Tuesday

19th Mar 2024

EU leaders told to practice what they preach on economy

  • Crisis - what crisis? EU leaders share a moment of levity during the family photo at this week's summit (Photo: The Council of the European Union)

Top EU officials on Friday (2 March) urged national leaders to implement their fine talk on jobs and growth, in the first mild-mannered summit after months of high tension on the euro crisis.

"A drama-free summit was not a bad thing. Precisely because there was no drama, we can now focus on structural reforms for youth unemployment, small and medium enterprises, project bonds and the roll-out of broadband," EU commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso told a press conference at the end of the two-day meeting.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Get the EU news that really matters

Instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

He insisted that leaders need to "take full ownership" and fill the "implementation gap" between what they say in summit statements and what they do when they get home.

The commission is to monitor and produce more detailed reports on economic reforms, ranging from labour market changes to investment in R&D.

For their part, leaders pledged to solve the outstanding issue of the EU patent court headquarters by June - the last step in a 30-year-old saga aimed to create a unified patent system across the bloc.

Spain and Italy are still outside the scheme, while a Franco-German-British spat over who is to host the headquarters has delayed final approval.

Meanwhile, diplomats said British Prime Minister David Cameron at a dinner discussion on Thursday evening voiced frustration that an eight-point letter on the economy which he put forward with 11 other leaders - including Italy's Mario Monti - was not taken into account in the council conclusions.

Speaking on Friday, EU Council chief Herman Van Rompuy said "the most important points" of the letter - such as the creation of a digital single market - had been taken on board.

But due to French objections, the conclusions do not include Cameron's call for new legislation opening up the services market.

Some delegates saw the letter as a stunt to show that Britain still has a say in EU affairs.

Britain has been increasingly isolated since Cameron in December vetoed changing the EU Treaty for the sake of greater fiscal discipline. The ensuing legal mess saw 25 member states on Friday sign an intergovernmental pact instead.

Spanish tension

Meanwhile, sticking to the new budget deficit targets is looking increasingly difficult for some countries, notably recession-hit Spain.

Speaking to reporters on his way out of the summit, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said his deficit this year will be 5.8 percent of GDP, instead of the 4.4 percent target agreed with the EU commission a few months ago. He felt confident that he would not face any sanctions despite the glitch.

"Let's see what other countries come up with," he said, referring to budget reports member states are to send to the EU commission in Spring. The Netherlands has already said its deficit will be over four percent this year.

Echoing Barroso, EU Council chief Van Rompuy also said deficit targets must be respected.

He noted that countries should not cut too much from education, training or green energy funding and that individual member states are battling different kinds of problems.

"You can't compare Netherlands and Belgium with Spain, the unemployment figures are very different ... But for the credibility of the exercise we have to stick to the targets, [or] else we'll be punished by the markets. What we think we would gain through not sticking to targets, we would lose by an increase in interest rates."

Twenty five EU leaders sign German-model fiscal treaty

Germany's vision of an EU of fiscally prudent states held in check by tight budgetary laws and the threat of legal action came a step closer on Friday when 25 leaders signed a new fiscal treaty.

EU leaders meet on economy, Schengen and Serbia

EU leaders at a two-day EU summit on Thursday will look where each country stands in terms of public deficit, taxes and retirement ages. Schengen enlargement and Serbia are also on the agenda.

British MPs demand London court to counter EU patent costs

MPs on the UK's House of Commons European Scrutiny committee have demanded that the new EU patent court be based in London in order to mitigate against what it described as "the most damaging effects of a unitary EU-wide patent".

Latest News

  1. Borrell: 'Israel provoking famine', urges more aid access
  2. Europol: Israel-Gaza galvanising Jihadist recruitment in Europe
  3. EU to agree Israeli-settler blacklist, Borrell says
  4. EU ministers keen to use Russian profits for Ukraine ammo
  5. Call to change EIB defence spending rules hits scepticism
  6. Potential legal avenues to prosecute Navalny's killers
  7. EU summit, Gaza, Ukraine, reforms in focus this WEEK
  8. The present and future dystopia of political micro-targeting ads

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersJoin the Nordic Food Systems Takeover at COP28
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersHow women and men are affected differently by climate policy
  3. Nordic Council of MinistersArtist Jessie Kleemann at Nordic pavilion during UN climate summit COP28
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersCOP28: Gathering Nordic and global experts to put food and health on the agenda
  5. Friedrich Naumann FoundationPoems of Liberty – Call for Submission “Human Rights in Inhume War”: 250€ honorary fee for selected poems
  6. World BankWorld Bank report: How to create a future where the rewards of technology benefit all levels of society?

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsThis autumn Europalia arts festival is all about GEORGIA!
  2. UNOPSFostering health system resilience in fragile and conflict-affected countries
  3. European Citizen's InitiativeThe European Commission launches the ‘ImagineEU’ competition for secondary school students in the EU.
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersThe Nordic Region is stepping up its efforts to reduce food waste
  5. UNOPSUNOPS begins works under EU-funded project to repair schools in Ukraine
  6. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsGeorgia effectively prevents sanctions evasion against Russia – confirm EU, UK, USA

Join EUobserver

EU news that matters

Join us