The recovery exists

Possible responses to the recession and methods to prevent future financial crises have once again left their mark on the week of the EU institutions. The session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg (20-23 September), the work of the Commission, and the action of the Council were mainly focused on these economic questions. But the question of the presence of Roma in member states (a controversy that opened a breach between Paris and Brussels) and the challenges posed by international policy were also tackled in the European debate.Authorities for financial control. Various important measures are being planned by the EU as a whole on the economic and financial front. On 29 September the Commission is expected to announce a proposal on the reform of economic governance, leaks of which have already begun to circulate, while the European Council at the end of October will be called to evaluate the conclusions of the task force set up by the 27 to examine the same issue. In the meantime the European Parliament voted earlier this week in favour of a legislative package that establishes more effective controls on banks, insurance companies and stock markets, introduces a system of surveillance to prevent systemic risks, and is aimed at a better protection of consumers. This is – as was said in the debating chamber – a “far-reaching reform of European financial supervision”. Three supervisory authorities will be created to this end “to replace the existing committees with purely advisory powers”. Rigour or development? MEPs also voted in favour of the creation of a “European Committee for Systemic Risk” whose job it will be to maintain surveillance over the markets with the aim of alerting the EU in the case of risk for the European economy. The supervisory authorities shall also have the power to settle any conflicts between national financial supervisors and “be able to adopt a temporary ban on specific financial products”. Satisfaction, on this point, was expressed by the leaders of the main political groups that have worked together to reach agreement on the new legislative package. But the concerns of various MEPs were voiced on various occasions during the session, emphasizing in particular that the crisis is far from over and that member states must be encouraged to adopt development policies for the creation of new jobs. But these arguments conflict with the need to pursue rigour in reducing public deficits and national debt on which the Commission and some more “virtuous” States insist. Putting economies back in order. A debate also took place in the EP between MEPs, representatives of the Commission and Council, concentrating on economic issues and foreign policy. Herman Van Rompuy specified the measures taken by the EU to tackle the crisis (“we have acted well, seeking to prevent repercussions worse than those we have been able to measure; European collaboration, albeit with some difficulties, has worked; we are also working at the international level, especially with the G20, to promote wider-ranging actions”). The President of the EU Council declared (though convincing only part of the chamber): “At the next Council in October” we will review and evaluate the conclusions of the task force “that’s working on measures of financial regulation aimed at preventing new crisis and market instability”. “Various governments have taken courageous decisions” in recent months “to put national economies and internal budgets back in order. Would any of us have imagined – he added -, even a year ago, that we would see the signs of economic recovery already in this phase? Much however still remains to be done, for example to curb unemployment”.EU budget, trade with Turkey. The Parliament then approved other political positions and legislative texts. For example, the EU insists, with a view to the definition of its future plurennial financial perspective, that the EU should find the necessary resources to respond to the “priorities that flow from the Lisbon Treaty”, as explained by Reimer Böge, rapporteur of a resolution that was given the green light by MEPs. Among these priorities he listed “external action service, climate change, energy supplies, civil protection, sport and space research”. In the commercial sector, a resolution was approved bearing the signature of the Bulgarian representative Metis Kazak, which underlines the need to remove the “barriers that are still obstructing the customs union” established between the EU and Turkey in 1996, bearing in mind that Ankara is Europe’s seventh largest economic partner. By virtue of Turkey’s process of rapprochement with the EU, obstacles of a legislative, economic, bureaucratic and political character ought as soon as possible to give way to fluid and mutually advantageous trade relations. The requests of the EP in this sense include: the opening of ports and airports to all EU countries (Cyprus included), the crackdown on counterfeiting, transparency in public contracts and their opening to EU enterprises.