The Party of European Socialists (PES) has condemned the claims made at the conclusion of the European Council in Brussels today, that ‘EU leaders have done everything required to stabilise the Eurozone’.

Both the President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso, and European Council President Herman Von Rompuy made the claim in the concluding press conference.

PES President Poul Nyrup Rasmussen stated that; ‘the Conservative leaders are fundamentally mistaken. Yet again they have failed to take control of the crisis. The reaction of the Markets illustrates this clearly”. The overnight downgrading of Irish bonds by one credit agency signified that the Markets were unconvinced by the Council’s plan.

Mr. Rasmussen continued that the failure to find agreement on establishing a system of ‘Eurobonds’ would be particularly damaging. He noted that; “The German, British, Swedish and Dutch Governments formed a roadblock to progress on the Eurobonds issue. So blatantly putting national interest before European recovery is short-termist and lacking in leadership. It sends one message to the Markets: you can keep picking us off one by one”. The resistance also put the Council in direct conflict with the European Parliament which had, this week, voted overwhelmingly in favour of the Eurobonds concept.

PES analysts commented that the Council Conclusions do not go far enough in creating a balance between solidarity, fiscal responsibility and growth. Mr. Rasmussen concluded by stating that; “despite the good work of the Belgian Presidency, there has been no definitive move towards genuine economic recovery. The PES pledges to double our efforts between now and the Spring EU summit to ensure that EU citizens can get a recovery plan that has their interests, and not the markets’, at heart”.

 
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For further information please contact Brian Synnott on +32 474 98 96 75 (brian.synnott@pes.org)