Born in the urgency of the crisis, the idea of an "economic government" back in force at the time construction begins the following: provide sustainable Europe on track towards growth and employment . Herman Van Rompuy, EU president, described the emergency Friday as "a matter of survival" for the continent. In response, the Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Zapatero suggests a tighter coordination of national economic policies, with the possibility of sanctions against the recalcitrant.
For his baptism of fire in Madrid, the first president of the European Council has sounded the alarm. Europe out of the crisis weakened and "defensive," said Herman Van Rompuy. She has no choice. After the test, "the growth potential of the EU has fallen to just over 1% per year. It will not be sufficient to fund our social model (…) and the so-called European way of life. "It is time to speak truth to reforms and "the collective effort."
Europe out of the crisis and palliative care, but diagnosis remains gloomy backdrop of sluggish growth and industrial decline facing Asia and America. Unemployment rose for the first time in over 10% in the euro area, adds gloom. The first test of a burst is due February 11 in Brussels at an extraordinary economic summit with President Van Rompuy himself summoned.
Risk for sovereignty
Spain Jose Luis Zapatero, who holds the presidency of the EU, expresses its readiness to help."We must absolutely take another strategy (growth), binding, with the 2020," said Spanish Prime Minister told reporters.
For Madrid, the collective rules that already apply to the euro, government deficits or the competition on the market provide a unique model of governance. It should be expanded to a European recovery in the medium term. The idea remains controversial. If France pushes for eighteen months a "greater coordination" industrial policies, Germany is notoriously reticent. As for Britain, it opposes the front to European encroachment on its sovereignty.
Spain wants to raise – and more muscular – the idea of an investment plan in ten years. Already proposed in the late 1990s, the Lisbon Strategy was to make Europe the area's most competitive. In 2010, she finds herself far short.Now Madrid wants to go further by requiring states to targets and deadlines in areas deemed critical: energy, education, the digital economy or vocational training. The scoreboard would be monitored by Brussels. "Incentives and corrective measures will complement the device, said Jose Luis Zapatero. This time, it is to ensure that the objectives will be achieved. "
Madrid launches the debate with a hint of provocation. Herman Van Rompuy has not taken over the idea of a constraint. The crisis has restored the fortunes of interventionism. But the Spanish recipe may strike the interests of States.The Capitals would not see a good eye, the EU invested a right to control their expenditure budget, or even any power to sanction.
ALSO READ
"The economic upturn was confirmed in Europe
"Euro area: unemployment crossed below 10%