(25 October 2011, Brussels) - The Party of European Socialists (PES) Leaders from the Eurozone have, this morning,  discussed and agreed a ‘new economic formula’ for recovery. Meeting by telephone, they outlined a four point plan to guarantee investment, increase regulation of the financial markets, promote real taxation on the sector and curb the influence of the credit rating agencies.

PES President, Poul Nyrup Rasmussen commented that; “Our statement is based on a simple formula: economic expertise + solidarity = recovery. Our discussion this morning has shown that political courage remains a guiding principle of European social democracy”. The PES President added that; “Our plan will use the European Investment Bank and private means to guarantee investment. And it will finally tame the financial markets, which, disgracefully, have resisted regulation for the last 3 years of crisis”. Rasmussen also pledged to tackle Credit Rating Agencies which had; “failed in their role as impartial gatekeepers of the financial system”.

The phone conference meeting, was attended by, Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou and opposition leaders such as François Hollande (France), European Parliament S&D Group Leader Martin Schulz (Germany), Job Cohen PvdA leader (Netherlands), Stefano Fassina PD leader (Italy) and Austrian State Secretary Andreas Schieder, Spanish Minister for Europe Diego Lopez Garrido and Belgian Minister Paul Magnette. The meeting was facilitated by PES General Secretary Philip Cordery.

Summing up the meeting, the PES President noted that “We will look to tomorrow’s summit to take heed of our proposals and to provide a European solution to this European problem.”.

The key points agreed were:

- The introduction  of a Financial Transaction Tax without loopholes that will create growth prospects for countries facing economic hardship;

- An ambitious initiative for growth and job creation, relying on boosting the level of private and public investment in high-potential sectors, notably through the mobilisation of private savings and an increased role for the EIB;

- The regulation of the international financial markets including the issue of tax havens, which has yet to be undertaken, and the taking of action to prevent speculation against states;

- The effective regulation and supervision of existing credit rating agencies and the setting up of a European independent credit rating agency

The full text of the statement is available here.

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

The PES brings together 33 socialist, social democratic, labour and progressive parties in the European Union and Norway, a parliamentary group in the European Parliament (184 MEPs) and in the Committee of the Regions (247 members) - plus observer and associate parties and organizations from all over Europe. ECOSY and PES Women are respectively the Youth and the Women's organizations of the PES.