25 September 2012

Commisson VP Reding: Ireland and the European Union - A steadfast partnership

Reding called for enhanced political union when she appeared before the European Union Affairs committee. She said that 2013 was set to be a decisive year for Ireland, both economically and politically, not least with Ireland's taking up the Presidency of the European Council.

"We are riding out the storm – and Ireland is showing the way:

• Ireland has turned the corner: the return to the short- and long-term debt markets after a two year absence is a clear sign of confidence for the eurozone as a whole, confidence that doing the right things rightly restores trust.
• The Irish economy will grow this year, reaching almost 2 per cent growth in 2013. A higher predicted growth than the UK, France or Germany.
• The Irish fiscal deficit is set to fall below the 8.6 per cent target in 2012, showing that the implementation of Ireland's EU/IMF Programme remains firmly on track."

"There are of course many challenges still ahead. Unemployment in Ireland remains painfully high. People are concerned about the future – for themselves and for their children. But Ireland has a steadfast partner in the European Union and I am confident that Europe will emerge stronger out of the crisis."

Ms Reding told the committee that the new European Stability Mechanism (ESM) will “be a new testament to European solidarity” when it becomes operational in October. “It will act as a sail – pulling troubled economies out of danger and into calmer waters”, she said. The proposed banking union, announced by EU commission chief José Manuel Barroso two weeks ago, would be “our reinforced hull allowing us to weather future storms stronger than ever”.

Ms Reding said the rapid pace of international financial markets had forced Irish and European politics to adapt at a “dizzying pace”. She said every decision needed a summit and every treaty change required ratification by 27 national parliaments, “and in some cases, like in Ireland, even referenda”.

She said it was no wonder that there was a crisis of confidence in the entire European integration project. The current crisis had served as a “sobering” reminder of how the economic decisions of one European state directly affected all the others. “The recipes of the past of individual and uncoordinated action have often led to excess of debt and endangered trust and confidence in our economies. These recipes no longer function.”

She said that to stop future imbalances, Member States had granted Europe greater powers such as reviewing national draft budgets. “But this new path raises the question of a political union and the European democracy that must underpin it. This means putting in place a political process to strengthen the democratic legitimacy and accountability of further integration moves.”

Ms Reding said a stronger EU would need to move toward a democratic federation of states that could tackle common problems. "Europe's future will not just be decided in Strasbourg, Luxembourg and Brussels. Each and every national parliament must become a 'European Parliament' in its own right. The Lisbon Treaty made the role of national parliaments crystal clear, calling for greater parliamentary involvement in EU activities in its very first Protocol. This is why it will be up to you to lead the debate on European citizenship."

Full speech

© European Commission