Mr President, the Commission’s recommendations to the Member States are loaded with all the usual European Union dogmas, with the emphasis on reducing national debt. This basically equates to cuts in public and social spending. Mr von Wogau’s report takes the same approach. There is a self-satisfied air about this that I find quite disconcerting, given the worsening economic situation, and a refusal to consider the conditions needed to promote sustainable development. The declared ambition is to follow a programme of stability. The European Central Bank’s primary goal is to ensure price stability. The European Central Bank still refuses to lower interest rates, because it is obsessed with the threat of inflation, which is still on the horizon, and the President of the Bundesbank recently reminded us that the European Central Bank is not responsible for either growth or employment. The report reiterates the European Union’s goal to be more competitive and more dynamic, which is a worthy objective, but the proposals on the resources needed to implement this remain within the realms of dogma. These include adjusting pension systems to take account of budgetary restrictions, fully exploiting the potential for spending cuts in all areas, although the euphemism given to the public is ‘creating an appropriate environment to foster investment in terms of the labour market’, without forgetting, of course – and this is the perpetual icing on the cake – liberalisation in the outstanding sectors. There is no mention of our obligations towards Community level services of general interest. Basically, we are continuing to use the same old strategies, namely the anti-inflationist credo, the number one priority. We all know the consequences of this approach. The report shows no hesitation in stressing the progress made in reducing levels of unemployment in some Member States, and highlights the need to continue reform of the labour market. It would be worthwhile assessing the nature of these newly created jobs, which are most often insecure. How can you possibly strive for improvements in unemployment whilst totally disregarding the strategy of the large and generally profitable European companies, which keep a close eye on financial criteria and make many of their employees redundant on the pretext of maintaining competitiveness? Although this stretches the credibility of the European social model, we are coming up against obvious reluctance to take the necessary measures to protect employees. There is no mention of the social policy that is essential to consolidating growth. No mention of businesses’ social responsibilities. Once again, this sort of economic policy does not tally with the desire to achieve sustainable development, which would require a dynamic of public investment and organising a market with strong industrial ambitions. The necessary capital does exist. There is an urgent need to control the reality of the financial market and that is why my group, in the process of discussing this report, is revisiting the European Union’s economic policies and proposes to introduce a tax on speculative buying in order to control them, to reduce their volatility and most importantly to raise resources to invest in society and the environment. This report, and the situation of the European Union in general, show once again that it would be beneficial to make the EU’s political, economic and social decisions part of a genuine democratic process, which could be established in each country, after wide-ranging consultation with civil society in Europe.

Political group: GUE-NGL