In his introductory speech, Mr Almunia said that the 'principal economic and social challenge currently facing Europe is the lack of growth and jobs'. He called for a return to the strategy laid down at Lisbon, which he felt had now acquired 'too many priorities'.
On the Stability Pact, Mr Almunia said that the Pact could be seen to have several weaknesses, and took the view that some aspects of it needed to be rethought in order to increase its effectiveness and credibility
on the proposal to reform the Stability Pact Mr Almunia stressed that 'the rules are the same and all countries must be treated equally, but that does not mean that they have to be treated in the same way'. He stressed that decisions must be taken about what to do when a country exceeds the 3% figure, not because of unsound fiscal policy but because of particularly difficult short-term economic circumstances.
Summary
The full hearing can be downloaded from the
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