Strasbourg 20/10/10

The European Parliament's plenary session today adopted the report by the Special Committee on the Financial, Economic and Social Crisis (CRIS Committee).

"As the only democratically-elected institution in Europe, the European Parliament had a wonderful opportunity to analyse the international crisis thoroughly and take into account the dramatic and emotional responses of European people on this issue. It failed miserably!" said GUE/NGL MEP Nikolaos Chountis (Greece). "The usual political coalition between the Social Democrat and the Conservative groups created a mid-term report that re-writes recent history in a very partial way, hiding the real aspects of recent events and excusing the financial sector's appalling behaviour. That is why we voted against the report. Our Group will not be part of a neo-liberal political coalition that promotes Europe-wide austerity plans and leads our economies and societies into recession, social unrest and unemployment."

According to Miguel Portas (Portugal), vice-president of the CRIS Committee, "The recent legislative proposals by the Commission in the field of economic governance will result in a further depression in economic terms of the already weak growth rates in member states; the EU, on the other hand, should be investing more in implementing an ambitious European plan for investment and employment; the austerity measures recommended by the Commission do not rise to the political challenge thrown up by the trade unions' European day of mobilisation on 29 September 2010. It is in this area that the Commission and the Council should be judged on their political action; the social inclusion of millions of European citizens depends on this action."

"The crisis is and remains in front of us," continued Patrick Le Hyaric (France). "The strategy devised by the Commission is pushing us straight into the wall. We must listen to the people who are calling for a Europe based on solidarity and certainly not a neo-liberal Europe, and create a human and social development fund instead of the Stability Pact."

"How can more long-term solutions be recommended if the real reasons for the crisis are not analysed?" Cornelis de Jong (Netherlands), added. "A tax on financial transactions must be created in order to finish with the burden of speculation on the markets and the closing of tax havens, which had an influential role in the exploding of the global crisis, should be promoted. None of these proposals are clearly included in the report adopted today by the European Parliament," MEP de Jong concluded.

GUE/NGL PRESS CONTACT
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David Lundy + 32 485 50 58 12

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