Speech: Commissioner Moscovici's remarks on deepening of Europe's Economic and Monetary Union

Last, but most certainly not least, we are today calling for a far-reaching debate on the strengthening of the euro area's governance and of its democratic accountability. A strengthened economic and monetary union depends on our Member States accepting to share more responsibilities and to take more decisions jointly on matters of common concern, a common legal framework.

This further political integration should proceed incrementally, in parallel and in support of other concrete steps towards a completed EMU.

A first step should be the formalisation, by the end of next year, of the already very effective regular dialogue on economic policy matters between the Commission and the European Parliament. Such arrangements could be extended to other relevant institutions and bodies, starting with the Eurogroup - whose members would also remain accountable to their national parliaments. They could be translated into an agreement on the democratic accountability of the euro area, signed by all of these actors in time for the next European Parliament elections in June 2019. So the role of the European Parliament will be significantly strengthened. Further down the road, this agreement could be integrated into the EU Treaties.

The integration of the Fiscal Compact Treaty into EU law was agreed by the participating Member States when they signed the treaty. This will need to be enacted soon.

Another matter to be explored is the possible integration of the ESM in to the EU legal framework, a discussion that will of course be linked to the ESM's future evolution.

What is key is that our institutional structures facilitate and encourage decision-making in the general interest of the euro area. In this sense, we would like to see an open, serious debate on some important ideas, many of which are well-known:

First, achieving a new balance between the Commission and the Eurogroup, with the possible merging of the roles of Commissioner in charge of EMU and President of the Eurogroup;

Second, a more unified external representation for the euro area, as the Commission has already proposed.

And third, crucially, the idea of a euro area Treasury, which could ultimately take on the tasks of economic and fiscal surveillance, the coordination of issuing of a European safe asset and the management of the macroeconomic stabilisation function. Let's call it an economic policy of the eurozone. This Treasury could bring together existing responsibilities and services, including the ESM after its integration into the legal framework of the EU.

The euro area Treasury could be placed under the responsibility of an EU Finance Minister, who would also chair meetings of the Eurogroup and ECOFIN.

Finally, the idea of a European Monetary Fund, which would naturally be built on the ESM, deserves further debate as to its possible goals, design and financing.

Let me conclude by recalling what this exercise is about.

The euro is already a symbol of unity and a guarantee of stability for Europeans. We now need to make it a vehicle for shared prosperity. It is only by reversing economic and social divergence in the euro area that we will be able to defeat the dangerous populism that this fuels. the journey we started at Maastricht towards a genuine economic and monetary union, with strong institutions and democratic accountability. We have put forward what we believe is a strong framework for Member States, the European Parliament and all other actors to take forward this crucial debate. We are looking forward to engaging with them, starting from now.

Thank you.

SPEECH/17/1479