Almost an SOS for the euro

Whatever had been the order of the day put in place for the plenary session of the European Parliament (Strasbourg, 12-15 September), it was clear that the main argument of the week would have been, once again, the sovereign debt crisis, the situation of the public accounts of the eurozone, and the need for real economic and financial governance at the EU level. And that’s how it turned out. Issues on the agenda. The European Parliament (EP) intervened on various issues; it hosted the President of the Polish Republic Brontislaw Komorowski; it dealt with Libya and Syria. MEPs debated the role of and the resources to be assigned to the Warsaw-based Frontex agency (security and external borders); they discussed the EU budget and marine drilling, the plight of the homeless in the 27 member states and the delicate “anti-corruption package”. But the risk of Greece defaulting on its debts, the precarious situations of the public accounts in various EU states, and the rules to prevent, or respond “together” to, future financial crises galvanized attention in the chamber, and monopolized that of the representatives of the Commission and Council who came to Strasbourg to discuss these urgent questions once again. EU and single currency. “Saving the euro at all costs in order to save the European project”. Perhaps the most “dramatic” voice during the plenary was that of Jan Vincent Rostowski, Polish Minister of Finance and current President of Ecofin. “If the single currency were to disintegrate – maintained the minister – the Union itself might not long survive”. So his main message was this: Europe must move forward united, beginning by approving very rapidly the “six pack”, i.e. the six provisions on reinforced economic governance which have been on the table for months. Much the same position was expressed by the President of the Commission, the Portuguese José Manuel Barroso: progress with shared governance, rigour in public accounts, national measures for growth, and a rescue package for Greece in response to real reforms by the government in Athens. Barroso then declared (triggering a heated debate in Europe) that the Commission is favourable both to Eurobonds (European bonds) and to the Tobin tax (tax on financial transactions) and that it will proceed with concrete proposals in this sense. Preventing the domino effect. According to the President of the Commission, member states have hitherto made commitments to put their public finances in order, “but now they must demonstrate in a convincing way that they are serious. It is not enough to make plans. It is action that counts”, with clear reference to national emergency budgets and efforts to adjust imbalanced state accounts. For his part Olli Rehn, Commissioner for Monetary Affairs, responding indirectly to calls for the ejection of Greece from the single currency, warned: “The costs of any exit of Greece from the eurozone would be dramatic for all countries” that have adopted the single currency, as also for the European Union “and for our global partners”. Similar messages emerged from the main political groups in the European Parliament: the need, in short, to reinforce the EU response to the crisis, because a Greek economic collapse could have a “domino effect” on other countries, dragging down with it the entire Union. Some MEPs then called for “more policy”, “more Europe”, i.e. a reinforced Community approach to the challenges which surpass the capacities for response of the individual member countries. On these aspects the debate and the negotiations will continue in the next few weeks, again in plenary session (26-29 September), in Ecofin, in the European Council, and not least in the G20 meeting already planned for early November.Petitions and citizenship. Among the other questions tackled during the plenary in Strasbourg, the annual report of the parliamentary commission for petitions was presented. All EU citizens can appeal to this commission on issues concerning the fields of responsibility of the EU. The protection of the environment remains the problem on which is concentrated the greatest number of requests and complaints made by citizens. In the course of 2010 a total of 1655 petitions were received, of which a thousand or so were declared valid, appealing for an intervention by the European Parliament. After the environment, the other issues most often petitioned about were fundamental rights, the internal market and justice. “Petitions must be a mainstay of European citizenship”, said Willy Meyer, Spanish MEP, and drafter of the report approved by the EP. Meyer further insisted on the need to “begin a Community debate on the limited application of the Charter of Fundamental Rights” of the EU27. In the report passed in the chamber, MEPs express “disapproval for the negligence of some member states in implementing and enforcing compliance with European environmental legislation” and ask the Commission “more energetically to control respect for and the implementation of such legislation, in every stage of the procedure and not just after the adoption of a final decision”. Moreover, the EP will support the proposal of the Commission to proclaim 2013 “European Citizenship Year”, to “inform EU citizens of their rights.