Spring council: economy, single currency and Serbia Financial stability and economic growth, ratification of the "fiscal compact" treaty, preparations for forthcoming international summits, granting of the EU candidate country status to Serbia are among the items on the agenda of the European Council of March 1-2, established by the president Herman Van Rompuy. As customary, the two-day meeting will open with the address by the president of the European Parliament. Then MEPs will address the main issue: the economy, the traditional theme of the Spring Summit. Inevitably the debate will also focus on Greece and sovereign debt, delving into the options aimed at giving stability to the single currency and to national budgets. "The European Council will review the economic situation in Europe", is stated in Van Rompuy’s official message. It will conclude the first phase of the European Semester "by assessing progress made in implementing the 2011 European Semester country-specific recommendations and commitments under the Euro Plus Pact", giving "guidance to Member States, based on the Commission’s Annual Growth Survey, to be incorporated into their National Reform Programmes and Stability or Convergence". Special emphasis will be placed "on labour market reforms, employment and competitiveness". On the basis of a report by the Presidency, the Council members will track progress on the implementation of its February 2011 "conclusions on innovation". In the margins of the European Council, "the treaty on stability, coordination and governance in the economic and monetary union will be signed". The summit of EU political leaders will discuss preparations for the forthcomings G8 and G20 summits (to take place on 19-20 May and 18-19 June 2012) and for the UN “Rio +20” conference to be held on 20-22 June 2012. The European Council will be also invited to confirm the decision on granting candidate status to Serbia. The agenda envisages the possibility of debates for decisions on current events, notably the situation in Syria, the Middle East and North Africa.EU Parliament: yes to savings. Will Strasbourg shut down? "The current economic crisis, together with difficult weather conditions, has had a severe impact on the poor". Nearly 18 million of the EU’s poorest people that include "homeless, unemployed, elderly or handicapped people, but also large families and single parents" in 20 Member States rely on the “Food for the needy” programme. "It is good that the EU remembers them" said Parliament’s rapporteur Czeslaw Adam Siekierski, welcoming the EP vote that gave the green light to measures for the needy, amounting to a budget of up to 500 million per year, running from 2012 till the end of 2013. "But the most important task is to ensure that the programme will continue to provide food to poor and needy EU citizens also after 2014", he added. The Food for the Needy program established precisely 25 years ago under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), was confirmed for two more years thanks to a rescue plan approved in the latest plenary session. The EP however reiterated that in agreement with the EU Council (Member States opposed the programme for financial reasons) it is necessary "to show solidarity to the weakest social brackets" even after 2014. Problems came about since the free food originally came from CAP intervention stocks, but as these were reduced, the scheme came increasingly to rely on market purchases. This is due to a decrease in agricultural and breeding stocks and to the effects of enlargement coupled by the global economic crisis, which caused a sharp increase in the number of citizens in need. Among the items addressed by MEPs during the plenary that closed on February 16 figure a EU-Morocco trade deal in agricultural and fisheries products, access to books for the blind (with the possibility of a binding international treaty to improve access to books for blind and other visually-impaired people). As regards the summit of heads of Government or State of March 1-2 MEPs called upon Member States to adopt measures to boost growth and employment, as emerged in the summit of January 30. Also in the economic framework, MEPs debated whether to put in place Eurobonds emission. Finally, the European Parliament freezed the budget on 2012 values. "In times of crisis it’s important for MEPs to show that they’re doing their share, and that they are cutting expenses", said Derek Vaughan, British MEP, in charge of Parliament’s 2013 budget. MEPs also adopted a resolution stipulating that Brussels will be the only EP seat (thus closing the historical headquarters in Strasbourg), "the most important cut". But according to treaty regulations, the final decision must be taken by EU27 heads of Government or State.
