“What people want from this summit is clear action to address the crisis. They expect nothing less. This talk of treaty change as some kind of panecea is not helpful”, said new PES President, Sergei Stanishev. He added that; “It is a question of timing. We cannot tolerate anymore delays. If there is a hole in the dam you plug the hole. Only then do you look at reinforcing the structure of the dam. The same should be true for the eurozone crisis”.
The PES has outlined a clear set of immediate proposals that does not require treaty change;
1. Political change not treaty change. Europe needs a coordinated investment strategy.
2. Joint and Several guarantees of the Member States to the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) which would deliver a viable Eurobond scheme without treaty change.
3. The EFSF must be granted a banking license so that it can benefit from the same refinancing capacities through the European Central Bank (as is the case for private banks).
Mr. Stanishev continued; “With their stampede to institutionalize austerity, the Conservative politicians at this summit are putting the emphasis on punishment rather than people. Our proposal for an EU investment strategy, Eurobonds and a licensed EFSF, would give us the political change of direction that we need”.
For more information, please contact Brian Synnott, PES Media Adviser, +32 (0)474 98 96 75, brian.synnott@pes.org
