The committee text, which will serve as a base for Wednesday's plenary debate on the European Council and economic governance, warns against deciding the bailout mechanism details in back-room, late-night deals among Member States. It argues that Parliament must be closely involved, to ensure the mechanism's accountability, transparency and legitimacy vis-à-vis markets and citizens. The mechanism's details should instead be proposed by the Commission, and negotiated by Parliament and the Council, it says. Furthermore, the bailout mechanism must be strongly linked to forthcoming legislation setting up a new economic governance model, it adds.
Clarity is of the essence
The resolution calls for great attention to clarity on a number of issues, arguing that otherwise it will be difficult to ensure stability.
It also argues that private sector participation in any burden-sharing should be handled on a case-by-case basis, and calls on the Commission to present a comprehensive description of how investors, savers and market participants will be involved and state explicitly that the mechanism will be fully consistent with IMF policy regarding private sector involvement.
The resolution also asks the Commission to clearly indicate and prioritise which EU spending would need to be sacrificed if almost half the EU budget were to be requisitioned, as would be possible under the current (temporary) bailout mechanism rules.
Principles
Other than the need for the private sector to take some of the burden, the resolution puts forward a "polluter pays" concept, whereby Member States creating bigger risks by their deficits and debt burdens should finance a larger share of the mechanism's total assets, says the resolution.
Secondly, the conditionality for obtaining assistance from the mechanism should aim to restore sustainable growth, rather than to restore stability at the expense of the most vulnerable, by lowering minimum income and aggravating poverty and inequalities, the resolution adds.
Next steps
The resolution will be tabled for a plenary vote on Thursday and should provide Parliament's position on the main item at the December European Council. Meanwhile, MEPs responsible for hammering out a deal with Member States on the economic governance will continue their work with a view to presenting their proposed positions officially in January.
© European Parliament
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