Parliament Needs To Hit The Ground Running
Brussels -- Wednesday 17 August, 2011
There's no doubt that European Parliament has been overtaken by the events of the last month. Whilst Chancellors and Treasury staff across Europe have been cutting short their holidays, the rigid structure of the European Parliament's recess has prevented MEPs from formulating a worthwhile response to the looming economic crisis.
The fact that Europe has been almost entirely responsible for the mess is one thing, but I am amazed and frustrated that the European Parliament has not even mustered a response.
MEPs will have to hit the ground running when they return from their holidays (in just over a week's time). The ECON Committee, chaired by Lib Dem MEP Sharon Bowles will be expected to react immediately to the crisis. Talks with the Member States on the economic governance package are still deadlocked, and I would say this was the most important of the outstanding issues that needs to be wrapped up. The proposals aim to strengthen the Stability and Growth Pact and I think that there is merit in the additional fiscal control contained within these proposals - we must get our finances in order and end this dangerous cycle of ever-increasing debt.
But MEPs will have to comment on the Eurozone crisis in a more overt way. I think that the public deserve to hear a debate on the options available to us. The Eurozone is not working effectively and needs reform - this much is clear. How can we shape it to make it work better? Some will call for greater integration, others for just the opposite. Even the idea of a two-tier Eurozone has been mentioned in some quarters.
Whatever is put forward needs to be discussed openly. The public are often frustrated if these matters are arranged in meetings behind closed doors. Furthermore, any solution that is put forward needs to make sure that it gives our businesses the tools to expand and grow. If we're going to get out of this mess, we need to make sure that Europe is competitive again.
