La Comissió Europea ha presentat una Comunicació sobre l’avaluació del 2/pack y el 6/pack. Veure Aquí.

Aquestes normes desenvolupen el marc del Pacte d’Estabilitat i Creixement a la UE, constitueixen el blindatge jurídic de l’aurteritat.

Us deixo la meva intervenció avui al Ple:

Comissioner,

The Commission claims that the first years of experience with the updated framework have been rather successful and provide evidence that the reformed EU fiscal rules indeed have played a role in achieving progress as regards fiscal consolidation.

Such overall assessment is not shared by the Greens. It is of the outmost urgency that the Commission shifts the narrow current focus on a mechanic reduction of structural deficits towards a different perspective. Putting debt levels (both private and public) on a sustainable track by massive budgetary cuts in basic welfare systems across Europe has dramatic social consequences and is damaging the European recovery.

The current policy response has actually increased debt levels instead of reducing these. We see therefore the current framework as a self-defeating framework. Not only the rules are not serving its purpose, but they are also getting Europe towards its third recession.

We are in urgent need of a genuine counter-cyclical approach. Reality has shown how the rules cannot even be effectively implemented as they are designed. The discretionary flexibilities became now the rule instead of the exception as these ends up being systematically and inefficiently used after the social and economic damage has already been done.

It is also massively short-sighted of the Commission to claim there is no need to review the macroeconomic imbalances procedure. The current procedure puts most of the burden on deficit countries instead of providing a more symmetrical approach.

The Greens are disappointed therefore that the Commission considers the current economic governance framework has been successful and that no need for a revision is currently required. A revision of the legal framework is needed to provide a basis for investment and to put an end to the destructive cycle of self-defeating austerity.

With a view of achieving a genuinely counter-cyclical approach, we believe that a legislative proposal could codify in a revised 6-pack a qualified treatment for investments generating large societal and environmental returns.

We also believe that there should be a particular treatment of the debt incurred for recapitalizing the banking sector. The average debt in the euro area is around 90% of GDP. However, around 1/3 of that debt finds its origin in support measures provided by Member States to the banking sector since 2008. This debt is unfair, and its treatment should be urgently revised.

We also see a need for codifying in the legislation some key concepts such as the concept of ‘structural balance’. In Spain for instance, the potential output as estimated by the Commission implies an unemployment rate of around 20%. We do not think such a rate reflects the potential of the economy. We would therefore advocate for a more complete definition of the concept reflecting a wider theoretical background.

We are also in favour of completing the Scoreboard for macroeconomic imbalances with social indicators as well as with indicators regarding resource efficiency and indicators on unit capital costs. In application of the rules, the Commission just asked Spain to further reduce its deficit by an extra cut of 4 billion euros. The country suffers from massive unemployment; half of the unemployed do not receive any kind of support. Can the EU continue ignoring that reality when revising national budgets using its current rules? It is socially blind and economically suicidal.

That is the reason why the Greens believe that a legal revision is urgently needed in order to exit current European stagnation.

Thank you.