The crisis and the 27

Concertation, support, promotion, regulation: these and other substantives formed the shared vocabulary round which the heads of state and of government of the 27 conducted their latest summit on the economic crisis, held in Brussels on 1st March.Twenty-seven-member summit, with prologue. Meeting at the invitation of the Czech Premier Mirek Topolanek, current President of the EU, the member states reviewed the situation created by the recession and Europe’s capacity to respond to it. The summit gave rise to no firm decisions (“it was an informal summit”, Topolanek stressed), which were deferred to the next meetings on the schedule: once again in Brussels in late March, in London on 2 April (G20), and in Prague in May for a specific meeting on employment, followed in turn by the European Council at the end of June, the G8 in July… Sunday’s meeting had a prologue in the morning with a rendezvous between the nine Eastern European member countries (Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic, Romania, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania), convened to analyse the repercussions of the crisis, particularly severe on the economies of Eastern Europe. In this regard the head of the Hungarian government, Ferenc Gyurcsany, made the proposal for an EU intervention plan of 180 billion euros.Confidence and financial stability. During the plenary meeting, by contrast, various leaders explained the pros and cons of any plan specifically dedicated to an EU region, and various exponents – in primis German Chancellor Angela Merkel – advised against any such initiative, which was then shelved. The summit ended with a brief document, based on three key points, which should form the common guidelines for EU action in the near future: “Building confidence and promoting financial stability, “getting the real economy back on track”, and “working together at the global level”. The President of the Council explained: “It was a fruitful meeting. We discussed the economic crisis in detail”, and confirmed “the need to act in a coordinated and united manner in conformity with the Single Market and the Economic and Monetary Union”. Topolanek then reaffirmed the “rejection of any form of protectionism”, and declared that there was a shared willingness for “measures in support of production sectors” provided they “did not conflict with free competition”. Help for the automotive sector. “We worked well – said Topolanek on leaving the Palais Justus Lipsius, seat of the European Council in Brussels -. The meeting of 19-20 March to define a common strategy in view of the G20 summit in London was confirmed”. The Czech Premier then announced that the 27 would meet US President Barack Obama on 5 April and hold a further extraordinary summit on employment “in Prague in May”. The final document also lists some key measures to restore confidence: unblocking credit channels for businesses; reinforcing the banking sector; and ensuring the long-term sustainability of public finances in line with the Stability and Growth Pact. Commission President José Manuel Barroso a insisted for his part on the need for aid for the automotive sector, considered “strategic” at the “pan-European” level, so long as such interventions were not to the detriment of free competition. No country will be left alone. Quizzed by journalists after the summit, Topolanek said that an agreement had been reached on “toxic assets” and explained that “the countries of Eastern Europe don’t wish a single programme of intervention, because each of them finds itself in a different economic and financial situation”; so interventions would be planned on a “case by case” basis, but “no country will be left alone”. Topolanek then denied any rifts with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, rumours of which had filtered out in recent weeks, given the French plan for state funding to the car sector, so long as it be not outsourced or invested in Eastern Europe. “We reaffirmed the need to bank on the single market – specified the Czech Premier – as the motor of recovery. It’s also clear to everyone that protectionism cannot be a response to the crisis”.The final document: single market, EMU, jobs. The short document issued at the end of the summit says that the heads of state and of government “had an in-depth discussion on the current financial and economic crisis. They agreed that Europe can only face this challenge and overcome the current crisis by continuing to act in a coordinated manner, within the framework of the Single Market and the Economic and Monetary Union”. In another paragraph European leaders touch on the question of employment and call for “measures to counter the negative impact on employment”. This means, for example, “using existing tools such as the European Social Fund and the revised Globalization Adjustment Fund” to limit job losses.