Manuel António dos Santos (PSE). – (PT) Mr President, I should like to begin by commending Mr Karas, as indeed I did in our debate in Strasbourg a few days ago, on his far-reaching and well-executed work, even though our positions differ on the most appropriate means of achieving stability in public financing and on the importance of this instrument to the European economy’s much needed recovery.

The issue before us is whether, on the one hand, we accept a proposal that is to my mind relatively well balanced and thereby succeed in adopting this balanced proposal before the end of the Luxembourg Presidency, or, on the other hand, we find a way of postponing the process and possibly leading it down a blind alley through a succession of amendments. I therefore feel that, rather than appealing to the Members of this House, who might block the adoption of this common position, our overriding priorities should be common sense and the need to take this process forward.

As we know, the Council adopted a motion in March to amend the Stability and Growth Pact and its two pillars. Although this is not a position that I myself welcome, it is clearly a step in the right direction, towards smoothing relations between the EU and the citizens, whose concerns have not been met on any practical level by the economic governance of Europe. It is on this basis that we have to work. The issue before us is not, of course, the sustainability of public finances and, less still, their consolidation. Our priority is rather to make the Pact more effective and easier for society as a whole to understand. I therefore urge common sense so that we can take this process forward.

I should also like to point out that the European Central Bank (ECB) finally appears willing to adopt more growth-friendly monetary policies. It is said that interest rates are set to fall. At a time when the ECB is ready to break free from its orthodoxy, now does not strike me as the right time for Parliament to cling stubbornly to its financial orthodoxy.