The ECR members of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee voted today against a report on the review of the economic governance framework: stocktaking and challenges presented by French Socialist MEP Pervenche Beres.

The ECR members of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee voted today against a report on the review of the economic governance framework: stocktaking and challenges presented by French Socialist MEP Pervenche Beres. The purpose of this report should have been to evaluate if the EU’s current economic governance framework has supplied wanted results (the stocktaking part) and propose possible ways to go forward. However, the negotiated compromise was very uncritical on the actual stocktaking part. The propositions that are made in the report do not correspond to the ECR’s position.

Bernd Lucke, ECR shadow rapporteur, commented: “Since 1999 Economic Governance in the Eurozone has failed on a large scale. Rules moved from simple to very complicated without much effect. The ECR opposes any blurring of competences of different institutions such as the Euro group and the EU Commission. The chair of the Euro group should not be attributed to a Member of the EU Commissioner. Only a clear division of competences and interests allows for proper checks and balances.”

The Beres report invites stakeholders to explore next steps to deepen the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) including the introduction of Euro area fiscal capacity based on specific own-resources for the EU, a common deposit guarantee scheme by completing the Banking Union, the inclusion of the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) into Union law, a minimum wage or minimum income mechanism and a euro area mechanism to allow debt reduction.