Herman Van Rompuy: EU vooral op zoek naar financiële stabiliteit en hulp aan MKB (en)

EUROPEAN COUNCIL THE PRESIDT

Lough Erne 17 June 2013 EUCO

PRESSE 265 PRPCE 125

Remarks by President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy i ahead of the G8 i summit in Lough Erne

I am delighted to be here in Loch Erne, with President Barroso i, to represent the European Union

Thanks to the intense and effective preparatory work of Prime Minister Cameron and the UK G8 Presidency, we have a good and innovative agenda. And the European Union is fully engaged and ready to contribute on all the issues

Let me briefly go through the main issues. First on the global economy - the topic of the first session this afternoon. To our G8 partners we will make clear that as far as Europe is concerned the situation has improved in terms of financial stability - and that we are focused on getting Europe out of the economic crisis. The euro is no longer under an existential threat. Financial stability has been restored. Deficits have been halved. Competitiveness is improving and - as a result - exports are picking up. Significant progress has been made towards integrating our financial framework and we move forward on the completion of a banking union. The next European Council will be focused on combating youth unemployment at European and international level

So, our strategy based on the following four pillars is moving Europe in the right direction. The four pillars are:

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  preserving financial stability;

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  measures with an immediate impact to support economic activity SME and and job creation - especially for the youth;

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  making our economies more resilient through sound public finances and improved competitiveness. We can now focus more on structural fiscal targets instead of nominal targets and more on structural reforms in the labour and product markets;

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  and strengthening the architecture of our economic and monetary union

Our economies will come stronger out of the crisis and the eurozone i more integrated. In addition to this strategy comes trade as another key driver of growth and employment. President Barroso will elaborate further

We will also discuss the economic situation in the other G8 economies that are recovering from the crisis, and how individually and collectively we can contribute to promote global recovery and to fight unemployment

Then a few words on foreign policy. Later this evening Prime Minister Cameron will host a working dinner on foreign policy. I expect that the appalling crisis in Syria will top our discussions. The EU is convinced that we are at a critical juncture. After tens of thousands of dead, millions of displaced and refugees, we are in front of fractured and radicalized Syrian society, with a crisis affecting and even threatening the whole region. The recent Russian-US initiative to launch a political process of negotiations, based on the Geneva principles of June 2012, constitutes the best - and the only possible - chance we have to halt this conflict for which there is no military solution.

The EU has agreed for more than a year on the need to restart this process and we have wholeheartedly supported this initiative from the outset. We are committed to bringing the parties to the table to engage in genuine negotiations aimed at establishing a united, inclusive and democratic Syria. We are fully aware of the difficulties, but we stay determined

At the same time, the EU and its Member States continue to be the major international actor in addressing the humanitarian crisis in Syria and in the region. We have now provided up to more than 700 million € in assistance and a recent additional package of 400 million was announced by the Commission on the 6th of June, so we are the largest donors with more than 1 billion euro. Without the prospective of peace the number of refugees would increase to 3.5 million by the end of the year. That perspective creates a heavy burden on the shoulders of all leaders

Tomorrow we will discuss some of the innovative issues put forward by PM Cameron, particularly on taxation and transparency. And during the final working lunch, we will discuss also with other international leaders, including from Africa, issues like transparency in the extractive activities

Let me say a few words on tax fraud and tax evasion. These undermine the social contract in our democratic societies. In times of budgetary consolidation, they become more unacceptable than ever; morally, politically and financially unacceptable. At the 22 May European Council, European leaders agreed on a number of steps to strengthen transparency, and equip their tax authorities with powerful tools to combat tax fraud and tax evasion. The EU - who was and continues to be at the forefront on the automatic exchange of information between tax authorities - will be happy to bring its expertise to help designing and developing a global standard

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We believe that the G8 can give a tremendous support in this and other areas, like the OECD i Base Erosion and Profit Shifting Project, to deal with also the aggressive tax planning

On transparency, let me recall that also here the EU continues to be at forefront and lead the way. The Council in April reached political agreement on the Accounting Directive that has disclosure requirements for the extractive and forestry industries

Before handing over to President Barroso, let me conclude by saying that I expect from this G8 a positive message for the global economy on growth, jobs creation and fighting unemployment. I expect a strong commitment to promote peace in Syria plunged into a dramatic civil war. I expect a clear message on our global determination to promote transparency and fight tax fraud and tax evasion. And finally, I expect significant progress when it comes to free trade with the TTIP between the EU and US as a trendsetter

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