but on the means to achieve this. A consensus for an economically more competitive Europe and a socially more inclusive Europe.

Such a consensus is not just a political formula. It is of critical importance for economic confidence for investors and for consumers.

Because divisions and contradictory messages coming from different capitals are counterproductive and undermine confidence – confidence we need from financial markets, from businesses, and particularly from our citizens!

In a nutshell the consensus has three elements:

First, on-going fiscal consolidation should continue at a pace that reflects the situation in each country and is focused on structural rather than nominal deficits.

Second, Member States should intensify in parallel their efforts on the implementation of structural reforms for competitiveness.

Third, because many of these structural measures take time before delivering concrete results in terms of employment creation, specific focused action should be taken to deliver short-term results for the unemployed, and especially for the young.

We need action to build on the foundations we have put in place. In the European Council I will urge the Member States to assume their responsibilities, implement what we have already agreed and commit to effective action for the future. I know the Commission can count on the support of this Parliament for our agenda for growth and jobs.

  Γεώργιος Τούσσας (GUE/NGL). - Κύριε Πρόεδρε, η σημερινή συζήτηση στο Ευρωκοινοβούλιο για τις προπαρασκευαστικές εργασίες εν όψει του συνεδρίου του Ευρωπαϊκού Συμβουλίου στις 27 και 28 Ιουνίου είναι πάρα πολύ σημαντικές για τους λαούς στα κράτη μέλη της Ευρωπαϊκής Ένωσης, για όλους τους λαούς. Δυστυχώς, όμως, δεν ισχύει αυτό για τους Έλληνες. Χθες βράδυ η τρι-κομματική κυβέρνηση αποφάσισε να κλείσει την ελληνική δημόσια τηλεόραση και τους ραδιοφωνικούς σταθμούς απολύοντας ταυτόχρονα 2.650 εργαζόμενους. Αυτό πλήττει βάναυσα τις λαϊκές ελευθερίες, τα δημοκρατικά δικαιώματα του λαού και πρέπει να τοποθετηθείτε και εσείς και το Συμβούλιο και η Επιτροπή.

  Der Präsident. − Herr Kollege, ich verstehe, dass Sie das hier ansprechen wollen. Es hat aber nichts mit unserer Debatte zu tun. Es tut mir Leid. Sie können hier nicht die Geschäftsordnung missbrauchen, um Ihre politischen Botschaften abzusetzen. Ich habe Verständnis dafür, dass Sie gegen eine Maßnahme Ihrer Regierung protestieren wollen, aber Sie können hier nicht einfach so das Wort ergreifen. Das geht nicht. Sie müssen sich auch an Mindeststandards in diesem Hause halten.

  Joseph Daul, au nom du groupe PPE. – Monsieur le Président, Monsieur le Président de la Commission, Madame la représentante du Conseil, Mesdames et Messieurs, chers collègues, c'est vrai que je suis un peu fatigué de répéter toujours la même chose. Mais j'espère qu'à force de répéter toujours la même chose, nous allons tout de même arriver à aboutir un jour.

Il est vrai que le chômage est à l'agenda du prochain Conseil européen. Cette question nous concerne tous et, en particulier, le chômage des jeunes qui atteint des sommets. Dans certains pays, un jeune sur deux n'a pas accès au travail. 10 % des ménages en Europe sont totalement sans emploi. On dit que notre époque est la plus prospère, la plus pacifique et nous faisons face à de telles difficultés.

Chers collègues, le nombre de Conseils européens réunis pour résoudre la crise me laisse songeur. Les réunions s'enchaînent, les décisions sont là mais elles tardent à être appliquées. Et quand elles le sont, certains déclarent que l'Europe n'a pas à nous dicter ce que nous devons faire. J'ai vraiment du mal à comprendre. On ne peut pas négocier à Bruxelles, pour ensuite rentrer et contester. Je crois que cette époque, si nous voulons réussir, est révolue. L'Europe n'est pas une puissance étrangère et arbitraire. L'Europe qui prend des décisions, c'est vous, c'est nous! Il faut être responsables et donc tenir nos engagements.

Dans une période de crise, il faut tirer sur la même corde. Si nous tirons chacun dans une autre direction, ce n'est pas possible. Les engagements sont clairs. Nos gouvernements sont d'accord pour engager les réformes nécessaires à la relance économique. Je suis partisan d'une Commission européenne forte pour une raison très simple: dans un club à vingt-sept ou vingt-huit, nous avons besoin d'un arbitre qui nous aide à coordonner. Je préfère cela à un directoire où des plus grands imposent leur volonté aux plus petits.

Permettez-moi de vous encourager, José Manuel, vous avez raison, la Commission doit jouer son rôle d'arbitre et de gardien à l'égard de tous les membres et taper sur la table quand ils sont réunis.

Dans votre dernier rapport sur l'économie, vous avez fait des propositions concrètes. Les États membres ont une feuille de route précise à suivre. Ce n'est pas un diktat. C'est ce que nous avons décidé ensemble et ce dont nous avons besoin.

Chers amis, nous voulons une Europe qui fonctionne mieux. Il faut pour cela de vraies réformes: sur la régulation des marchés financiers – nous en avons parlé ce matin; sur le partage des informations fiscales entre les États membres; il faut un cadre financier crédible. Que voulons-nous au Parlement? De la flexibilité, de la réactivité, une clause de révision et des ressources propres. Ces conditions sont importantes, mes chers collègues, pas seulement pour que le prochain Parlement ait son mot à dire, mais aussi pour faire face aux imprévus.

Trois éléments nouveaux sont survenus de façon imprévisible sans que le Conseil n'ait pu les anticiper. Et c'est normal, mais il faut de la réactivité. Trois éléments que le cadre rigide proposé par le Conseil ne pouvait pas traiter. Je vais vous en faire la démonstration.

Tout d'abord, le plan de sauvetage de Chypre qui doit comporter un supplément de fonds de cohésion à hauteur de 300 millions. Si l'on s'en tient aux règles actuelles, il faudrait retirer cette somme à un autre État membre du Fonds de cohésion, ou alors jouer la solidarité entre tous. Mais il faut le décider.

S'agissant des inondations qui ravagent toute l'Europe centrale, il n'y a plus de crédits disponibles dans le Fonds de solidarité. L'Europe n'a-t-elle pas le devoir, dans les moments difficiles que vivent nos citoyens, de faire preuve d'un tout petit peu de solidarité? Le Conseil du 8 février trouve que ce fonds est trop élevé et propose de le réduire de moitié pour les sept années à venir. Si je comprends bien, le Conseil est capable de prévoir les calamités naturelles en 2020 en disant: "Nous avons besoin de moins de fonds de solidarité", mais n'est pas capable de gérer celles d'aujourd'hui.

Enfin, concernant le niveau dramatique du chômage des jeunes, dans beaucoup de pays de l'Union, il faut accélérer la mise en place du programme sur la croissance de l'emploi et des jeunes. Ce cadre est trop rigide. Il faut plus de flexibilité sinon c'est impossible.

Sans la flexibilité, les malheureux Chypriotes, les victimes des inondations, les jeunes chômeurs attendront et feront le champ très facile à tous les populismes.

J'ai entendu avec plaisir ce matin, mon cher Président, que vous avez pris en compte le problème des PME dans les pays les plus en difficulté. Je l'ai déjà dit dans cette salle: il est impossible de garder les emplois avec des taux d'intérêt entre 10 et 15 % dans certains pays. C'est un chef d'entreprise qui parle. J'ai vu un chef d'entreprise à qui il fallait 100 000 euros pour remplacer une machine. Il était prêt à donner sa maison en garantie à la banque. Mais la banque ne lui accorde pas de prêt en lui disant que ce n'est pas une garantie sûre. Nous avons besoin, là, d'une réaction au niveau financier.

Monsieur Olli Rehn – je vous regarde –, il faut soutenir les petites et moyennes entreprises, ce sont elles qui ne délocalisent pas leurs emplois, celles-là même qu'il faut aider aujourd'hui et pas demain si nous ne voulons pas de chômeurs supplémentaires.

Mes chers collègues, le monde change. Nous avons une grande responsabilité, celle d'offrir à nos concitoyens une Europe plus forte, plus sûre et plus efficace. Mais il faut que nous existions dans le cœur de nos citoyens.

(Applaudissements)

  Hannes Swoboda, im Namen der S&D-Fraktion. – Herr Präsident! Überall, wo man heute in Europa mit ganz normalen einfachen Menschen spricht, scheint Wut und Ärger über Europa auf. Ob es der griechische Taxifahrer war, mit dem ich zum Flughafen gefahren bin, um in die Niederlande zu fliegen, ob es die Niederländerin war, die mich in Utrecht durch ein Problemviertel geführt hat – Ärger über nationale Regierungen, aber letztendlich auch über Europa. Ich bin überhaupt nicht der politischen Meinung des griechischen Kollegen, der sich vorhin gemeldet hat. Aber ich bin schockiert darüber, dass in Griechenland von heute auf morgen öffentliche Radio- und Fernsehstationen geschlossen werden, und schockiert darüber, dass das wieder auf die Troika zurückzuführen ist, zumindest in den Augen der Öffentlichkeit.

(Beifall)

Therefore, Vice-President Rehn, stop the Troika. Stop the Troika, this is the best thing you can do for Europe and for the image of Europe. Stop it now.

Der IWF entschuldigt sich ohnedies immer mehr für das, was Sie in der Troika machen. Wozu haben Sie noch die Troika? Sie haben doch eh keine Einigkeit, Sie haben doch eh unterschiedliche Meinungen! Hören Sie doch auf damit! Übernehmen Sie die Verantwortung, Sie sind der verantwortliche Kommissar, Sie sind dem Parlament gegenüber verantwortlich! Das hat nichts mit Demokratie zu tun. Ich sage noch einmal: Ich bin solidarisch mit den Leuten, die heute in Griechenland auf die Straße gehen wegen dieser Schließung. Was hat das mit Demokratie zu tun, wenn die Leute mehr oder weniger das Gefühl haben, da kommen welche aus Brüssel und sperren uns Radio und Fernsehen zu? Das ist aber die Realität, die Sie sehen müssen, die Sie aber leider nicht sehen wollen!

Aber es gibt ein anderes Europa! Das ist ein Europa, das eine soziale Dimension hat. Ich hoffe, dass die Kommission in wenigen Tagen auch mit sehr konkreten Vorschlägen kommt. Denn es ist nur dieses andere Europa, das zusätzlich zur Wirtschafts- und Währungsunion auch eine soziale Dimension hat, das den Menschen wieder Hoffnung gibt, dass ein Europa kommt, das ihnen auch die Wünsche befriedigt, die sie berechtigterweise haben.

Der Präsident hat einige Dinge über die Jugendarbeitslosigkeit gesagt. Ja, da sind einige gute Dinge drin. Wir brauchen mehr. Wir müssen den Menschen das Gefühl geben, dass wir nicht nur Budgetdefizite betrachten, dass wir nicht nur die ökonomischen und makroökonomischen Gleichgewichte und Ungleichgewichte betrachten – das ist wichtig –, sondern dass es auch soziale Ungleichgewichte gibt. Europa ist heute sozial ungleichgewichtiger, als es noch vor fünf Jahren war. Das ist auch ein Grund, Herr Präsident Barroso, warum die Leute mehr sparen, weil sie keine Hoffnung und kein Vertrauen in Europa haben, dass ihnen Europa hilft, wieder zu Wachstum und zu Beschäftigung zu kommen. So überraschend ist das auch gar nicht.

Dies müssen wir in den nächsten Tagen angehen. Ich bedaure auf der einen Seite, dass der Rat nicht fähig ist – man wusste ja, dass in Deutschland Wahlen anstehen –, diese Tagesordnung zu erfüllen im Zusammenhang mit der Wirtschafts- und Währungsunion. Aber es gibt zumindest die Möglichkeit, dass wir, wenn wir wirklich dazu kommen, auch die soziale Dimension integrieren können und auch die Frage der Beschäftigungspolitik entsprechend integrieren können. Denn eine wirkliche Wirtschafts- und Währungsunion ohne soziale Dimension ist nicht machbar!

In this connection I want to address the Irish Presidency. They are not listening now, but perhaps they could listen, because I want to address the Irish Presidency, not you personally but as a representative.

We are deeply disappointed by the way the budget discussion is taking place. We are also deeply disappointed by the Irish Presidency. Perhaps it is not your personal mistake, perhaps there are some Member States which do not give you the leverage and the possibility to act.

Yesterday was the same old story: the Irish Presidency wanted to adopt a conclusion and we said at the beginning that it is not possible. You are not moving towards a compromise with the European Parliament; that is true. We accept the numbers, we accept so many conditions against our resolutions, but you are not moving. You have to move if you want to finalise negotiations; you have to move otherwise there can be no agreement. There can certainly be no agreement on the basis of what you have presented until now. This Parliament cannot accept, for example, youth unemployment, a subject so dear to us all. I agree with the President: there are many meetings being held now, but where is the action?

So we demand a frontloading, we demand that special funding is given for 2014 and 2015, but we have to have flexibility for the subsequent period. We cannot say that we will spend all of this small sum of EUR 6 billion in two years, and then for the rest say ‘we will see’. We need the flexibility, we need a revision clause to ensure funding for the subsequent period, because I cannot believe – and nor can you – that after two years we will no longer have major unemployment in Europe. What we are doing now is just a drop in the ocean – important drops maybe – but we need a real fight against youth unemployment, and therefore we need a real budget.

Be sure of one thing: this Parliament will not find a majority. I must say that you do a good job with many legislative acts, but until now you have failed on the budget. I hear that there will be last chance on 18 June, let us take it, and let us do so very seriously.

There are many other issues, and I agree with Mr Daul and the President with regard to banking union. We have an important job to do here because we have to provide credit to the SMEs, the EIB has to make a real change, and we have to have a reasonable budget, in particular for the fight against youth unemployment. Otherwise, all we will do to fight against youth unemployment is make yet more declarations. We do not want words; we want action. Many citizens feel that Europe is broken, but we have to fix it. We can fix it, but only with a reasonable budget.

We are ready. I hope that the Council is ready too.

  Guy Verhofstadt, on behalf of the ALDE Group. – Mr President, let me start by recalling what the French President said a few days ago in Japan. He declared that the euro crisis was over. I really like the French President, I like his style and I would like to think he was right. But this time we have to contradict him:

Non, Monsieur Hollande, la crise n'est pas derrière nous.

The crisis – and this crisis – is not over. I think that we have to tell our citizens the truth. We are not at the end of a crisis. We are in the middle of one. We are in the middle of what is more and more becoming – and I think I can compare it in fact with what happened in Japan because he was speaking in Japan – a long period of stagnation for the moment. You can compare it with the Japanese situation and what the Japanese faced in the 1990s. For more than 13 years they tried to kick-start their economy with more austerity, then with more solidarity, then with both these things, and it did not work. It did not help.

The reason was simple. The reason was that they could not solve their banking crisis. It was only after a recapitalisation in the Japanese financial institutions of more than USD 500 billion that the Japanese economy was kick-started again. That is exactly what is happening now. I hear all the proposals about youth unemployment and about giving cheap loans to SMEs, but that is not where the real problem lies. We cannot recover if we do not first of all restore the transmission mechanism between the banks and the real economy which is blocked today, which is blocked in the real world of today. SMEs have to pay 8 %, 9 % or 10 % on their loans, on their investment, a sum which it is impossible for them to earn. I think you would have to be involved in criminal activity to have an 8 %, 9 % or 10 % return.

I would say to Mr Barroso that the only way to restore this transmission mechanism is to have banking union. That is the priority of priorities. Could we perhaps do something in this Council, because the only way that I can see we can make progress – beyond youth unemployment and over and above more symbolic things – is by coming to an agreement on this banking union.

But you have already come to an agreement on the banking union three times inside the Council and what is happening? We do not have an agreement on the Single Supervisory Mechanism because there is still a discussion outstanding with the European Central Bank on the fact that we, as the European Parliament, are asking for accountability from the ECB on this supervisory task – which is normal.

On the resolution fund, we are still waiting. Mr Barroso has announced there will be a proposal on the resolution mechanism in a few weeks, but that is a stillborn proposal because it has already been shut down by some of the Member States – by Mrs Merkel and Mr Hollande, who are joining together and in fact wanted a patchwork of national resolution authorities. We have been there before. This is exactly the same mistake that we made three years ago. You will remember that: when we talked about financial supervision and said that, with Parliament, we need one single European supervisor and not a coordination of national supervisors. Three years ago they refused to accept it and after the Spanish crisis, what happened? They had to accept a European single supervisor.

Well, exactly the same mistake is being made now with the resolution fund. They have already said ‘No’ to the proposal which is not stillborn, but is being discussed at the moment in the College of the European Commission. They say ‘No’ to it, although they know very well that their proposal cannot work and that we will again lose three years on the discussion about how it has to be coordinated nationally with a patchwork of national authorities doing it. Well, I think that if you can do anything with the Irish Presidency, it would be to make things clear on the 27 June and to stop this fighting by Member States who are asking for national solutions when everybody knows that only a European solution can solve this problem.

This is not the only standstill we can see in Europe at the moment. Mr Swoboda spoke about the MFF. There is no progress here. The Council is simply not listening to Parliament’s request and, I am sorry, Mr Barroso, this is not only about flexibility, although flexibility is important. There is also the question of own resources and the question of the revision clause. It is unthinkable. We cannot accept that the next Parliament, elected in 2014, will have no say on the budget for a period of seven years. It is like Mr Hollande coming to power in France and having to accept Mr Sarkozy’s seven-year budget. Would that work? That is exactly what you are saying to us for the moment: that you do not want a real revision clause.

The same is happening with economic and monetary union. Together with Mr Gualtieri and Mr Brok, I am a Sherpa for the economic and monetary union. We went to the Sherpas’ meeting. Do you know what the conclusion of the Sherpas’ meeting was? Everything was postponed until the end of the year. That was the conclusion of the meeting and the same is happening with the European Central Bank, which for the moment is struggling before the Constitutional Court. I think that Mr Schäuble is absolutely right. It is not in fact the ECB which is overstepping its mandate, but it is the Court which is overstepping its mandate at the moment in Germany.

So my conclusion is that this crisis is not over. We need a firm wake-up call, President Barroso, in your Council of 27 June. We also need a wake-up call to the Commission. The Commission should now come forward with the package on your blueprint and not wait any longer for the Council’s conclusions which will never come.

(The speaker agreed to take a blue-card question under Rule 194(8))

  Marianne Thyssen (PPE), "blauwe kaart"-vraag. – Collega Verhofstadt, ik deel met u de zorg dat we vooruitgang moeten boeken met de bankenunie en dat één van de eerste dingen waarvoor we moeten zorgen is dat het Europees toezicht effectief in werking treedt. Maar als barrière hiervoor noemt u alleen het uitblijvende interinstitutioneel akkoord met de centrale bank. Dat zullen we vanmiddag verder bespreken en ik hoop dat uw fractie helpt om daarin vooruitgang te boeken. Dat is één.

Maar ten tweede, de grootste hinderpaal is het feit dat het Duits parlement volgens de Duitse grondwettelijke regels nog een go moet geven aan minister Schäuble om ervoor te zorgen dat er op de Ecofin een consensus kan zijn. Het gaat hier immers om een dossier waarover met consensus beslist móet worden. Bent u bereid, meneer Verhofstadt, om bij uw Duitse collega's in de Duitse Bundesrat – want de liberalen maken deel uit van de coalitie daar – ervoor te zorgen dat ze de agenda in juni met twee, drie daagjes vervroegen? Dan kunnen wij in juni dit dossier afwerken. Dat betekent twee maanden winst om het bankentoezicht in werking te laten treden.

  Guy Verhofstadt (ALDE), "blauwe kaart"-antwoord. – Voorzitter, ik zal antwoorden in het Nederlands.

Ik denk niet dat het voor de FDP enig probleem is om de single supervisor, om het bankentoezicht vooruit te helpen. Integendeel, zij zijn altijd een groot voorstander daarvan geweest. Er zijn misschien andere thema's waarover we het minder eens zijn.

Maar het feit dat u noemt, het feit dat we dus niet vooruit kunnen vanwege het feit dat één land zijn goedkeuring nog moet geven op basis van zijn grondwettelijke regels, bewijst eigenlijk een andere zaak. Niet zozeer het wel en wee van de Duitse regering of van de Duitse coalitie, maar wel de onmogelijkheid om Europa vandaag op een intergouvernementele manier te besturen en afhankelijk te zijn van de goedkeuring van zeventien ministers van financiën, of afhankelijk te zijn van de goedkeuring van zevenentwintig ministers en eerste ministers. Een onmogelijkheid!

Wat het bewijst is dat wij zo snel mogelijk die bankenunie nodig hebben en – laten we daar samen voor vechten – een bankenunie zoals de Commissie die wil. Een resolutiefonds onder de controle van de Commissie, niet van de zeventien ministers van financiën, want anders zal het elke keer zijn, als er een probleem is met een bank, zal er unanimiteit nodig zijn en zal met andere woorden de Duitse grondwet worden ingeroepen om het een of het ander te blokkeren.

  Rebecca Harms, im Namen der Verts/ALE-Fraktion. – Herr Präsident, Frau Präsidentin, meine sehr verehrten Kollegen! Es scheint, als hätten sich die Fraktionsvorsitzenden verabredet, tatsächlich konsequent Schluss zu machen mit der Inszenierung des Kaisers neue Kleider im Europäischen Parlament. Der Satz „die Krise ist vorbei”, den haben wir oft gehört. Ich glaube seit 2008, seit dem Lehman-Crash dutzendfach, und keiner hier kann diesen Satz unterschreiben. Die Frage ist, ob das nicht wirklich einmal grundsätzlich beim Rat aufgegriffen werden muss, was diese falschen Botschaften bedeuten.

Ich will nicht das wiederholen, was Kollege Verhofstadt gerade gesagt hat. Ich will zur politischen Krise der Europäischen Union sprechen, aber auch ein Stück weit einen Außenblick wagen, weil die Unfähigkeit, sich nach innen auf den Weg der Integration auf mehr gemeinsame Wirtschaftspolitik zu einigen, in völlige Verantwortungslosigkeit nach außen mündet. Wir sind als Europäer schon in Libyen nicht in der Lage gewesen, uns auf eine Mehrheitsposition und ein gemeinsames Handeln zu verständigen. Wir sind in Syrien erneut gescheitert. Wir sind nicht fähig, gemeinsame europäische Politik nach außen zu vertreten.

Es gibt diese ganzen bigotten Klagen über Herrn Erdogan, seit er gegen Demonstranten wirklich autoritär vorgeht. Was ist die Bilanz der Europäer, die sich aus der Verantwortung gegenüber der Türkei seit Jahren einfach stiekum herausgeschlichen haben? Was bedeutet eigentlich diese Kritik an Erdogan, die ich jetzt aus vielen Hauptstädten höre, wenn man sich gleichzeitig – was humanitäre Hilfe für Flüchtlinge aus Syrien angeht – auf Herrn Erdogan verlässt? Was bedeutet, wenn ich Ihre Botschaften aus Moskau höre vom Gipfel mit Russland, dass alles prima gelaufen ist, und gleichzeitig der wichtigste Nachbar, der größere Nachbar auf diesem Kontinent sich mehr und mehr in ein autoritäres Regime verwandelt und – um diese ganze Linie dann innenpolitisch europäisch durchzudeklinieren – dass die Polizei gestern Abend nach einer überraschenden Entscheidung in Griechenland sämtliche Frequenzen des öffentlichen Rundfunks stillgelegt hat?

Mein Gott, ich denke bei solchen Bildern, die ich aus Griechenland gesehen habe, nicht daran, dass die Krise vorbei ist, sondern ich denke, dass wir immer tiefer in die Krise steuern und aus der Unfähigkeit, die Schritte in die wirtschaftliche Integration zu gehen, die tiefste europäische politische Krise seit langem entstanden ist.

(Beifall)

Was soll ich eigentlich an dieser Stelle sagen? WWU. Diese Zauberformel für die tiefere wirtschaftliche politische Integration der Europäischen Union versteht kein Mensch außerhalb des europäischen Orbits. Worum geht es? Es geht immer noch darum, dass wir uns jenseits der Austeritätspolitik darauf verständigen, dass wir unsere wirtschaftlichen Entscheidungen in gemeinsamer Verantwortung treffen müssen, und dass wir die Bankenunion seit Monaten diskutieren und als Signal aus Paris von Hollande und Merkel eigentlich ein ganz klares Stoppsignal bekommen. Was soll das eigentlich bedeuten? Was bedeutet das für den Rat, wenn er wieder brav über diese fully fledged european monetary union diskutiert, aber sich die wichtigsten Führer der Europäischen Union schon wieder darauf verständigt haben, dass sie eigentlich mehr Intergouvernementalität und weniger Europa wollen.

Ich habe über Frau Merkel und ihre Strategie in den letzten Jahren sehr oft nachgedacht. Manchmal dachte ich, ich verstehe sie. Heute denke ich, ich habe keinerlei Verständnis mehr dafür, dass es in Deutschland niemanden gibt – weder an der Spitze der Regierung noch in der Regierung –, der den Deutschen klarmacht, dass sie, wenn sie sich von der gemeinsamen Verantwortung in der Europäischen Union zurückziehen, dann nicht nur die Europäische Union auseinanderdividieren und die großen Leistungen der Europäischen Union in Frage stellen, sondern dass sie konsequent auch die deutschen Erfolge, also auch die politischen Erfolge, den Ist-Zustand der deutschen Gesellschaft, das, was wir in Europa an Demokratie als Deutsche erreicht haben, genauso wie den wirtschaftlichen Erfolg der Europäischen Union in Frage stellen.

Die deutsche Regierung, aber auch andere, sägen bei der Vorbereitung dieses Gipfels an dem Ast, auf dem wir alle sitzen. Ich werde morgen in Griechenland sein. Ich werde mit den Journalisten in Griechenland gegen das vorgehen, was Samaras entschieden hat.

  Martin Callanan, on behalf of the ECR Group. – Mr President, three years ago Mr Barroso’s Commission, as part of the Troika, predicted that Greece would grow by 2.1% in 2012. In the real world of course we know that this was completely fallacious and Greece in fact contracted by 6.4% in 2012. This forecast sums up much of what is wrong in Europe today. Of course the prediction was nonsense – many people said at the time that it would be – yet our leaders keep insisting on promising us things that they cannot deliver, guaranteeing us benefits and payments that have not been earned through productivity, with the bill of course being passed to our children and grandchildren.

In Greece the IMF confirms that the policies being pursued there by the Troika have been nothing short of disastrous. Youth unemployment is now at 58.3%. Surely, Commissioner Rehn, it is time to stop trying to blame everyone else. Take some responsibility yourself and try and find a different course. Likewise when it comes to the growing problem of youth unemployment – many people have mentioned it today – what is our answer? To once again promise what effectively we cannot deliver. Mr Swoboda of course has the right intentions when he talks about a youth guarantee but how are we going to create all these extra new jobs? More taxes, more regulation, more Europe seems to be offered to us today. Socialists believe that governments can create jobs and growth. Well they cannot. This attitude is part of the reason for the current debt mountain that we have in many of our Member States.

The much vaunted European social model is failing to deliver its core objectives of providing employment and adequate social conditions. As the former British Prime Minister Tony Blair – I think a member of your affinity, Mr Swoboda – said in 2005: what type of social model is it that has 20 million people unemployed? I wonder what he would say today now that figure has risen to 26 million people unemployed.

So we need a completely new model in the EU: one based on freedom, based on liberalism, based on open markets and based on free trade. Instead of tackling the symptoms of our economic woes, let us tackle the causes. Instead of timid efforts to open up markets, we need bold and ambitious proposals. At present every forward step on completing the single market or on signing a free trade agreement is countered by one backwards from the Commission’s Socialist Affairs Directive in league with this Parliament’s Unemployment Committee.

Frankly it is irresponsible to promise a job for every young person in Europe. What we can do is say that we will tear up the legislation that discourages work, that drives up energy prices, that ties entrepreneurs and businesses down in bureaucracy and that closes our markets. We should also say that we will do what we can to cut the taxation which depresses growth in so many of our economies.

On the issue of taxation, I read at the weekend that the Commission is demanding that Spain increase VAT on food. I ask myself: what alternative reality does the Commission live in? People in Spain are trying to feed themselves and the Commission is trying to make it harder for them. With such warped priorities is it any wonder that according to the latest polls 72% of Spanish people no longer trust the EU?

Throughout history Socialist policies, centralised economies have failed. Economies based on personal freedom and responsibility have thrived. Socialism is all about promising people things that can never be delivered. We only have to look at France for our example. President Hollande was elected pretending that things could go on as normal, as if governments could somehow create jobs and wealth out of thin air, and workers can have limitless social protection if only we could erect some kind of economic Maginot line around Europe’s borders! Well, of course, we know he has been mugged by reality. French unemployment is now at its highest for 15 years and yet, as other speakers have said, this weekend he told us that the crisis in Europe is now over, as if we needed further proof of how out of touch he is.

So, instead of more Socialism, let us allow businesses to do what they do best: create wealth. Let us stop trying to start a pointless trade war with China and instead seek to lead the world in opening up trade access. Let us be honest that free trade is about concentrated losses, but it is also about dispersed gains, so in the long run everybody gains although one or two people may lose. So let us drop this futile effort to protect the uncompetitive French film industry in the US trade deal. Let us start trusting people again to take responsibility for their own destinies.

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

PRESIDE: ALEJO VIDAL-QUADRAS
Vicepresidente

  Graham Watson (ALDE), blue-card question. – Mr President, Mr Callanan and his UK Conservative colleagues are determined to paint a picture of a European Union that does not work. But, Mr Callanan, one of your party’s members, Lord Tebbit, once said to people: ‘get on your bikes and look for work’. Would you not welcome the initiative by the German Labour Minister Ursula von der Leyen, who is going to Rome in two days’ time to meet with her counterparts from Spain and France and Italy and advertise the opportunity of work places in Germany, where there are one million jobs vacant, where there are 33 000 vocational training places and where EUR 140 million is being invested in teaching people the German language?

Surely this is precisely the kind of cooperation that we need and a sign that the European Union is indeed working in the way that some in your party would once have recognised that it should?

  Martin Callanan (ECR), blue-card answer. – If the Germans wish to have other people go into their labour markets and take available jobs, of course that is entirely a matter for the German Government. It is, however, the German Government that is doing this; it has nothing to do with the EU. Individual governments are quite able to speak for themselves. I am sure Spanish people are perfectly able to travel to Germany to work. Many British people used to travel to Germany to work even before we were members of the EU, so I am not quite sure what point you are trying to make. However, I welcome this excellent initiative if that is what the German Government wishes to do.

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

  Sylvie Goulard (ALDE), blue-card question. – Mr Callanan, do you really want a free-trade agreement on data protection?

  Martin Callanan (ECR), blue-card answer. – Apologies if we got Ms Goulard’s name wrong; she is probably another French protectionist. The reality is that free trade is always a good thing; free trade with China has been a good thing. One of the best things that we can do in the EU for the development of its economy to create more jobs and more wealth – something we all say we want – is to have a free-trade agreement with the United States of America: the two largest economies in the world coming together to trade freely to generate prosperity for everyone.

I am afraid everybody should welcome that, and we should not let French protectionists try and prevent us from reaching that agreement.

  Lorenzo Fontana, a nome del gruppo EFD. – Signor Presidente, onorevoli colleghi, c'è un evidente problema di credibilità nelle parole che abbiamo sentito dal Presidente Barroso, perché io sono convinto che lui abbia fatto un discorso con le migliori intenzioni. Il problema è che si è visto negli ultimi anni quale è stata la politica europea e anche in Italia, come in tanti altri paesi – penso alla Grecia o alla Spagna – ci siamo adeguati a quelle che erano le politiche europee, pensando che questa fosse la strada migliore.

Abbiamo avuto un governo che si faceva paladino dell'Europa, il risultato, dopo un anno e mezzo, è stato più disoccupazione, imprese che sono fallite, quelle che non sono fallite sono fuggite in paesi terzi al di fuori dell'Europa e quindi è evidente che se si vuole risolvere il problema della disoccupazione, mi auguro che le politiche siano differenti, rispetto a quelle che sono state in passato, perché la disoccupazione – soprattutto quella dei giovani impedisce – il futuro dell’Europa.

Se i giovani non hanno un lavoro è evidente che non ci saranno le famiglie, che sono e devono essere la base del futuro dell’Europa. Io tra l'altro, visto che non l'ho sentito dire da nessuno, mi porrei anche una domanda: non è che per caso l'Unione monetaria non sia stata una delle cause di questa crisi? Magari no! Però, una riflessione io la farei, perché forse è stata costruita un po' male e come un albero quando cresce un po' male, poi rischia di cadere.

Mi sentite? Ho nominato l'euro ed è successo un disastro, evidentemente non bisogna nominarlo.

E quindi chiedo anche magari una cosa che potrebbe fare l'Europa, perché, per esempio, non tentare di tutelare le nostre produzioni? perché se vogliamo creare più occupazione non contano tanto i progetti, bisogna salvare le imprese e per salvare le imprese bisogna tutelare prima di tutto le nostre produzioni! Le nostre produzioni sono fondamentali e quindi evitare la concorrenza sleale di altri paesi, che sacrificano le nostre imprese.

Bisogna sicuramente cercare di ridurre le tasse; le tasse sul lavoro nel mio paese sono oltre il 50%; è evidente che in questo modo non si può andare da nessuna parte, però è evidente anche che se uno Stato ci chiede l'austerità poi è difficile diminuire le tasse. E se non si diminuiscono le tasse, è evidente che le imprese o delocalizzano – e quindi bisogna tentare di evitare le delocalizzazioni – oppure chiudono.

E mi chiedo anche se la questione della continua apertura nei confronti dell'immigrazione non sia un problema. Se abbiamo 26 milioni di disoccupati, gli immigrati che arrivano che cosa gli diamo da fare? Li facciamo rientrare nei ranghi della criminalità, perché questa è l'unica soluzione che avranno. Quindi attenzione anche su questo campo.

  Gabriele Zimmer, im Namen der GUE/NGL-Fraktion. – Herr Präsident! Ohne übertriebene Polemik möchte ich fragen, meine Damen und Herren von Rat und Kommission, ob Sie eigentlich überhaupt noch ruhig schlafen können. Denn so gut wie alles, was in den letzten Monaten und Jahren getan worden ist, um aus der Krise herauszukommen, ist doch schiefgelaufen. Es ist schiefgelaufen, ist gegen die Wand gefahren worden, es ist gescheitert. Davon zeugt zum Beispiel der IWF-Bericht zum Scheitern der Arbeit der Troika in Griechenland vor dem Hintergrund falscher Annahmen, falscher Daten, falscher Prognosen und einer völlig falschen Politik, die zu einer Verschärfung von Armut und sozialer Ausgrenzung geführt hat. Davon zeugt auch gerade – und das ist symbolisch zu verstehen – das Ausschalten der staatlichen Sender in Griechenland. Das ist doch mehr als nur ein Vorgang, wo halt mal irgendetwas geschlossen wird. Ich finde, die Solidarität mit Journalisten, mit Beschäftigten der Sender und auch mit der Bevölkerung in Griechenland, die vor dieser Katastrophe steht, tut unserem Parlament gut, und die möchte ich hier auch im Namen meiner Fraktion aussprechen.

Aber auch die Klage gegen die EZB in Karlsruhe ist doch verdammt ernst zu nehmen! Wir haben doch immer gefordert, wir wollen, dass die EZB als lender of last resort wirkt. Wenn sie aber nicht die entsprechende vertragsrechtliche Grundlage bekommt, dann ist das in erster Linie auch ein Versagen der politischen Institutionen. Das wird weitreichende Folgen haben; es ist nicht eine Klage, die einfach mal so ausgesessen werden kann. Ich frage mich, ob sich der Rat genau diesen Fragestellungen auch stellen wird, ob er sich genau damit befassen wird, um letztendlich auch Politik zu korrigieren.

Hinzukommt, dass es eine Zuspitzung zwischen dem Europäischen Parlament und dem Rat gibt. Es ist doch nicht mehr nachzuvollziehen, dass wir eine beständige Ausweitung der Unionsmethode haben. Frau Merkel kann erklären, was sie will. Sie kann über die Rolle des Europäischen Parlaments parlieren, wie sie möchte. Fakt ist, auch im Hollande-Merkel-Papier ist davon die Rede, dass es um die Ausweitung der zwischenstaatlichen Kooperation geht, und die geht nun mal am Europaparlament vorbei! Wir merken das doch auch mit Blick zum Beispiel auf den Mehrjährigen Finanzrahmen. Da wird so getan, als sei der Beschluss vom Februar eine Gesetzesgrundlage! Das ist aber nichts mehr als eine Entscheidung des Rates, über die wir jetzt miteinander verhandeln müssen. Stattdessen werden wir ständig mit neuen Erpressungsvorlagen und Verhandlungsblockaden konfrontiert. Das ist keine Kooperation mehr, das ist eine Machtausstattung, eine Machtfülle des Rates, die sich jeglicher politischer und demokratischer Kontrolle entzieht. Das ist Faktum, und damit müssen wir uns auseinandersetzen!

Ich sage Ihnen auch noch deutlich: Sie reden auch von der Schaffung von neuen Mechanismen für Anreizfonds. Ja, woher kommen die Gelder? Werden die aus dem laufenden MFR genommen? Woher kommen die? Womit konfrontieren Sie uns hier ständig? Sie zwingen uns als Parlament, dass wir einer Defizitunion zustimmen! Damit zwingen Sie uns, dass wir etwas tun, was vertraglich überhaupt nicht gerechtfertigt ist. Das kann nicht sein! Und diese Form der Kooperation ist nicht mehr auszuhalten. Was werden Sie also konkret tun, auch mit Blick auf die soziale Dimension der WWU?

Es geht um die Beibehaltung der Vertragsfreiheit der Sozialpartner, es geht um die Frage – und davon lese und höre ich leider überhaupt nichts – der Aufnahme der sozialen Fortschrittsklausel in die Verträge. Es werden keine Empfehlungen mehr abgegeben werden an die Länder, die zu einer Vertiefung von Armut führen werden. Das kann und darf einfach nicht mehr sein!

Wir brauchen eine klare Abkehr von der Austeritätspolitik! Die Eingriffe in die Lohn- und Sozialpolitik sind zurückzunehmen! Die Empfehlungen im Hollande-Merkel-Papier, einen gemeinsamen Arbeitsmarkt auf einem niedrigen Level zu schaffen, sind eine Unverschämtheit! Stattdessen muss die Bundesrepublik Deutschland endlich etwas dafür tun, dass die unteren Löhne endlich hochgezogen werden und dass Schluss ist mit dem Lohndumping in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland! Es gibt ein schönes deutsches Sprichwort, das da sagt: „Auf eines Fremden Arsch ist gut durch Feuer reiten“, dass also die Bundesrepublik Deutschland auf Kosten Anderer durch die Krise kommt!

  Nicole Sinclaire (NI). - Mr President, I contend that the EU is the sick man of the developed world, as much mentally ill as physically. The EU leaders meet for another late-night supper, then adjourn to the drawing room for their usual game of economic bluff, while quislings put together some incoherent mumbo-jumbo communiqué.

The idea of the game is simple: to let all 27 leaders leave with some credibility and be able to say that something has been won for their countries. In the UK we know that the game is EU deception: a game our last eight Prime Ministers have played in Brussels. The real losers are the people of Europe, who pay for this late-night folly.

Some ex-players of the game, such as former Chancellor of the Exchequer Nigel Lawson, have now said that it is time the UK left the EU. Of course he was rounded on by Europhile business leaders coming out with the usual tripe about UK trade being affected. I wholeheartedly agree with his response on the BBC this week, when he called them economic illiterates. We know about these scaremongering stories; during the single currency debate of the late 1990s, Nissan warned that they would remove their investment from the UK if we did not join the euro. Well, they did not. In fact they invested more.

I suggest a new game for Thursday night called ‘reality’, where Europe’s leaders realise that their beloved Europe federal project has failed and that the single currency is unsustainable without the express consent of the people of Europe to federalising steps, and understand that the people of the UK no longer wish to subsidise your pie-in-the-sky projects whilst they are suffering crippling cut-backs at home. I understand that the best treatment for mental illness is accepting the illness and accepting reality. I commend it to you.

  Gay Mitchell (PPE). - Mr President, if we are serious about growth, there are two things we can do. First of all, we could ensure that the free market is actually free, and secondly we could challenge the attitude in our companies’ boardrooms which thinks that you can socialise debt and privatise profits. I am afraid that both of those issues still need some attention.

The supposedly free economic system has been anything but free. It has been manipulated and abused. The same man who carried out the inquiry into the crisis in the United States gave evidence to Parliament’s Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs. He stated that, when some senior businesspeople went to their bosses in America and said that they could not justify their actions in taking these bonuses and that the whole thing was almost, if not downright, criminal, they were told, ‘IWBH, YWBH – I won’t be here, you won’t be here’.

We had thought we had changed that attitude with the regulations that we have passed. I do not think it has changed. It would serve Europe well if the Commission spent a considerable amount of its time trying to re-educate people in the boardrooms of Europe to help them understand that the businesses they are in are legitimate and profit-making, but that they can also incur losses. An OECD report from 2011 shows how the level of inequality in the 22 member nations it studied increased by 10% since the mid-1980s, with conditions deteriorating in 17 of them.

However, it is important to note that no other economic system in history has generated as much wealth and progress as capitalism. Global GDP increased by a factor of seven over the first 1800 years of the Common Era, and since then has multiplied 70 times, indicating that the capitalist social market economy can bring extraordinary benefits for the common good. But it must be free of state dictatorship and free of manipulation. That requires good and balanced regulation.

  Roberto Gualtieri (S&D). - Signor Presidente, onorevoli colleghi, il Consiglio europeo di giugno ha suscitato grandi aspettative: i cittadini europei aspettano misure concrete per la crescita e l'occupazione giovanile e attendono di capire se l'Unione intende dotare la propria moneta di un vero governo economico. Temiamo che saranno delusi!

I progressi sull'Unione bancaria sono importanti, ma il meccanismo di risoluzione deve essere europeo e guidato dalla Commissione – il che è perfettamente possibile sulla base dei trattati. L'attenzione che sarà dedicata all'occupazione giovanile è positiva, ma al di là dell'anticipo a gennaio dei 6 miliardi dell'iniziativa per la gioventù serve un chiaro impegno all'aumento di quella cifra, e invece il negoziato sul bilancio è bloccato per colpa del Consiglio e degli imperativi di politica interna degli Stati membri.

Anche lo scorporo di una parte degli investimenti del deficit strutturale rischia di essere molto modesto. Infine della tanto attesa roadmap per l'autentica Unione economica e monetaria si è persa traccia e si va verso una seconda proroga. Tutti gli elementi più ambiziosi come il Fondo di redenzione del debito, la capacità fiscale, sono spariti dall'orizzonte, persino su contratti e meccanismo di solidarietà, il Consiglio europeo non è in grado di procedere e dice la Commissione di presentare una seconda comunicazione.

Potremmo gioirne visto che i contratti non ci piacciono e abbiamo proposto un modello alternativo, ma invece consideriamo lo stop a una proposta legislativa preoccupante. È chiaro che il tanto sbandierato metodo dell'Unione non funziona, il Consiglio europeo sembra ostaggio degli Stati membri e delle loro scadenze elettorali, e al tempo stesso vuole tenere in ostaggio la Commissione dicendo ad essa cosa può o non può fare.

Per questo il Parlamento voterà una risoluzione molto critica, in cui ribadisce le proprie proposte, a cominciare da un forte pilastro sociale dell'UE con stabilizzatori automatici, e in cui chiede di agire presto e sulla base del metodo comunitario, cioè dell'unico metodo che consenti di realizzare progressi solidi e duraturi e di dotare il governo dell'euro di quel carattere democratico indispensabile per la sua efficacia e per la sua legittimità.

  Marielle de Sarnez (ALDE). - Monsieur le Président, évidemment la crise est encore là et ses effets, malheureusement, se feront encore sentir demain.

Monsieur Barroso, vous avez parlé d'un consensus européen. Si c'est un consensus européen pour agir, alors oui, c'est une bonne chose. Et je propose qu'on agisse dans deux directions.

Évidemment, d'abord les questions économiques et sociales: agir pour l'investissement, agir contre le chômage des jeunes, agir pour la réindustrialisation du continent européen, mais aussi agir d'urgence pour libérer le crédit pour les petites et moyennes entreprises européennes. Je pose la question suivante: est-il normal qu'aujourd'hui, la BCE prête aux banques européennes à un taux qui est absolument limité et que cet argent ne soit pas versé dans l'économie européenne? C'est une vraie question à laquelle j'aimerais que le Conseil européen réponde.

Deuxième point dans la perspective de ce Conseil: la question politique et la question démocratique. On ne pourra pas avoir demain une gouvernance de la zone euro approfondie, plus intégrée, plus forte, plus unie, sans davantage de démocratie. Il faut que les chefs d'État et de gouvernement posent sur la table le sceau institutionnel et le sceau démocratique nécessaires pour faire en sorte que demain, les peuples se retrouvent et se reconnaissent dans leurs dirigeants européens.

  Ivo Strejček (ECR). - Pane předsedající, dopoledne tady mluvíme o nezaměstnanosti mladých. To je vážné téma, ale myslím, že bychom měli mluvit o nezaměstnanosti lidí s minimální kvalifikací, že bychom měli mluvit o nezaměstnanosti handicapovaných, že bychom měli mluvit o nezaměstnanosti lidí, kteří jsou několik let před odchodem do důchodu.

Měli bychom si položit otázku, co jsou příčiny nezaměstnanosti všech těchto skupin obyvatel? Je to jednoznačně strnulost podnikatelského prostředí.

Já se velmi pravidelně setkávám s mladými lidmi, s podnikateli a ptám se na jejich problémy. Zkusili jste se někdy zeptat, kolik razítek, formulářů je potřeba k tomu, abyste si otevřeli malé bistro na rohu? Kolik je potřeba formulářů k tomu, abyste zaměstnali jednoho člověka, a když vám to prostě nejde dohromady, tak abyste ho propustili, což je téměř nemožné? V tom hledejme problém.

Co se stalo s evropským podnikatelským duchem, když 4 % mladých lidí v 18 letech chtějí podnikat na rozdíl od 26 % mladých lidí ve Spojených státech?

  Rolandas Paksas (EFD). - Kol kas apačios dar gali gyventi „po senovei“, o viršūnės vis dar nori valdyti „po senovei“. Čia aš perfrazuoju garsųjį teoretiką, kuris prieš daug dešimtmečių taip paaiškino revoliucinės kilmės teoriją, tačiau šiandienos Europa susiduria ne su teorija, o su praktika, kuri į konkrečias socialines ir ekonomines problemas žiūri 25 mln. Europos bedarbių akimis. Penktadalis jų (5 mln.) – jaunimas iki 30 metų.

Europos Komisijos iniciatyvos davė per mažą rezultatą. Čia sakau labai diplomatiškai. Nesugebama identifikuoti nedarbo priežastis, jas šalinti. Problemas tikimasi spręsti vykdant naujus ar didinant senus mokesčius, bet nekuriant darbo vietų, kurios tuos mokesčius ir mokėtų. Bendra aktyviosios darbo priemonių aprėptis ir atskiromis priemonėmis skiriamas finansavimas yra nepakankami, o priemonės yra prastai orientuotos. Ypač didelis jaunimo ir nekvalifikuotų darbuotojų nedarbo lygis. Turime sukurti pramonės ir verslo tinklą, kuriantį naujas darbo vietas ir išlaikantį senąsias. Privalome siekti glaudesnio mokslo įstaigų ir verslo bendradarbiavimo, kad kiekvienas ugdymo įstaigą baigiantis jaunuolis jau būtų užsirekomendavęs per profesines praktikas ir žinotų, kokioje firmoje jis dirbs.

Europos Komisija ir valstybės narės turi įdėti gerokai daugiau pastangų, siekdamos atkurti socialinę gerovę, o ne tik orientuotis į geografinį judrumą, taip skatinant masinę emigraciją iš Europos pietų į jos šiaurę.

  Francisco Sosa Wagner (NI). - Señor Presidente, bienvenidos sean los debates y los acuerdos del próximo Consejo Europeo, como bienvenidos sean también estos debates que celebramos habitualmente antes de los de los Jefes de Estado y de Gobierno. Son una muestra de la sensibilidad de esta Cámara y de su deseo de hacer oír su voz en los grandes asuntos que agitan Europa.

Como digo, todo eso está muy bien, pero estaría mejor que, de una vez por todas, proclamáramos que Europa no se va a construir a base de mirar lo que hacen y lo que dicen los presidentes de los Estados miembros, sino lo que hacen y lo que dicen las instituciones comunitarias propiamente dichas, es decir, este Parlamento y la Comisión Europea.

Por eso, yo quiero oír más a la Comisión y ver a su Presidente anunciando políticas y decisiones; quiero, también, polémica en torno a sus palabras. No quiero que su papel sea suplantado por ninguna canciller ni ningún presidente. Y quiero, igualmente, que el trabajo de este Parlamento salga alguna vez a la luz pública y sea invitado permanente en los medios de comunicación europeos.

  Herbert Reul (PPE). - Herr Präsident! Sehr geehrte Kolleginnen und Kollegen! Wenn man aus Krisen herauskommen will, dann hilft es auf jeden Fall nicht, wenn man hier jetzt Debatten über die Türkei führt oder Wahlkampf in Deutschland macht oder über den griechischen Rundfunk redet, sondern da geht es nur darum, was der Kommissionspräsident eben ausgeführt hat, nämlich ganz konkret zu überlegen, welche Maßnahme hat etwas gebracht und wo muss man nachsteuern? Die Leute wollen keine Sprüche, neue Programme und immer mehr Forderungen nach mehr Geld. Das ist alles dummes Zeug. Die wollen ganz konkrete Maßnahmen. Die Wahrheit ist doch, das, was bisher beschlossen worden ist, hat Erfolge gezeigt! Nicht so schnell wie wir wollen, aber das ist auch nicht ganz überraschend, denn wenn man sparsam sein will, wenn man Strukturpolitik macht, wenn man Strukturreformen macht, dann dauert das doch ein bisschen. Das ist doch normal!

Dass man sich jetzt um konkrete Punkte kümmert, nämlich, wie kriege ich mittelständische Unternehmen an günstige Kredite, dann muss man das praktisch machen und nicht über die Türkei reden oder über Griechenrundfunk, so ein Quark! Das ist doch wirklich absurd, was hier veranstaltet wird. Wir verwirren die Menschen mehr anstatt ihnen Hoffnung zu machen. Konkrete Hilfen: Wie kommen die Unternehmen an Kredite? Konkrete Hilfen: Wie sehen denn solche Jugendarbeitslosigkeitsprogramme aus? Wie kriegen wir es denn hin, dass Ausbildung verbessert wird? Was können wir denn tun beim Erasmus-Programm? Was tun wir denn zum Beispiel bei transnationalen Netzen im Bereich von Internet und Energiepolitik? Machen wir da etwas? Sorgen wir dafür, dass die Gelder möglichst früh freigesetzt werden, dass wir bei der mittelfristigen Finanzplanung endlich zu Potte kommen, damit da etwas gemacht werden kann. Dann hat das ganz konkrete Folgen!

Aber dieses ewige Reden, wie schlimm die Welt! Über irgendwelche Probleme, die es irgendwo auf der Welt gibt, zu reden, das tut mir Leid, das ist unverantwortlich. Es geht leider nur Stück für Stück, Projekt für Projekt!

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

  Reinhard Bütikofer (Verts/ALE), Frage nach dem Verfahren der „blauen Karte“. – Herr Kollege Reul! Weil Sie so sehr auf das Konkrete abgehoben haben, möchte ich Sie konkret fragen: Um Mittelständlern Zugang zu Finanzierungen zu erleichtern, sind Sie dafür, dass generell in Europa die Grenze für Projekte bei Crowd Funding auf eine Million erhöht wird? Sind Sie dafür, dass die EIB und andere Infrastrukturbanken sich an Structured Covered Bonds beteiligen und das damit verbinden, dass die Banken sich dann dazu verpflichten, ihre Mittelstandsfinanzierung auszuweiten?

  Herbert Reul (PPE), Antwort auf eine Frage nach dem Verfahren der „blauen Karte“. – Herr Bütikofer, ich bin sehr dafür, dass wir alle Instrumente ausreizen, mit denen wir ganz konkret helfen können, dass Mittelständler schnell und möglichst unkompliziert an Mittel kommen. Da bin ich hundertprozentig bei Ihnen. Da spielt unsere Europäische Zentralbank eine wichtige Rolle. Ich glaube, dass da Manches flotter gehen und verbessert werden kann. Da können auch zwischenstaatliche Möglichkeiten ausgebaut werden. Da habe ich auch überhaupt kein Problem, wenn zu dem, was wir auf europäischer Ebene vorantreiben, auch zwischen den Staaten ganz konkrete Verabredungen getroffen werden, etwa darüber, wie man sicherstellen kann, dass solche Refinanzierungsmöglichkeiten eröffnet werden. Da bin ich total offen.

  Alejandro Cercas (S&D). - Señor Presidente, señor Barroso, usted sabe, como lo sé yo, aunque no lo haya dicho, que los ciudadanos europeos están dolorosamente hartos de las respuestas y de la falta de respuestas de las instituciones europeas frente a la mayor crisis económica, social y política de Europa desde su creación.

Y usted sabe, señor Barroso, igual que yo también, que los ciudadanos piden un cambio profundo y un pilar social digno de tal nombre que reconcilie la economía con la sociedad, que reconcilie la economía real con la economía financiera y que reconcilie a las instituciones europeas con sus ciudadanos, y un pilar social que sea real, que no sea ficticio, que no sea solamente retórico ni solamente verbal.

Y usted sabe, igual que yo, señor Barroso, que todas las instituciones tenemos una alta responsabilidad y que no basta solamente con echar en el pasivo del Consejo el que haya allí morosidad.

Conocemos las dificultades que usted tiene; conocemos las dificultades que hay en el Consejo. Pero ahora sabemos también que, de la misma manera que el Consejo es renuente a equilibrar la zona económica con la zona social, esas resistencias están también en el Colegio, y usted es responsable de esas resistencias. Veo, ahí, además, como sienta de una manera preeminente al señor Rehn frente al señor Andor, lo que es una manera, también, de señalar cuáles son el grado y el gradiente de responsabilidades y el gradiente de confianza que existe también en el Colegio.

No puede ser que la economía prevalezca frente a la sociedad, frente a los temas económicos. Pedimos un pilar social fuerte, señor Barroso. Nos falta esa comunicación de la Comisión. Usted tiene que hacer esa comunicación de la Comisión, transmitiéndosela también al Presidente del Consejo. Y nos faltan indicadores, y nos falta una hoja de ruta que no existe.

Señor Barroso, se nos acaba el tiempo, se acaba también la paciencia de los ciudadanos. Yo confío en usted, pero tiene usted que cambiar porque los ciudadanos piden un cambio profundo y real.

  Andrew Henry William Brons (NI). - Mr President, the implementation of the Compact for Jobs and Growth is to be discussed. If only words were deeds, if only wishes were achievements.

The impact of tight budgetary constraint was to be monitored, but it did not act on what it saw. You cannot make a population richer by making it poorer. It promised to promote growth and competitiveness. How do the high-wage economies of Europe compete with the slave-labour wages of the so-called ‘emergent economies’? How do countries with an over-valued currency that cannot be changed unilaterally become more competitive without devaluation?

The single market is seen as a panacea for all ills, but it has facilitated the export of jobs from higher-wage economies to lower-wage economies. Improving training for the unemployed will make individuals better able to compete with their fellows. It might also marginally improve the efficiency of industry and commerce. However, it will not increase the total number of jobs immediately.

Mr Barroso believes confidence is a key to growth. It will be effective only if that confidence is soundly based. However, investors can see that the EU’s embrace of the ideology of globalism will destroy European industry and reward the emergent economies, and they will invest accordingly. Individuals might prefer to invest in their own countries, but their investment funds are, unfortunately, profit maximisers.

  Giovanni La Via (PPE). - Signor Presidente, signor Commissario, signor ministro Creighton, onorevoli colleghi, il Consiglio del 27 e 28 giugno sarà un'occasione fondamentale per dare risposte concrete ai nostri cittadini, fino ad oggi la sottovalutazione degli effetti collaterali delle misture di austerità e rigore è stata evidente.

Non ci siamo resi conto e le istituzioni europee, in termini generali, non si sono rese conto degli effetti che questi avrebbero determinato e oggi ci ritroviamo con un livello di disoccupazione, con un rallentamento o annullamento della crescita che dobbiamo ovviamente invertire in termini di tendenza. Per questo chiediamo al Consiglio risposte forti a questa riunione.

Abbiamo sentito qui parlare di un piano per la ripresa economica e dell'occupazione, ma ci rendiamo conto delle difficoltà che in Consiglio ci sono per attuarlo concretamente, perché non possiamo pensare che ci siano centinaia di migliaia di istanze, di piccole e medie imprese, che attraverso alcuni programmi comunitari come il programma SIP chiedono una riduzione del costo del denaro e non siamo in grado di rispondere semplicemente perché il Consiglio non è in grado di coprire le spese per gli impegni presi. La copertura integrale del bilancio rettificativo è un obbligo che ha il Consiglio, non possiamo pensare di rinviare questo a data da destinare. Le imprese, così come i giovani hanno bisogno di risposte concrete e immediate.

  Elisa Ferreira (S&D). - Senhor Presidente, Senhor Comissário, a política de austeridade chegou ao seu limite. A Europa não sofreu um tsunami. A Europa optou e insistiu em políticas erradas e autodestrutivas. Claro que há quem ganhe, quando o capital e a mão-de-obra qualificada fluem da periferia da Europa para o centro. Há quem ganhe quando os ativos dos países, mesmo aqueles que são rentáveis – entre eletricidade, correios, companhias de aviação, portos, água –, são vendidos a preço de saldo, mas a Europa como um todo perde. Os desequilíbrios agravam-se no seu interior como nunca e a União desagrega-se, económica, social e politicamente.

O próximo Conselho só tem de tomar uma decisão – sair da negação e inverter a política. A agenda de curto prazo é conhecida. Ela obriga a abrir a procura nos países que têm excedentes, a concretizar pelo menos uma das várias iniciativas de investimento já repetidamente anunciadas, a criar uma iniciativa para o combate ao desemprego com a consciência de que sem crescimento ela será apenas um paliativo. Obriga a criar um pilar social de emergência, porque onde a ação social é mais necessária é onde os países não têm condições para a exercer. É preciso ainda garantir que a união bancária não leva a uma situação em que os depósitos dos bancos das periferias são menos seguros que os depósitos dos bancos dos países do centro, e é preciso preparar a gestão em comum da dívida soberana, e aguardamos a iniciativa da Comissão sobre a criação do grupo de alto nível.

Por último, e para terminar, Sr. Presidente, o mais importante é que se acabe com as troicas. Porque está aqui o Conselho, está aqui a Comissão… Qual dos senhores responde pelos abusos, pelos erros e pela violência que as troicas estão a impor aos países que estão debaixo do seu controlo? Temos de voltar à democracia, e isso aumentará a confiança.

  Anneli Jäätteenmäki (ALDE). - Arvoisa puhemies, seuraava huippukokous ei ratkaise talouskriisiä eikä nuorisotyöttömyyttä. Toivon, että EU-johtajat eivät myöskään anna julkisuuteen sellaista kuvaa, että nyt asia on ratkaistu ja tässä ovat keinot. Kansalaisille ja nuorille on kerrottava totuus, että kriisi jatkuu ja että on mahdollista – ja itse tätä pahoin pelkään – että nuorisotyöttömyys tästä vain kasvaa.

EU pystyy tekemään jotain, mutta tärkeintä olisi, että huippukokouksessa myös kerrottaisiin, mikä on jäsenvaltioiden vastuu ja mikä on EU:n vastuu, niin että ei anneta todellakaan sellaista kuvaa, että EU:n tasolla ja ottamalla yhteinen valokuva tämä asia ratkaistaan. Ei pidä pistää EU:n vastuulle sellaisia asioita, joita se ei yksinkertaisesti pysty ratkaisemaan. Pieniä askeleita ja vähän apua se pystyy tarjoamaan, mutta se ei tätä asiaa nyt ratkaise.

  Jean-Paul Gauzès (PPE). - Monsieur le Président, Monsieur le Vice-président de la Commission, Madame la Ministre, j'ai déjà parlé ce matin sur un autre sujet, je ne dirai pas les mêmes choses.

Je formulerai simplement deux observations. Premièrement, je souhaiterais vous voir endosser un rôle pédagogique, Madame la Ministre, et que vous expliquiez aux chefs d'État et de gouvernement, notamment au gouvernement français, ce qu'est le semestre européen et comment se déroule ce processus qui amène les chefs d'État et de gouvernement eux-mêmes à prendre des décision qu'ensuite ils doivent appliquer, et qu'il ne s'agit pas d'un diktat de la Commission.

Ma deuxième observation porte sur le chômage: il est facile de parler de toutes les mesures qui devraient être prises, mais avec le budget que nous avons, on ne peut pas faire grand chose. La vraie solution, et ce n'est pas facile, consiste à créer de l'activité, parce qu'on ne résorbera pas le chômage par des mesures sociales. On résorbera le chômage par la création d'activité. Et pour la création d'activité, que faut-il? Il faut un cadre prévisible et solide. Il ne s'agit pas seulement de la question du crédit. Là encore, il ne faudrait pas qu'on soit contradictoire. On impose aux banques des règles de sécurité, légitimes, et par ailleurs, on craint le credit crunch. Il faudrait, là aussi, faire preuve d'équilibre.

Je crois que la vraie question qu'il faut engager, et il faudrait être courageux pour cela, est celle de la voie de l'harmonisation sociale, qui permet d'éviter le dumping, et de l'harmonisation fiscale, qui permet d'éviter l'évasion fiscale. C'est sur ces mesures-là que nous devons nous engager si nous voulons faire une Europe qui soit véritablement comprise de nos concitoyens.

  Udo Bullmann (S&D). - Herr Präsident, Frau Ministerin, die Herren Kommissare, werte Kolleginnen und Kollegen! Das ist nicht das erste Mal, dass wir in dieser Weise miteinander sprechen. Wir werden zwei bis drei Stunden hier zusammensitzen, aber noch nie haben Sie so deutlich aus allen Fraktionen gehört, dass die Kolleginnen und Kollegen unzufrieden sind. Diese Unzufriedenheit ist sehr deutlich auf diesen Gipfel gerichtet. Es wird mit nichts vorangehen, nicht mit dem Kampf gegen die Jugendarbeitslosigkeit, nicht mit mehr Investitionen, nicht mit einer Vertiefung der Wirtschaftspolitik.

Ich fürchte eines: Wenn Sie nachher antworten, dann werden Ihre Antworten nichts mit dem zu tun haben, was wir hier besprochen haben, sondern Sie werden das vortragen, was Ihre Dienste Ihnen aufgeschrieben haben. Sie werden uns wieder eine Antwort verweigern. Ich bitte Sie heute um ein bisschen mehr Mut. Sagen sie uns einfach: Warum geht es nicht voran? Wer blockiert? Wer trägt die Verantwortung dafür, dass wir Monat um Monat über eine Politik zum Kampf gegen die Jugendarbeitslosigkeit reden und wir dann vielleicht nach eineinhalb Jahren dahin kommen, sie zu implementieren, sie umzusetzen.

Sagen Sie uns die Wahrheit, denn ansonsten hat das nichts mit Demokratie und mit der Kontrolle der Regierenden zu tun. Sagen Sie uns außerdem – Sie kennen die Forderungen des Europäischen Parlaments –, wann wir endlich zu mehr Demokratie kommen. Wir wollen mitentscheiden über die Wirtschaftspolitik in Südeuropa, die die Troika oktroyiert. Wir wollen mitentscheiden über das, was wir an Semesterplanungen festlegen und an Anforderungen an die Mitgliedstaaten richten. Erst dann wird die Politik wirklich greifen. Sagen Sie uns ein Wort dazu! Sind Sie damit einverstanden, dass dieses Parlament eine neue Rolle einnimmt, oder sind sie damit nicht einverstanden? Dann haben wir einen Gegner mehr in der Auseinandersetzung vor der nächsten Europawahl, weil wir wissen, dass die Mehrheit im Rat gegen die Demokratie in Europa kämpft.

  Danuta Maria Hübner (PPE). - Mr President, as a citizen of the Union I expect a lot from this summit and from those that will follow. We have to look ahead, and the good thing about this crisis is that it has mobilised us to embark on unprecedented reforms. But crisis-driven reforms also come with the risk of a specific moral hazard.

The moment that impatient politicians announce the end of the crisis, the appetite for reforms will vanish. The political momentum will be lost, and there is a risk that post-crisis Europe will abandon the path of reform and return to simply administering the Union. We cannot afford such a risk.

Let me also say that, if all reforms are not carried out, those implemented so far will be weakened. The lack of fiscal union will undermine the monetary union, and an incomplete banking union will put the reputation of the ECB under pressure. Equally important risks are generated by this continuous swinging back and forth between the Community method and transnational arrangements along the path to reform. This generates institutional confusion which additionally widens the existing legitimacy gap.

We have to be clear about where we want to go. If we act without a coherent vision and take a piecemeal approach to reforms, we will be unable to get citizens on board for the reforms. We all know what a powerful machine citizens’ support can be.

  Catherine Trautmann (S&D). - Monsieur le Président, chers collègues, ce qui me frappe dans les recommandations de la Commission, dans le cadre du semestre européen, c'est la direction qu'elles empruntent, détaillant de façon si précise des recettes libérales qui ont pourtant fait la preuve de leur inadéquation.

En ces temps de crise, le fait de baisser l'impôt sur les sociétés ou de réduire les cotisations sociales patronales et de demander toujours plus d'efforts aux citoyens revient à jeter de l'huile sur le feu. Et malgré tous les signaux d'alerte envoyés, y compris par le FMI, la Commission semble déterminée à nous emmener dans le mur. Tout juste ralentit-elle l'allure, accordant un peu de répit à certains États, dans le rythme de rétablissement des comptes publics.

Le mécanisme du semestre européen n'a pas été conçu pour donner des compétences nouvelles à la Commission. Il s'agit de combler un déficit de coordination entre les politiques économiques et budgétaires décidées souverainement par les États mais qui, dans la zone euro, ont des impacts mutuels considérables. Galvauder cette coordination, c'est prendre le risque d'alimenter chez nos concitoyens une allergie à l'Europe qui fera la joie des eurosceptiques l'an prochain.

Je dirai encore un mot sur la démocratisation de ce semestre. Il s'agit d'en faire un cadre de coopération sincère et proactive avec les parlementaires européens et nationaux plutôt qu'une punition collective.

Enfin, concernant l'avenir de l'Union, notre débat d'aujourd'hui a rappelé la place de la jeunesse et son rôle essentiel pour assurer le futur de nos économies, ainsi que le futur social de l'Union. Mais si cette jeunesse n'a pas de réponse précise, et si notre budget ne nous donne pas les moyens d'offrir une réalité à la "garantie jeunesse", nous aurons échoué. Nous aurons perdu le pari des fondateurs de l'Union.

  Luis de Grandes Pascual (PPE). - Señor Presidente, desde el inicio de la crisis los Estados miembros han llevado a cabo importantes esfuerzos de consolidación presupuestaria, para garantizar la sostenibilidad de sus cuentas públicas, y han adoptado programas de reforma muy ambiciosos. Sin embargo, la zona del euro es todavía la única área económica del mundo que estará en recesión este año. Sin crecimiento económico, Señorías, no es posible la creación de empleo.

Por ello, es necesario y urgente revertir la situación de estancamiento de Europa con todos los instrumentos a nuestro alcance. No es suficiente con el trabajo que hacen los Estados miembros. De la misma forma que estos aplican reformas estructurales con grandes sacrificios, la Unión Europea debe hacer un mayor esfuerzo.

La Unión debe afrontar con urgencia dos grandes problemas: la fragmentación de los mercados financieros y el desempleo, especialmente el juvenil. No es aceptable ―como bien ha reseñado aquí el Presidente Barroso― que empresas de la Unión Europea con la misma situación financiera y económica tengan que pagar un diferencial más alto para financiarse únicamente debido a su localización geográfica.

Para solucionar la fragmentación de los mercados de crédito y de la deuda, la Unión Europea necesita la unión bancaria. La Unión Europea no puede permitirse mayores retrasos en su puesta en funcionamiento. Hay que avanzar sin demora en la integración de un supervisor único, la recapitalización directa de los bancos, un mecanismo de resolución único y un sistema de garantías de depósito común.

El mecanismo de transmisión de la política monetaria no funciona. El Banco Central Europeo debe tomar medidas para solucionar la fragmentación de los mercados de capitales, tanto de la deuda pública como del crédito, especialmente el destinado a las PYME.

En cuanto al desempleo, es necesario que se aplique sin más dilación un plan europeo para apoyar el empleo juvenil. Mucho se ha hablado aquí de medidas, pero lo cierto es que están todas encima de la mesa. Hay que pasar a la acción.

  Άννυ Ποδηματά (S&D). - Κύριε Πρόεδρε, κύριε Αντιπρόεδρε της Επιτροπής, κύριε Επίτροπε, πριν από λίγο ο επικεφαλής της ομάδας μου, ο Hannes Swoboda, δήλωσε σοκαρισμένος από την αιφνιδιαστική απόφαση της κυβέρνησης στην Ελλάδα να κλείσει τη δημόσια ραδιοτηλεόραση εν μία νυχτί. Σοκαρισμένη δήλωσε και η συμπρόεδρος των Πρασίνων, η κ. Rebecca Harms. Mπορείτε να φανταστείτε υποθέτω πως αισθάνονται οι έλληνες πολίτες που ξαφνικά, με μία απλή υπουργική απόφαση, χωρίς καμία συζήτηση στη βουλή, βρίσκονται από χθες το βράδυ χωρίς δημόσια ραδιοτηλεόραση.

Ξέρετε που αποδίδεται αυτή η απόφαση κύριε Αντιπρόεδρε της Επιτροπής; Αποδίδεται στις πιέσεις της Τρόικα για να υπάρξει εδώ και τώρα αποτέλεσμα στο αίτημα για 2.000 απολύσεις στο δημόσιο μέχρι το τέλος του μήνα. Δεν μπόρεσε, δυστυχώς, η κυβέρνηση να υλοποιήσει ένα αξιόπιστο σχέδιο ουσιαστικής αναδιάρθρωσης και για να αποφύγει εμπλοκές με την χρηματοδότηση και τις δόσεις, έκλεισε εν μία νυχτί τη δημόσια ραδιοτηλεόραση.

Θέλω λοιπόν να σας ρωτήσω ευθέως: συμφωνεί η Επιτροπή, ως μέλος της Τρόικα, με το κλείσιμο της δημόσιας ραδιοτηλεόρασης στην Ελλάδα; Μπορεί -κατά την Επιτροπή- η δημοκρατία να εντάσσεται σε ένα πρόγραμμα δημοσιονομικής εξυγίανσης; Γίνονται περικοπές στη δημοκρατία; Σας ζητώ να πάρετε θέση, γιατί στην Ελλάδα ο ξαφνικός θάνατος της δημόσιας ραδιοτηλεόρασης, έρχεται να επιβεβαιώσει τον αργό θάνατο της δημοκρατίας και αυτό δεν είναι ελληνικό, είναι ευρωπαϊκό πρόβλημα.

  Corien Wortmann-Kool (PPE). - Voorzitter, we bevinden ons in een testfase van het nieuwe economisch bestuur. Ik wil vicevoorzitter Olli Rehn en voorzitter Barroso danken voor de aanbevelingen aan lidstaten.

De begrotingsdoelstellingen houden rekening met het slechte economisch tij. De aanbevelingen zijn verregaand en ambitieus als het gaat om structurele hervormingen. Terecht wijst u op het grote risico van lastenverzwaring. Juist in structurele hervormingen in de lidstaten, ligt een belangrijke sleutel voor economisch herstel, voor herstel van concurrentiekracht en groei van werkgelegenheid. Tegen onze socialistische collega's hier zou ik willen zeggen: "Problemen los je niet op door ze te negeren." François Hollande is daar helaas het levende bewijs voor.

Voorzitter, het is belangrijk dat de regeringsleiders gezamenlijk de aanbevelingen ondersteunen en ieder voor zich ook daadkracht toont. De goede voorbeelden zijn, hoe moeilijk ook, de regeringsleiders in Ierland, Spanje, Portugal, Letland. En ik hoop dat anderen, ook Nederland, volgen.

Maar met mijn Spaanse collega zeg ik inderdaad: "Europa moet méér doen, óók Europa." Ik heb daarom zorg over de recente Frans-Duitse verklaring. Ook op het punt van de bankenunie. Vertraging dreigt, terwijl we juist moeten versnellen, want de fragmentatie op de financiële markten levert grote problemen als het gaat om toegang tot financiering voor het midden- en klein bedrijf. Er moet snel duidelijkheid komen over de vraag waar de zwakke plekken in de bankensector zitten en hoe herkapitalisatie en herstructurering moeten worden aangepakt.

Wat ik nog tot slot wil zeggen is: "Commissie, kom met een ambitieus voorstel voor het Single Resolution Mechanism. Op onze steun kunt u rekenen.

  Paulo Rangel (PPE). - Senhor Presidente, Senhor Comissário, Senhora Representante da Presidência irlandesa, eu queria basicamente fazer aqui dois apelos. O primeiro apelo para o Conselho é o de que o Conselho Europeu esteja ciente da situação que se vive hoje em dia em todo o espaço europeu. Os povos europeus, os povos dos diferentes países, esperam não apenas decisões burocráticas ou mais um passo, ainda que pequeno, na resolução da crise – os povos europeus esperam uma resposta, e eu creio que há sinais hoje, em diferentes países, de que, se nós não formos capazes de dar esta resposta, haverá consequências políticas e sociais extremamente graves.

O segundo ponto é muito focado, muito dirigido, para uma matéria na qual tenho trabalhado, e trabalhei muito, na Comissão dos Assuntos Constitucionais, e que tem a ver com a união bancária. É absolutamente essencial nós darmos um passo final na união bancária. Aqui já foi dito várias vezes, por vários colegas, mas nunca é demais dizer… Aliás, dizer a partir de um país que tem uma crise que não tem propriamente uma conotação bancária. Mas nós estamos conscientes de que, sem resolver este problema, não haverá possibilidade de dar outros passos para ultrapassar a crise. Portanto, peço ao Conselho, por um lado, uma visão política já, e, por outro lado, uma resolução tão rápida quanto possível da questão da união bancária.

  Μαριέττα Γιαννάκου (PPE). - Κύριε Πρόεδρε, όπως πάντα θα συζητήσουμε και σήμερα, ή συζητούμε, για το πως βλέπουμε να εξελίσσεται το Συμβούλιο των επομένων ημερών. Όμως, τι γίνεται τελικά με το Συμβούλιο κύριε Πρόεδρε; Η Επιτροπή έχει χάσει τον πραγματικό, βαθύτερο, ουσιαστικό της ρόλο ως εισηγητής και το Ευρωπαϊκό Συμβούλιο αποφασίζει ταχύτατα, ενώ το Ευρωπαϊκό Κοινοβούλιο αγνοείται.

Μιλούμε όλοι για ανάπτυξη και ανταγωνιστικότητα. Πιστεύει κανείς ότι θα υπάρξει ανταγωνιστικότητα με τους "BRICS", με τις συνθήκες εργασίας και την κατάσταση που υπάρχουν εκεί; Χρειάζονται νέα δεδομένα, χρειάζεται έρευνα και καινοτομία, χρειάζεται να αποφύγουμε τη διπλή εργασία στα κράτη μέλη για τα ίδια συγκεκριμένα θέματα. Χρειάζεται ν' αλλάξουμε προσανατολισμούς και - πάντως - όχι μόνο διακηρύξεις. Οι κατευθυντήριες γραμμές της Λισαβόνας απέτυχαν παταγωδώς και τώρα είναι πιθανότατο ότι η στρατηγική 20-20 θα αποτύχει, με ένα πολυετές δημοσιονομικό πλαίσιο το οποίο πάσχει και για το οποίο ακόμα δεν έχουμε βρει λύση μεταξύ μας.

Κύριε Πρόεδρε, εκτός από τα χρήματα για την ανάπτυξη και τη δημιουργία θέσεων εργασίας, χρειάζεται και διάθεση, χρειάζονται νέες ιδέες και χρειάζεται, κυρίως, οι αποφάσεις που λαμβάνονται να εφαρμόζονται, γιατί πρόκειται για πρωτοφανή υπόθεση να αποφασίζονται πέρσι για τα τραπεζικά θέματα από το Συμβούλιο, συγκεκριμένα πράγματα και, εν συνεχεία, σε λίγους μήνες το Συμβούλιο να τα αρνείται.

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

  Roberta Angelilli (PPE). - Signor Presidente, onorevoli colleghi, uno dei punti all'ordine del giorno del prossimo Consiglio è la lotta alla disoccupazione giovanile: un problema gravissimo, in progressivo aumento: un giovane su 4 in Europa è senza lavoro. Nel mio paese, l'Italia, abbiamo superato il 40%! Sono dati inaccettabili!

Cosa dobbiamo fare? Sicuramente dobbiamo fare di più – e non penso solo alle risorse finanziarie – bene ha fatto la Commissione a stanziare 6 miliardi di euro. Sono pochi? Forse, l'ILO ci dice che ne servirebbero almeno 21 per avere dei risultati concreti. Ma non è questo il punto: il punto è la programmazione! Ma ci rendiamo conto che degli 82 miliardi di euro di risorse comunitarie non utilizzate, riprogrammate proprio ad hoc per la disoccupazione giovanile, ne sono stati spesi soltanto 16 miliardi? Ci vuole più programmazione! Lo dico alla Commissione, altrimenti non ci saranno risultati concreti, trasparenti e misurabili.

  Csaba Sándor Tabajdi (S&D). - A válság alatt a tagállamok ahelyett, hogy az európai munkavállalókba ruháztak volna be, a pénzügyi szférát segítették ki. Csak Spanyolországban 100 milliárd eurót hagytak jóvá tavaly a bankrendszer megsegítésére, most pedig hét évre az európai ifjúsági garanciára mindössze 6 milliárd eurót akarnak elkülöníteni a tagállamok. Ez szégyen!

Ez a hozzáállás csalódást kelt a fiatalok körében egész Európában, így hazámban, Magyarországon is, ahol az ifjúsági munkanélküliségi ráta eléri a 28%-ot, ezzel a 9. legrosszabb az Unióban. Felszólítom az Európai Tanácsot, hogy a nemzetközi munkaügyi szervezet becslésének megfelelően legalább 21 milliárd eurót különítsen el az ifjúsági garanciára, és a programok nagy részét sürgősséggel indítsa el.

  Izaskun Bilbao Barandica (ALDE). - Señor Presidente, debemos luchar contra el paro juvenil e insisto en cuatro ideas.

La primera es que el desempleo juvenil nos priva de la capacidad y la creatividad de la generación mejor formada de la historia de Europa y no hay indicador capaz de medir semejante coste.

La segunda es que, en consecuencia, formación y apoyo a la economía real son las mejores recetas contra el paro.

La tercera es que necesitamos hechos concretos con urgencia. Iniciativas como la Garantía Juvenil necesitan 21 000 millones de euros para ponerse en marcha y esas cantidades se llevan muy mal con la racanería que atasca el debate sobre el marco financiero plurianual y la resistencia a que la Comisión Europea tenga ingresos propios y mucha más autonomía económica para impulsar políticas como esta.

Por último, echo de menos una apuesta más decidida por asociar el empleo juvenil con la economía y la innovación social. Esta forma de emprendimiento, por su capacidad para convertir la actividad laboral en algo más que un trabajo, fija mejor el empleo al territorio. Es, además, impermeable a malas prácticas como el autoempleo ficticio.

En resumen, los valores de la economía real son la mejor respuesta a la voracidad del sistema financiero que nos ha traído hoy hasta aquí.

  Ildikó Gáll-Pelcz (PPE). - Örömteli esemény történt Magyarországon. A Bizottság úgy ítélte meg, hogy 9 év után végre Magyarország kikerülhet a túlzottdeficit-eljárás alól. Ez jó hír Magyarországnak, és jó hír az Európai Uniónak. Jó hír Magyarországnak, a magyar polgároknak, mert a kohéziós források nincsenek veszélyben, és jó hír mindazoknak, akik szolidaritást vállaltak ebben a folyamatban: nagyvállalatoknak, bankoknak.

Jó hír az Európai Uniónak, mert Magyarország megbízható partner, és képes a pénzpiacokról finanszírozni magát. Rendkívül nehéz helyzetben vette át a magyar kormány 2010-ben ezt a kormányzási lehetőséget, bebizonyította ez a döntés, ez a bizottsági ajánlás, hogy Magyarország jó úton jár. A magyar kormány következetesen megfogadja mindazokat a javaslatokat, amelyek ahhoz szükségesek, hogy visszakerüljön megérdemelt helyére, és amelyek ahhoz szükségesek, hogy a gazdaság megerősítését tudják szolgálni.

Azonban a helyzet nem ilyen rózsás. Tisztelt Biztos Urak! Tisztelt Elnök Úr! A kérdésem a következő: Mit gondolnak Önök, a tények alkalmasak-e arra, hogy meggyőzzék a kétkedőket, és az elfogultan támadókat, hogy Magyarország megfelelő úton jár?

  Véronique De Keyser (S&D). - Monsieur le Président, j'ai bien écouté les discours ce matin et, parfois, je me demande si je rêve. En effet, les mesures qui sont proposées aujourd'hui en faveur de l'emploi des jeunes sont vraiment très proches de ce que la stratégie de Lisbonne avait déjà imaginé, dans une méthode intergouvernementale qui demandait à chacun des États de faire des plans pour les jeunes, de l'activation du chômage, de la formation, de l'accompagnement individualisé, etc.

C'était la stratégie de Lisbonne. Elle a d'ailleurs échoué et, aujourd'hui, nous avons 30 millions de chômeurs en Europe. Nous avons 15 millions de désœuvrés qui ne sont même pas des chômeurs et qui sont là, sans formation, sans emploi. Nous savons qu'aujourd'hui, les plus diplômés n'échappent pas non plus au chômage et que les veilles recettes que nous avons appliquées, avec notamment des plans d'activation, ne fonctionnent plus.

Alors, les 6 milliards qui vont peut-être servir à un fonds de garantie de jeunesse suffisent-ils? Non, tant que nous n'aurons pas effectivement une relance de l'emploi et que nous ne lierons pas le problème des jeunes à la relance de l'emploi et à la création d'emplois nouveaux en Europe avec une politique industrielle sérieuse.

  Paul Murphy (GUE/NGL). - Mr President, it is almost six months now since the Irish Presidency promised to place youth unemployment at the centre of its agenda. How has that worked out? Well, youth unemployment has increased. Now one in four young people across the EU do not have a job. Youth unemployment stands at 60 % in Spain and over 60 % in Greece, and the army of 120 000 young people who have left Ireland tells its own story there.

Now we have the youth employment initiative. It reminds me of what Edmund Burke said about hypocrisy – that ‘it can afford to be magnificent in its promises, for never intending to go beyond promise, it costs nothing’. This initiative is an attempt to create the impression that you are doing something about the crisis, but is completely underfunded, with EUR 6 billion rather than the EUR 21 billion which even the ILO said was the minimum required. It places the blame on young people, who are being told that they do not have enough training or experience.

We do not need more schemes – free labour schemes like the JobBridge scheme in Ireland – just providing free labour for big business. We need an end to austerity and we need massive investment to create jobs, put people back to work and redevelop our economies.

  Andreas Mölzer (NI). - Herr Präsident! Frankreichs Staatspräsident Hollande hat bekanntlich verkündet, dass die Krise bereits vorbei sei. Es ist ja wirklich anzunehmen, dass in der Tat bis zu den Wahlen in Deutschland so getan wird, als ob diese Krise bewältigt wäre. Die Wahrheit wird wohl sein, dass nach den bundesdeutschen Parlamentswahlen auf jeden Fall die Krise umso heftiger ausbricht und es sich zeigen wird, dass die EU – auch der diesmalige Rat wird nichts daran ändern – dieser Krise relativ hilflos gegenübersteht. Wahrscheinlich wird man den Weg in eine stärkere Zentralisierung der Union wählen, und mit der Bankenunion dürfte man natürlich anfangen.

Was die Jugendarbeitslosigkeit betrifft, so gibt man sich in der EU ja der Illusion hin, dass das nur ein soziales Problem sei. Es ist aber, wenn wir die Vorgänge in Schweden und in anderen Vorstädten europäischer Städte betrachten, auch ein Problem der Migrationsgesellschaft. Es sind nicht nur europäische Jugendliche, die hier arbeitslos sind, es sind häufig Jugendliche mit Migrationshintergrund. Diese kulturelle Dimension wird von der EU geleugnet, und auch der Rat wird wahrscheinlich darauf keine Antwort finden.

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

  Olli Rehn, Vice-President of the Commission. − Mr President, many thanks for a very substantive and wide-ranging debate. The European Council is taking place at a critical juncture where we have to do whatever it takes to overcome the unemployment crisis in many parts of Europe. As was said by somebody like Ms Jäätteenmäki, the European Council may not be able to solve all Europe’s problems but the European Council must definitely be able and willing to give a strong boost and strong support to effectively tackling the serious problem of youth unemployment and enhancing the access to finance for small and medium-sized enterprises which is so vital for economic growth.

Let me comment on some key issues related to the growth and investment agenda and then László Andor will comment on funding for fighting youth unemployment and the social dimension of the EMU.

The excessively tight credit conditions for SMEs are a very serious bottleneck to growth today, especially in southern Europe. As President Barroso explained, we are now working hard and intensively with the European Investment Bank and the ECB to find a viable, really workable solution to this problem.

The European Investment Bank is the public development bank of the European Union and it must be used to the maximum extent for these public objectives that are so essential from the European standpoint. Therefore I call on the European Council to give a very strong boost and very strong political guidance to the EIB, where Member States play a key role in decision-making.

On banking union it is not correct to say that the Commission would be delaying it. On the contrary: overall we have made sound and steady progress on banking union, which is a cornerstone of the future economic and monetary union, and the Commission has been the driver of this work together with Parliament.

I trust the ECOFIN Council will arrive at a general approach on the Bank Resolution Recovery Directive next week in order to pave the way for rapid political agreement by Parliament and the Council on bank resolution recovery and deposit guarantee schemes. We certainly need to maintain the pace and momentum for completion of the banking union. Before the summer recess, the Commission will make an ambitious proposal for a single resolution mechanism. We definitely need to ensure its adoption during the current parliamentary cycle, before the European elections and campaign take place.

Finally, I am pleased to be coming to the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs next week to discuss country-specific recommendations and economic policy more in general.

I will just refer to one issue which is a key issue on the agenda of the European Council. This concerns the adoption of the euro by Latvia.

Last week, the Commission concluded in the convergence report that Latvia has achieved a high degree of sustainable economic convergence and is ready to adopt the euro on 1 January next year. I warmly invite the European Council to endorse the Commission’s proposal and welcome Latvia into the euro area as its eighteenth member. Latvia has come a long way. Determined policy implementation has helped Latvia to return to robust growth and emerge much stronger economically than before the crisis.

The prospective adoption of the euro by Latvia sends a very strong signal to the region, to the euro area and to the global community and the world economy at large. It emphasises the integrity of the euro and proves that determined policy action for sustainable public finances and sustainable growth and job creation do generate concrete results.

  Daniel Cohn-Bendit (Verts/ALE). - Monsieur le Président, j'aurais une question à M. Rehn. Est-ce que la Commission, le représentant de la Commission …

(Le Président retire la parole à l'orateur)

  László Andor, Member of the Commission. − Mr President, I very much regret that we are overrunning, but I would like to answer the questions which have been raised in the discussion about unemployment. Unemployment in the EU is indeed at a dangerously high level; it is 11% of the workforce in the EU and 12% in the eurozone which is about 20 million people, and it is true that one in five unemployed are 25 years old or younger.

In some countries it was high before the crisis too and there is also a dangerous polarisation inside the EU and inside the eurozone. The Commission adopted one year ago an ambitious employment package to address this situation, and we also use the proposals and initiatives of this package in the country-specific recommendations during the European Semester. As the President said in his introduction, we can leave no stone unturned in this effort, and that also applies to the Member States.

Why are we specifically focusing on young people when the young, as you know, are only a minority among the total of the unemployed? It is for three reasons: first of all because young people have been disproportionately hit by the rise of unemployment; because the associated risk is enormous in terms of economic losses, social and political instability; and also because now we have the possibility to promote an EU-level solution in the form of a youth guarantee. The youth guarantee is not only an emergency relief; it is also a structural reform which will improve school-to-work transition but also the performance of training and the number and quality of apprenticeships in the Member States.

Everybody knows that the EUR 6 billion in the youth employment initiative is not enough but the EUR 6 billion is a very important top-up in the regions where the situation is the worst and much bigger sums will have to come as also in the past from the European Social Fund. That is why it is very important, as the President said, that a significant minimum share for the European Social Fund will have to be ensured in the next MFF.

We are also working on further initiatives, for example in the area of mobility, as many young people will find more easily a new job or apprenticeship in another Member State. That is why forthcoming proposals will focus on the reinforcement of EURES and further support for mobility in the European labour market.

We very much welcome the efforts, the actions, the contributions of national politicians for implementation, whether they are in election campaigns or not; this is very welcome. We also welcome the support of social partners who also have worked on youth employment and have come forward with their contributions. The social partners will also have to play a role in a newly reinforced social dimension of the economic and monetary uunion.

In this area, as you know, the Commission is working on a new communication. The rationale and the justification for a stronger social dimension comes from the divergence of employment and social conditions in the eurozone, the increasing imbalances in this area which can be detected and monitored through an employment and social scoreboard. These proposals will hopefully strengthen the social dimension and will lead to a better functioning of the EMU.

  Le Président. - Monsieur Cohn-Bendit, vous avez soulevé un point d'ordre et vous avez posé une question. C'est contraire au règlement. Si vous voulez poser une question, demandez-moi si vous pouvez poser votre question au Commissaire. C'est à moi de décider si je vous autorise ou non à le faire. Ainsi, si vous souhaitez poser une question au Commissaire, merci de me le demander.

  Daniel Cohn-Bendit (Verts/ALE). - Monsieur le Commissaire, comme tout le monde ici, vous savez que la télévision publique grecque a été fermée hier sur ordre du gouvernement grec.

Le gouvernement grec dit que c'était une condition de la troïka. Étant donné que dans la troïka, il y a un représentant de la Commission européenne, je demande au commissaire responsable de ce représentant: est-il vrai que la Commission européenne a chargé son représentant dans la troïka de demander la fermeture de la télévision et de la radio publiques en Grèce? Si cela est vrai, c'est un scandale dont nous devrons discuter dans ce Parlement.

Monsieur le Commissaire, je vous demande humblement de nous donner une réponse claire à cette question très claire.

(Applaudissements)

  Olli Rehn, Vice-President of the Commission. − Mr President, I should like to thank Mr Cohn-Bendit for this question on a very important matter.

My practice is always first to establish the facts, and I have had to do this because this was not a Commission decision. I was at the Dutch Parliament yesterday – I had a full day in The Hague – and this morning I was preparing for this very important debate on the European Council, so I am only able to give you a very preliminary response at this point in time, in full respect of the evolving European democracy and the European Parliament.

The Commission has taken note of the decision by the Greek authorities to close down ERT, the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation, which is a decision taken in full autonomy by the Greek Government.

The Commission did not seek the closure of ERT, but nor does the Commission question the Greek Government’s mandate to manage the public sector in Greece. The Greek authorities’ decision was taken in the context of the major efforts that they are making to modernise the Greek economy.

The Commission understands the difficult situation of ERT staff and we expect that the announced dismissals will be carried out in full accordance with the applicable legal framework.

The Commission supports the role of public broadcasting as an integral part of European democracy. The Amsterdam Protocol makes it clear that governance and strategic choices on public service broadcasting lie with the Member States. So, while the Commission cannot prescribe how Member States should organise their public service broadcasters, we would like to underline the role of public service broadcasters regarding European values in all economic circumstances. Greece, like all European countries, needs media pluralism, media freedom and media quality.

We welcome the commitment of the Greek Government to launch a media actor that fulfils the important role of public broadcasting and is financially sustainable.

  Lucinda Creighton, President-in-Office of the Council. − Mr President, honourable Commissioners, I am very grateful to everybody who has participated in this debate. I have taken good note of and have listened carefully to all of the different comments that have been made. As this is my last time of having the pleasure of addressing Parliament on behalf of the Council, I would like to convey my thanks to you, as a Parliament, for the very intense ...

(Loud applause from the floor)

I would like to thank you for the very intense and the hugely productive engagement that we have enjoyed over the last six months and in this, of course, I would like to include the many plenary meetings in relation to which I would like to thank the President and all of the Vice-Presidents for their support, the multiple meetings in smaller formats with committees, with the Conference of Committee Chairs, with rapporteurs, with political groups, contact groups, and so on. I would also like to put on record the Presidency’s appreciation of the support that we have received from the Parliamentary services and, of course, separately I would like to acknowledge the huge support that the Council services have offered to me, in particular, but also to the Presidency as a whole, in the discharge of our responsibilities.

We are, I should stress, not at the end of our Presidency just yet, there is still much that we can deliver together, but it is fitting that a Presidency styled on stability, growth and jobs will effectively come to an end at a European Council when the subjects for discussion are exactly those: the European Semester Process, EMU and, in particular, banking union.

While the European Council is still more than two weeks away, and the preparations have yet to be finalised, the determining issue of the discussions will be how to increase our competitiveness and to stimulate growth. This is the main priority for the European Union, and we therefore fully support President van Rompuy in his focus on that at the European Council at the end of the month.

We all know that improving our competitiveness will lead to economic growth and that growth creates jobs, jobs which are badly needed. It is the only way to escape the scourge of unemployment, and particularly youth unemployment, which has been mentioned here repeatedly by Members today and which saps all of the energy and dynamism from our citizens, from our populations. So that is the big challenge for all of us.

A number of you today referred to the need to assist in particular young people who are not able to find a job. As I said in my opening remarks – and Commissoner Andor has also mentioned it – the Youth Guarantee Scheme must be implemented rapidly. We look forward to further measures to increase labour mobility, which is also key to tackling unemployment. This is the challenge of the European Union, it the challenge of our time. There are no easy solutions, but I genuinely and strongly feel that together we can and we must use all of our resources to tackle the scourge of youth unemployment.

One of the aspects to this is the hugely important Multiannual Financial Framework, and I know a number of speakers today have raised the issue of the Union’s seven-year budget and the ongoing negotiations. I think many of us would agree that the most significant contribution that our institutions can make in the short term, in terms of growth and jobs, is agreement on the MFF. I have to say that I do reject suggestions that Europe would be somehow better off without a solid basis to budget its activities for the next seven years. I do not think that Parliament genuinely believes in such a proposition or such a suggestion.

I say this because, not only would it undermine the effectiveness of the very necessary programmes which we are co-legislating, but it would also send a very negative signal more widely about our Union’s ability to organise our business and to deal with the challenges that have been outlined here today.

I am sorry to say that the Council – and indeed the Presidency – has been sharply criticised here today for lack of progress in the negotiations. I reject this criticism very robustly. Council has not been lacking in any way since the European Council reached its agreement in February. We have not cancelled meetings or trialogues. We have proactively put forward texts and, in the light of the ongoing negotiations, we have amended texts and have put forward new texts, covering all of Parliament’s four priority areas and on several other issues that Parliament has introduced along the way. We have been happy to do so in the spirit of negotiation.

As a Presidency, we have moved extremely quickly to seek and obtain political agreement on an early draft amending budget, in response to Parliament’s resolution linking the two – you will recall that I participated in the debate here on the MFF and on the resolution in March. This was a very considerable move by the Council, one which was not without difficulty for Member States and which required careful negotiation and leadership from our Presidency.

On the key question of flexibility, which was raised by Mr Swoboda, Mr Daul and by many others, including President Barroso himself, the Council has noted the importance that Parliament attaches to this issue. We are doing our best to move closer to you. Importantly, we have responded. The Council has offered very considerable flexibility on several fronts. Most significantly, I believe, we have offered flexibility on payments, allowing the carrying forward, within limits, of unused margins to allow far greater room for manoeuvre for budget management over the lifetime of the MFF. This is a hugely significant move. Indeed Commissioner Lewandowski, the Commissioner responsible for budgets, described it as a breakthrough. It is new ground for the MFF and we are very proud that we are in a position to move that forward. Of course this is not all that we have achieved. On the flexibility instrument, the most significant of such instruments, there is an increase of 130% and, beyond that, we have offered greater flexibility on the Emergency Aid Reserve and on the contingency margin that has lapsed has been restored.

So, all in all, there is a significant package which is being put together in response to the very legitimate demands of Parliament. It is one which will allow the Commission, I believe, to manage the budget more effectively for all of our benefit and indeed, most crucially, for the benefit of our citizens.

I do not think that any of us should be surprised that the negotiations on the MFF are tough. I think this is only to be expected. It is surely the nature of such negotiations that they present difficulties, but last night I had the pleasure, with the Tánaiste, our Deputy Prime Minister, of negotiating with the excellent European Parliament team, lead by Alain Lamassoure and his colleagues from the contact group, and indeed Commissioner Lewandowski, where we went on until late in the evening. I believe we have genuine momentum in these negotiations on the MFF. With goodwill on all sides we can, and we will, reach an agreement and, quite frankly, we need an agreement because of the direct translation into jobs and growth.

In conclusion, I want to thank all of you for the varied and the very important contributions that you have made in this debate on the European Council. I will ensure that they are conveyed to colleagues in Council and, of course, to President Van Rompuy. Once again, it has been an honour and a pleasure for me to represent the Irish Presidency and the Council here in the Chamber.

VORSITZ: MARTIN SCHULZ
Präsident

Der Präsident. – Die Aussprache ist geschlossen. Schriftliche Erklärungen (Artikel 149 GO)

  Minodora Cliveti (S&D), in writing. – 22.8% of young people in the EU are currently unemployed, with youth unemployment exceeding 50% in some Member States. 8.3 million Europeans under 25 years and an additional 6.5 million young people aged 25–29 are neither in employment nor in education or training. We should start to work on the creation of automatic stabilisers at the EU level, starting with the Youth Guarantee schemes, which should be accompanied by a quality framework in order to ensure that the education, training and jobs offered include appropriate pay, working conditions and health and safety standards. The Member States should improve cooperation between businesses and the educational sector at all levels, with a scope of better linking curricula to the demands of the labour market, more flexible curricula are needed in order to better adapt to future labour market developments. Social investment can go hand in hand with efficient incentives, such as employment subsidies or insurance contributions for young people that will guarantee decent living and working conditions, in order to encourage public and private employers to hire young people, invest in both quality job creation for young people and continuous training and upgrading of their skills during employment, and support entrepreneurship among youth.

  Corina Creţu (S&D), în scris. – Este evident că proiectul european a intrat într-un mare impas. UE era văzută drept un model alternativ de globalizare, tocmai datorită aspectelor sociale ale proiectului. Acum, în loc să vedem care sunt cauzele situaţiei în care ne aflăm, căutăm vinovaţi. Elemente care trebuiau să ne unească - moneda comună, extinderea UE, circulaţia forţei de muncă - au ajuns să fie cauze ale dezbinării lor. Cred că problema esenţială o reprezintă decalajele istorice de dezvoltare între diversele zone ale continentului, pe care criza le-a scos în evidenţă şi pe care austeritatea le accentuează. Fără un efort consistent şi sistematic de reducere a decalajelor de dezvoltare, problemele despre care vorbim acum se vor agrava. Relansarea proiectului european ar trebui să înceapă cu adâncirea integrării politice. Ar fi primul semn că se înţelege nevoia reducerii deficitului de democraţie şi a implicării cetăţenilor în deciziile care îi privesc, inclusiv prin sporirea puterilor Parlamentului European, care să exercite cu adevărat suveranitatea cetăţenilor europeni.

  Tamás Deutsch (PPE), írásban. – A jelen pénzügyi és gazdasági válság hozadéka a munkanélküliség magas aránya, főleg ami a fiatal munkanélküliséget illeti. Ezt a rendkívül fontos problémát kezelni kell azért, mert nem csupán szociális és politikai veszélye van, hanem ezzel gazdasági erőt is veszítünk, és a fiatal generációk csalódnak a jelenlegi rendszerben, bennünk és az Unió egészében. A munkanélküliség problémájának megoldására számos programot említettek képviselőtársaim, a biztos urak és miniszter asszony is (a Youth Guarantee kezdeményezéstől egészen az Erasmus for All projektig) többek között a kkv-k támogatását, azok hitelekhez való könnyebb hozzáférését (például az EIB tőkésítésével), versenyképességük javítását. És valóban, nemcsak Magyarországon, hanem az Európai Unió egészében a munkaerőpiac jelentős részét (az európai vállalkozások 99%-át, így a munkahelyek 85%-át, a magánszektor munkahelyeinek kétharmadát) a kkv-k adják. Stratégiai jelentőségű az említett két probléma kezelése annak érdekében, hogy Európa kilábaljon a gazdasági válságból, az európai gazdaságba vetett hit és bizalom helyreálljon, valamint teljesíteni tudjuk az Európa 2020 Stratégia célkitűzéseit. Felelősek vagyunk mindannyian, beleértve az ír elnökséget, a Tanács egészét is, azért, hogy az említett problémák megoldódjanak, éppen ezért mindannyian sokat várunk a június 27–28-i Európai Tanács találkozójától.

  Monika Flašíková Beňová (S&D), písomne. – Medzi témy nadchádzajúceho summitu patrí zvýšenie konkurencieschopnosti, rastu a zamestnanosti v rámci EU. Miera nezamestnanosti v krajinách EU sa ale napriek tomu v máji 2013 pohybovala na úrovni 11%! Miera nezamestnanosti mladých ľudí presiahla v roku 2011 napr. V Grécku a Španielsku hranicu 55%. V rámci EU vzrástla už na 21%, čo zodpovedá 5.5 miliónu ľudí! Protikrízové opatrenia sú neúčinné! Škrtanie a zle zamerané sociálne investície majú negatívny dopad najmä na tých obyvateľov EÚ, ktorí sú krízou najviac postihnutí! Členské štáty musia účinnejšie nastaviť štrukturálne reformy, potrebujeme systémové opatrenia a nie len krátkodobé riešenia, ktoré iba odďaľujú nevyhnutné a v konečnom dôsledku majú negatívny dopad na zamestnanosť. Musíme cielene investovať a posilniť financovanie hospodárstva, musíme byť rozhodní pri prijímaní pro rastových opatrení. Je preto nevyhnutné aby členské štáty pokračovali v zavádzaní reforiem a naďalej posilňovali sociálne investície s cieľom vytvoriť účinný systém sociálneho zabezpečenia, ktorý by mal byť samozrejmosťou v modernej Európe. Vlády jednotlivých členských štátov by sa mali zamerať na podporu malých a stredných podnikov, ktoré sú najväčšmi zasiahnuté hospodárskou a sociálnou krízou. Musíme zabrániť narastajúcim sociálnym nepokojom, ktoré sú dôsledkom neefektívnych a v praxi často nefungujúcich opatrení zo strán najma pravicovych vlád členských štátov, ale aj inštitúcií EU.

  Liem Hoang Ngoc (S&D), par écrit. – D’aucuns pensent que le sommet de juin ne sera pas un événement. Pourtant, la suspension concertée du pacte de stabilité, qui y sera entérinée, est une étape importante de la mise en place d’un véritable gouvernement économique, appelé à mettre en œuvre des instruments de convergence et de compétitivité.

Au mépris de la méthode communautaire, la Commission propose pour cela la contractualisation bilatérale avec chaque État, tandis que les États membres, au Conseil, voudraient s’en tenir à des arrangements purement intergouvernementaux. Cela est inacceptable, à l’heure où nos concitoyens s’élèvent à raison contre les politiques d’austérité et le déficit de démocratie en Europe.

Le Parlement, élu au suffrage universel et dépositaire de la volonté générale des citoyens européens, est pour le moment exclu de cette nouvelle étape de l’UEM. Il est urgent que le Parlement européen se dote d’une structure propre dédiée à la zone euro, pour peser face à l’Eurogroupe, dont les choix discutables sont trop souvent restés indiscutés.

  Lívia Járóka (PPE), in writing. – One of the most definitive issues challenging the future of the European Union is the life prospects of the marginalised millions in our Union, among them the 10 million Roma. The stumbling of the world economy and the debt crisis strangling our Union have accelerated those harmful tendencies, due to which fewer and fewer people are able to maintain a proper standard of living and, for more and more European citizens, even everyday subsistence represents an insoluble challenge. We must not leave our most vulnerable citizens unprotected and we must not underestimate the crucial importance of social inclusion for retaining and developing the European economy. Boosting employment and social inclusion must therefore remain a priority and Member States must step up their efforts to tackle the social consequences of the crisis and to fight poverty and social exclusion.

  Filip Kaczmarek (PPE), na piśmie. – Bezrobocie wśród młodzieży jest bardzo wysokie i niepokojące. Cieszę się, że instytucje europejskie od kilku miesięcy bardzo intensywnie pracują nad ograniczeniem tego niekorzystnego i niechcianego zjawiska. Długotrwałe bezrobocie młodzieży jest niebezpieczne, bo obniża dynamikę społeczną i grozi poważnymi konsekwencjami. Walka z tym złem warta jest angażowania funduszy europejskich. Zgadzam się z prezydencją irlandzką, że właśnie dlatego tak ważne jest przyjęcie wieloletnich ram finansowych. Zapewnią one stabilizację i jasną perspektywę, również w zakresie walki z bezrobociem wśród młodzieży. Żałuję, że to właśnie Parlament Europejski opóźnia zawarcie porozumienia międzyinstytucjonalnego w sprawie WRF. Polityczne ambicje niektórych kolegów posłów mogą niestety być szkodliwe dla realizacji tego ważnego wyzwania, jakim jest ograniczenie bezrobocia.

  Tunne Kelam (PPE), in writing. – The coming Council meeting will conclude the Irish presidency and move towards the Lithuanian one. The EU has demonstrated progress managing the acute debt and financial crisis. On the other hand a certain fatigue can be noticed among Member States who only few months ago were firmly committing to more Europe, notably to stricter fiscal supervision, banking union etc.

Today we see loosening the grip as some governments seem to think that the need to reform is over. This loosening on rules is exactly what brought us to the crisis in the first place. I call upon the Council not to give in when it comes to banking union. We need common rules and coordination to avoid collapses and domino effects. We need the single supervision to set rules and enforce those rules, also a resolution mechanism to act when needed. To regain trust with our citizens, the Member States cannot give in on a euro-wide guarantee on deposits. Also, the Council needs to find a solution on how to include non-eurozone governments and banks in the banking union.

  Jan Kozłowski (PPE), na piśmie. – Uważam, że decyzja poświęcenia najbliższego szczytu Rady Unii Europejskiej w znacznej mierze zwiększaniu zatrudnienia i konkurencyjności gospodarki europejskiej jest w pełni uzasadniona. Mimo wielu wysiłków i inicjatyw sytuacja na europejskim rynku pracy jest wciąż zła. Najnowsze dane wskazują, że bezrobocie w Unii Europejskiej utrzymuje się na stale wysokim poziomie 11%, a poziom bezrobocia wśród młodzieży jest często kilkakrotnie wyższy. W tym kontekście warto zwrócić uwagę na inicjatywy płynące bezpośrednio ze środowisk młodzieżowych.

Młodzież z Europejskiej Partii Ludowej zaproponowała konkretny program – trzy kroki na rzecz nadania dynamiki zatrudnieniu młodzieży. Propozycja obejmuje wprowadzenie ulg podatkowych dla przedsiębiorstw zatrudniających młodych ludzi, lepsze dostosowanie programów edukacyjnych do wymogów rynku pracy, w tym wprowadzenie praktyk zawodowych jako integralnej części kształcenia, a także tworzenie inkubatorów biznesu, klastrów i wsparcia kapitałowego dla młodych przedsiębiorców. Młodzież kładzie nacisk na to, że obciążenia biurokratyczne, nadmierne opodatkowanie i brak dostępu do kapitału stanowią poważne bariery dla młodych przedsiębiorców.

Warto wsłuchać się w głos młodych, którzy podkreślają, że nie chcą wyłącznie wsparcia socjalnego i inicjatyw zapobiegających wykluczeniu społecznemu. Młodzi oczekują od Unii Europejskiej i państw członkowskich przede wszystkim dobrej, wspierającej przedsiębiorczość, dynamicznej polityki zatrudnienia sprzyjającej powstawaniu nowych miejsc pracy.

  Petru Constantin Luhan (PPE), în scris. – Reintroducerea pe agenda Consiliului a dezbaterilor referitoare la crearea locurilor de muncă, punând accent pe tineret, arată încă o dată situația alarmantă în care se regăsesc tinerii europeni. Tocmai de aceea avem nevoie mai mult ca niciodată de reforme structurale la nivel național și la nivel comunitar pentru crearea de locuri de muncă concentrate pe forța de muncă tânără. Aceste eforturi trebuie sa fie orientate către: corelarea strategiilor comunitare de ocupare a forței de muncă și necesitățile viitoare ale economiei europene, reducerea presiunii fiscale pentru companiile care angajează tineri sub 30 de ani, și către programe de sustinere a dezvoltării spiritului antreprenorial în rândul tinerilor prin crearea unor incubatoare de afaceri speciale pentru tineret, acces sporit la fonduri europene și la consiliere în afaceri.

  Franz Obermayr (NI), schriftlich. – Nicht die unsichtbare Hand der EU, sondern die des Marktes ist weit geeigneter für mehr Wachstum und die Bekämpfung der Jugendarbeitslosigkeit. Mit Gießkannen-Verteilung von Geldern und Masterplänen durch ein Zentralkomitee wird – historisch oft genug bewiesen – wenig erreicht. Bei mehr Wachstum hat die EU beinahe alles Pulver verschossen. Die EZB hat die Geldpolitik durch eine zu lange Nullzins-Doktrin nachhaltig wirkungslos gemacht. Die Staaten sind pleite. Expansive Fiskalpolitik ist so auch kaum noch möglich. Und legislative Änderungen struktureller Art werden aus Mangel an Mut nicht angepackt. Die vermeintliche Rettung wird bei den USA in der TTIP gesucht. Das alles sind Zeichen der Ratlosigkeit des Rates. Ich sehe hier folglich wenig Potenzial für eine zentralisierte Induktion von Wachstum. Es braucht eben auf nationaler Ebene diesen Mut für strukturelle Änderungen. Dieser Handlungswille wird aber durch die vermeintliche EZB-Rettungs- oder besser Verschleppungspolitik unterdrückt. Der Rat spielt hier naturgemäß kräftig mit. Also: Stoppen Sie die Rettungspolitik, bauen Sie nationalen Handlungszwang auf, dann kommen die notwendigen Reformen von ganz alleine!

  Nuno Teixeira (PPE), por escrito. – No sentido de combater o grave flagelo social verificado nas camadas mais jovens da população derivado ao elevado valor do desemprego jovem, o Presidente do Conselho, Herman Van Rompuy, propôs que fosse criado uma Iniciativa de Emprego Jovem para vigorar em 2014-2020 devendo existir um adiantamento das verbas aos países com maiores dificuldades de empregabilidade. Além disso, entendo que outras propostas para combater o desemprego jovem devem ser analisadas pelos líderes europeus, tais como: as organizações de juventude europeias chegaram ao consenso sobre 3 medidas a implementar e que já têm sido defendidas também a nível nacional, nomeadamente ao nível da diminuição dos impostos pagos pelas empresas quando contratem jovens e eliminar o fosso existente entre a formação ministrada no Ensino Superior e o mercado de trabalho, através da introdução de programas de formação e estágios curriculares na formação superior. Por fim, entendo ainda que é necessário e importante promover o empreendedorismo jovem, através da criação de incubadoras de empresas destinadas à criação do próprio emprego, melhoria das condições de fomento das empresas de capital e risco e business angels.

  Silvia-Adriana Ţicău (S&D), în scris. – Consiliul European din iunie se va axa pe politica economică, abordând trei chestiuni principale: încheierea semestrului european din acest an (coordonarea politicii economice şi fiscale a statelor membre), inclusiv recomandările specifice fiecărei ţări; evaluarea eforturilor de stimulare a competitivităţii, a locurilor de muncă şi a creşterii economice, cu accent pe iniţiativele de ameliorare a ocupării forţei de muncă în rândul tinerilor şi a finanţării economiei; progresele înregistrate în finalizarea uniunii economice şi monetare a UE, în special a uniunii bancare. Solicităm Consiliului să pună accent pe stimularea competitivităţii, a locurilor de muncă şi a creşterii economice. UE trebuie să îşi dezvolte o politică industrială capabilă să refacă industria europeană, într-o manieră eco-eficientă. Dezvoltarea industrială a UE trebuie acompaniată de măsuri de finanţare a economiei europene, astfel încât să se asigure atât locuri de muncă pe teritoriul UE, cât şi competitivitatea UE pe plan mondial. În final, consider că UE trebuie să investească în păstrarea Modelului Social European. Fără investiţii în educaţie şi în sănătate, în asigurarea de locuri de muncă decente şi în garantarea unei pensii decente, UE nu are viitor. Cel mai important capital al UE sunt cei 500 de milioane de cetăţeni şi, de aceea, este momentul ca UE să investească în prezentul şi viitorul acestora.

  Angelika Werthmann (ALDE), in writing. – The upcoming Council meeting is in my view a crucial one – we still do not have a solution to our budgetary situation: there is no progress concerning the MFF! Yes, we need flexibility and own resources, but we also need the revision clause. How can the next Parliament be expected to accept not having a say on the budget for the next seven years? Our priorities, also those of the Council, should be to deal with the still high unemployment rate in the European Union and therefore to create jobs and invest in growth and education, and to tackle the standstill in the European Union. If anyone is of President Hollande’s opinion, I am convinced this is the wrong message. The euro crisis is not behind us. It is of crucial importance to stand together. Now we all have to solve the problems in the individual Member States, and this starts in my view with balanced budgets.