The meeting of the PES Financial and Economic Network was chaired by S&D Group Vice-President Maria Joao Rodrigues, who commented on its outcome:
‘In the aftermath of the celebrations for the Anniversary of the Treaty of Rome, our network met today to discuss concrete measures for making Europe more progressive. We exchanged views on a number of topics that could make a significant change in the current policy mix, including how a reform of the Stability and Growth Pact could boost public investment, create a golden rule that gives more fiscal flexibility to member states, and look more into the long term impact of reforms and not the short term need for meeting deficit and debt targets.
“We discussed the next steps for deepening Economic and Monetary Union. It is imperative that a European Deposit Insurance Scheme is put in place not only to safeguard citizens’ deposits but also to make our banking sector more resilient to risks. We further discussed the creation of a fiscal capacity for the Eurozone. We recognized that this would be instrumental in strengthening the capacity of the Member States to address inequalities both economic and social.
Last but not least, we came back to the issue of fair corporate taxation. The implementation of a Common Corporate Tax Base should include the consolidation element to actively boost our efforts in the fight against tax fraud and in particular transfer pricing. We reiterate our call for companies to pay taxes where they operate.’
Among the participants was Brendan Howlin, Leader of the Irish Labour Party, who also commented on the outcome of the meeting.
‘Changes to the stability and growth pact, including the fiscal rules will not undermine fiscal discipline, but should add an urgency to investment in our societies, and place the monitoring of our social good on a par with the strength of our economies. The work being carried out by the PES Financial and Economic Network must be replicated by other European groupings so that at all times we allow from an appropriate level of capital and human investment.’
