EU Parliament biggest Groups' Leaders to EuroFora on Economy + Political Union after Merkel's call

*Strasbourg/EU Parliament/Angelo Marcopolo/- For EU Parliament's biggest Political Groups' Chiefs, Joseph Daul President of ChristianDemocrats/EPP, and Johanes Swoboda, President of Socialist MEPs, speaking to "EuroFora", as well as others, the question of Timing for eventual moves towards an EU Political Union, has apparently become at least as important, as the question of its Principle and/or concrete Content, if not even more Important, in practice, as the current needs to efficiently tackle Economic and Financial issues, as well as German Chancelor Angie Merkel's calls to build a strong and sound EU Political Unification, clearly revealed this week, in the run up to a crucial EU Summit at the End of June in Brussels.

"EuroFora" asked, at a Press Conference of the Leaders of the 4 biggest EU Parliament's political Groups on how to "mutualise" EU Member States' Debts, (See Infra), if and how such proposals articulate with 25 EU Heads of State/Governments' recent sinature of New "EuroArea" Treaty (See "EuroFora"s NewsReports of March 2012, and of December 2011 + January 2012 from EU Summits in Brussels), and/or with German Chancelor Merkel's call for an EU Political Union as indispensable for more Financial Solidarity :

- Speaking from the point of view of "Simple People, Laymen, who have heard many (EU) Projects, (during the recent years), in order to be able to  make the Difference, and the Perspectives at the (EU) Horizon", "EuroFora" observed that they had "evoked the "Golden Rule", in fact, another kind of "Gloden Rule" (from that enshrined in the New "€uroArea" Treaty signed on March 2012), more practical, and  (had) evoked also the Solidarity and Political Union proposals, which, .. are (still) are on the (EU Negotiations') Table".

- Therefore, we asked, "as far as it concerns the €uroArea Treaty, that was signed in Brussels (on 3/2012), do you think that, what you do (propose in order to mutualize EU States' Debts), might be Complementary to that, or completely Independent ? And it might Help in this Direction, in one way of another ? And 2nd Question, and more important : About the perspectives and the Debate on a Balance, between the Solidarity, and the Economic,  Banking, and, eventually Political Union as an EU Horizon, what you propose, goes in this Direction, or not ?", and "what you advise, will help to advance on that, or not ?"

- The President of EU Parliament's Socialist Group, Johanes Swoboda from Austria, after having initially asked "EuroFora" to clearly confirm "to whom did you put the Question ?", "briefly" replied in a way obviously giving a Priority to Financial over Political matters :

- "We are the European Union. And the EU has Europeran Institutions : The Council (of Member States' Governmenments), The Commission, and the Parliament ", he stressed, Distinguishing between Governments and MEPs, from the outset.

- "We (EU Parliament) want Decisions and  Legislation.  We are not for the Fiscal (?) Treaties, (the way some name the New "€uroArea" Treaty, which, in fact, extends further than that : See "EuroFora"s relative March 2012 NewsReport's analysis). Because they are 2nd Best or, 3rd Best Solutions", as Swoboda estimated that.

- "It's absolutely Clear : We absolutely need EU Institutions" and Economic Solutions, a"nd that is what we are for, and that's what we did Today : We Fulfill our Obligations, This is, I think, the Important Element", he stressed.

+ "And, then, we can think about" the rest,  "See : I am for Political Union. But let's, First, do the job, to Help create Jobs for EU Citizens, and Reduce the Debts. That's the most important", the President of EU Parliament's Socialist Group stressed in conclusion of his Reply to "EuroFora"s Question.

I.e., as he observed earlier, his Group apparently distinguishes as separate the issue about -"if you have a Political Union in 3 orth 10 Years Time", and prefers, Today,  for EU Parliament to "Force them (EU Counciil of Governments) to give concrete answers , to say  ... "Yes" or "No" to the Mutualisation", of EU Member States' Debts, as he put it bluntly.
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Indeed, Swoboda was topically speaking in a joint Press Conference together with Leaders from the 4 Bigger Political Groups, (ChristianDemocrats/EPP, Socialists, Liberals and Greens), as well as EU Rapporteurs  Jean-Paul Gauzes from France and Elisa Perreira from Portugal, on an EU Parliament's Resolution where a Majority of MEPs supports the idea of a kind of "Mutualisation" of EU Member States' Debts through the creation of a "Redemption Fund".

- The proposed Mechanism will take into account EU Member State's obligation to work towards Balanced Budgets, since only those Countries which would have adopted some adequate Deficit - Reduction Measures would be elibible for eventual Financial Help from that Fund, observed on this occasion the President of EU Parliament's Liberal Group, former Prime Minister of Belgium, Guy Verhofstadt.
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But Merkel's recent proposal to advance, in parallel, towards a necessary EU Political Union, surrfaced initially at the beginning of June, and the move was made even stronger Today, with the German Chancelor's speech at the Bundestag, where she reiterated her commitment to fight for EU-wide "Comptetitiveness"' strengethening and "Debt Reduction", as well as for a Sustainable Growth, financed otherwise than with more Debts, but also launched a call in favour of the "truly Historic Task" to build", step by step", a Political Union in Europe "on Sound Foundations", for which, the New "€uroArea" Treaty signed by 25 EU Member States last March in Brussels is just a necessary "1st Step", towards "more Monitoring" by "Independent European Organizations", "more Innovations, less Bureaucracy, towards completing the Common Market and creating a Labor Market" throughout the EU, "restoring Trust", (etc), "not because Markets asked for that, but for a Better Future for our (EU) Citizens", as she stressed.

Adopting an Historic viewpoint, Chancelor Merkel reminded that, more than "20 Years ago", in the Past, when the €uroZone "Monetary  Union" was prepared,  EU had also discussed about preparing even a "Political Union", but this was subsequently droped, meanwhile.

"EuroFora" remembers well, however, that, during a landmark, Historic Debate on "the state and Future of Europe", at EU Parliament in Strasbourg, back on 1995, i.e. when the Foundations of €uroZone were practically prepared, a main point stressed was that €uro common Currency would be only a 1st Step towards more European Integration, because the Trahsfert of Competences, from National Governments to a Central European Bank, on Monetary Creation, (one of the main Tools for Keynesian Policies against Cyclic Economic Crisis, in addition to stimulation by provisional Budgets' Deficits and Debts), would inevitably provoke, sooner or later, such Contradictions, that many Peuple would start to ask to create also an EU Governance, with a Political Union, as a necessary complement for the overall Coherence, and the good and proper funnctioning of European mechanisms.

=> This has become obvious Today, when a kind of Mutualisation of €uroArea Member States' Debt seems necessary, in order to efficiently face Markets' pressure, but also impossible, unless there is also a kind of Political Union forged meanwhile : Otherwise, why should, (and how could they afford it, in the long run), currently Stronger Economies "pay" for the Safeguard of Weaker Economies inside €uroArea, if they weren't able not even to Monitor the Expenditure, i.e. how their Money would be spend in practice by other Countries ? For all those reasons, experienced Politicians and/or Experts, as f.ex. the famous long-time Minister for Economy in Italy, Tremonti, had already told "EuroFora", during an International Conference in Paris, back on January 2011, that, in his view, "the Global Crisis has outpassed National States, so that a European Federation has now become necessary".

This appeared to be the Horizon towards which Sarkozy and Merkel had already started to lead the EU, at least since the pro-"Integration" movement, strongly initiated at the nearby Freiburg Franco-German Summit of December 2010 (See "EuroFora"s NewsReports from Freiburg and Offenburg, then). But, even  if Hollande himself didn't initially seem to be against a deeper EU Integration at its core, nevertheless, it's also an astonishig fact that both his former Campaign Director, and current French Economy Minister, Moscovici, when he had spoken at an April 2012 Conference in Strasbourg, as well as his EU affairs Ministee Cazeneuve, on May 2012, have both apparently opposed any important Political boost for EU Institutional Reforms during the next 5 Years or so... A paradox, compared to France's traditionally pro-Instituitional Power stance, which might be tackled soon, particularly in view of a crucial forthcoming EU Summit in Brussels at the End of June.

In this regard, it's true that any eventually important Transfert of National Competences towards an EU and/or €uroArea level, must be necessarily  accompagnied also by a series of seriously innovative and genuinly Democratic solutions in  EU Citizens' more active and efficient Participation in the EU Decision-making, (f.ex. also by revigorating and developing Projects as that of "EuroFora", etc).
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 - "On the issue of (EU) Political Integration : I've already said, since several Months, and Governments such as that of Angie Merkel also said, that we won't get Europe out of the (Global) Crisis without a Strong Political Unio", stressed yesterday in Strasbourg the President of EU Parliament's biggest Group, that of ChristianDemocrats/EPP, Joseph Daul.  

- In particular, we need to "share the Budgetary, Fiscal and Social Competences", i.e. to develop a joint (EU) "Economic Governance Sovereignity", he pointed out.

+ "But" this  must be done "also with a Community method", went on to add from the outset Daul, energetically condemning as "Unacceptable" a reported move by the EU Council to marginalize EU Parliament on so delicate and EU Citizens-related issues as "Shengen''s system for Free Movement and Security, apparently because some mostly intermediary Bureaucrats attempt to push aside MEPs Democratically Elected by European People, as he denounced. On the contrary, EU Parliament's President must be regularly represented in all EU and €uroArea Councils, together with Heads of State/Governments in all their Summits, Daul also stressed, vowing to "Fight" against adverse moves, that he denounced as Anti-Democratic.

=> In fact, "we (EPP Group) agree and support German Chancelor Angie Merkel's stance on the need to advance towards a Political Union in Europe", clearly stressed, meanwhile, Today  to "EuroFora", President Daul's Press Spokesman, and Deputy Secretary General of EU Parliament's biggest Group, that of ChristianDemocrats/EPP, Antoine Rippol.

+ In this wider context, President Daul's and all our Group's most topical and stronger reaction this week is against the astonishing attempt by some inside the EU Council of States to exclude EU Parliament in so important matters as that of Shengen, confirmed earlier to "EuroFora" the experienced Press Director of EU Parliament's biggest Group, that of ChristianDemocrats/EPP, Robert Fitzhenry from Ireland, (forthcoming EU Chair from January 2013).

=> That's why Daul has just anounced, earlier this week in Strasbourg, that EU Parliament's Biggest Political Group (without which No Majority can be normally found on EU Integration issues, and other core Decisions) will Suspend any cooperation with the current Danish EU Council's rotating Chairmanship, (unless it changes its Strange proposal to exclude EU Parliament f.ex. from Shengen a.o. EU Decision-making), so that MEPs will simply Wait until July for the start of the forthcoming Cyprus' EU rotating Chairmanshim (July - December 2012), which looks better disposed for a close cooperation with EU Parliament, as he said.

A move which obviously raises even more Questions, inter alia, also on the particularly "Hot" issue of Turkish Government's pressure on the EU to yield on "Shengen"'s Visas for massive movements of Turkish immigrants throughout the EU, (Comp. other "EuroFora"s NewsReports of this week), on which, EU Commission and EU Council might be reportedly enclined to give way, but probably not EU Parliament's MEPs, who have to renew their Electoral Mandate by fresh People's Votes in almost 1 Year... An issue notoriously linked also with EU's Identity and need for Popular support from EU Citizens if EU is going to really evolve into a Political Union in the foreseeable Future...