Michel Barnier addressed the 464th EESC Plenary Session

“The financial circles should finance the real business, rather than real business financial circles.”
Michel Barnier, EU Commissioner for Internal Market and Services

 The 464th EESC Plenary Session held in Brussels on 14 – 15 July 2010 was attended by Michel Barnier, EU Commissioner for Internal Market and Services, who presented his vision of the future of the internal market and next steps of the Commission based on the recommendation made by Mario Monti. He stressed particularly an efficient regulation of financial markets, better enforcement of the internal market rules and the future potential of digital agenda. The other guest speaker was Olivier Castel, State Secretary for European Affairs, Belgian Government, who informed the audience about the main priorities of the ongoing Belgian EU Presidency.

The Plenary Session discussed and adopted the following opinions relevant for the employers and business community:

• INT/520 Lisbon Treaty and Internal Market
  The Commission's future policy guidelines on the 2020 Strategy and a number of statements by Commissioners and national political leaders also appear to favour the same approach to the single market that gradually focuses more on the citizen. This aspect has also been strengthened by the explicit reference to the Charter of Fundamental Rights, which has "the same legal value as the treaties", albeit with restrictions in some Member States.
  The legislative process relative to the internal market will be marked by the intervention of the national parliaments, which are required to ensure respect for the principle of subsidiarity, which regulates the sharing of competences between the Union and the Member States, through two protocols, one on "the role of national parliaments" and the other on "the application of the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality".
  If national parliaments' preventive measures work well and if monitoring of the principle of subsidiarity proves to be effective and of high enough quality to fully support the "early warning mechanism" that the Lisbon Treaty has taken from the Constitution, EU legislation might generate less criticism from Member States for riding roughshod over national powers and also be less resented by the European public for demonstrating a type of "Brussels-based centralism". For this reason, national parliaments should also improve their networking, because the influence and effectiveness of the "early warning mechanism", although an individual right granted to each parliamentary chamber, depends on national parliaments' ability to organise themselves on collective lines.
  The Lisbon Treaty also moves towards general use of the "ordinary legislative procedure" (co-decision of Article 251 EC) for the internal market, as witnessed by Article 48 TFEU on measures in the area of social security.
  The Lisbon Treaty thus aims to facilitate the development of the internal market by making more general use of the form of co-decision that it renames the "ordinary legislative procedure", but it adds a new partner to the Union institutions in their decision-making: the national parliaments, which from now on will need to be considered for the adoption of all legislative measures applicable to the internal market.
  
  
• CCMI/072 European technologic, industrial and science parks in the cirisis management
  The EU needs a more focused and integrated approach geared towards sustaining and developing the technologic, industrial and science parks (TISPs) of the 21st century. Particularly in the crisis and post crisis context, a more comprehensive strategy should be followed, to capture the potential benefits of parks for economic growth and competitiveness. These actions have to be implemented with leadership and ambition on behalf of the EU. The EESC advises to identify and develop synergies with the flagship EU initiatives in the field, particularly with the European Institute of Technology and Innovation and its Knowledge and Innovation Communities. The development of new generations, a new form of parks has to be noticed and encouraged. The role of the parks in shaping the innovation structures should be promoted. The regional dimension: in line with the subsidiarity principle, local governments’, agglomerations’ involvement in the development of TISPs should be strengthened. There is a need to improve networking activities between the actors of the public sector, the business community and the higher education institutions. Parks could serve in their function as bridges between the academia and the industry. It is desirable to support the mapping of TISPs across Europe in the form of a comprehensive database.
  
  
• TEN/404 SME an EU energy policy
  The European Union has introduced a policy to improve energy efficiency, which is also part of the EU 2020 strategy. The main implication for SMEs is the radical change in their access to energy and its rational use in-house. Up until now, European Union efforts in relation to energy efficiency have not specifically addressed the situation of small companies and micro businesses, and their impact on these businesses is not known.The opinion could focus on: the need for employees of small and medium-sized enterprises to receive training on renewable energy and energy efficiency; the way in which small and medium-sized enterprises tend to develop, particularly in terms of the length of their investment and innovation cycles; weighing up the challenges faced by small and medium-sized enterprises in obtaining clean energy microgeneration systems powered by local sources, which would contribute to the EU's energy independence; the need to set up a system to boost the capacity of organisations representing SMEs and strengthen their role.
  
  
• ECO/275 Finantial transaction tax
  A financial transaction tax (FTT) could have a decisive impact on the behaviour of the financial institutions by reducing the number of very short-term financial transactions, which are often also risky. The EESC in principle endorsed the idea of an FTT in its opinion on the de Larosière report.
  According to the EESC, the primary objective of an FTT should be to change behaviour in the financial sector by reducing short-term speculative financial transactions. The desired effect could be reached as the FTT hits the most frequent transactions the hardest.
  If an FTT considerably reduces short-term trading in securities and derivatives, it will also reduce the profits in the financial sector, which could lead to a reduction in bonuses but also to lower profit tax revenues. Traditional banking will not be affected. This type of banking could once again be the main aim of the financial sector, where savings are allocated to their best use for investments.
  The second objective of an FTT is to raise public money. This new source of revenue could be used to support economic development in developing countries, to finance climate policies in developing countries or to alleviate the burden on public finances. The last of these also implies that the financial sector will pay back public subsidies. In the long-term, revenues should provide a new general source for public income.
  The FTT would have a progressive character as the customers of the financial institutions, as well as the institutions themselves, when they are trading on their own account, represent the wealthiest parts of society.
  The introduction of this tax would involve virtually no administrative, technical or economic costs as these transactions are already computerised. The need to include all transactions, thereby also the OTC market in an organised exchange shows that regulation and taxes such as FTT are complementary, not alternatives.
  With a changed behaviour in the financial sector relying more on long-term fundamentals and at the same time increased public incomes the FTT has what is called a double dividend. A tax rate has to be searched which leads to a balance between these two objectives of the FTT.
  
  
• SOC/367 The impact of an ageing population on healthcare and welfare systems
  Eurostat forecasts suggest that the proportion of people aged 65 or over in the population will rise from 17.1% in 2008 to 30% in 2060. The average ratio between people of working age (15 - 64) and people aged 65 and over will change from 4:1 now to 2:1 in 2050.
  The European Commission is assessing the implications of ageing populations in Europe to find ways of addressing them. In its recent communication Dealing with the impact of an ageing population in the EU (COM(2009) 180 final, of 29 April 2009) it examines the public finance implications of providing health and long-term care as well as adequate pensions services for this rapidly growing share of the population.
  On 18 September 2009, the Commission asked the EESC to draw up an exploratory opinion on The impact of an ageing population on healthcare and welfare systems. This opinion should particularly help assessing the implications of this fact and answering questions such as: What do health systems and other support services have to do (in terms of their organisation and capacity) to meet the needs of the elderly population? Can technologies help to provide health and long-term care in a cost-effective way? What opportunities might the challenges bring? Which EU instruments will better deliver policy measures? How to mainstream ageing-related measures in the various EU policies?
  
  
• SOC/376 The new integration challenges
  The European Union is facing a new phase in immigration and integration policies. The Conclusions of the last Ministerial Conference on integration call on the Commission to draw up a new agenda for integration and stress the role of civil society and of the European Integration Forum.
  The EESC has instructed the IMI study group to draw up this information report in order to facilitate the Forum's debates and contribute to the drawing-up of the new European integration agenda.
  The implementation of a coordination system should form part of the integration agenda, with national and European reports, using as a starting point guidelines based on the CBPs and common indicators.
  Integration is a social process of mutual adaptation in the complex social relationships between individuals and groups of people. These social processes should be backed up by good governance at different levels.
  The EU brings considerable added value to integration policies. The EESC has underlined the need to link integration with the values and principles set out in the Treaty, the Charter of Fundamental Rights, the European Convention on Human Rights, the Europe 2020 agenda and employment policy and the social agenda.
  In view of the crisis, the EESC considers that integration policies need to be strengthened in order to improve cohesion both at national and EU level.
  The common basic principles serve as a guide for the European integration strategy. The first common basic principle states that integration is a dynamic, two-way process of mutual accommodation between immigrants and the host society. The Committee endorses this approach.
  The Committee considers that in the next few years, the European integration agenda should step up activities coming under principles 7 and 9, namely by encouraging more frequent interaction between immigrants and the general public in Member States, and making it easier for people of immigrant origin to participate in society.
  
  
• CCMI/077 The impact of industrial changes on employment
  The opinion comes against a backdrop characterised by three negative scenarios within an economic crisis of colossal proportions: Little progress has been made towards achieving the objectives of the Lisbon strategy; an enormous crisis has hit the financial sector; the results of the UN Copenhagen summit on climate change were inadequate.
  Green economy-oriented industrial change will require a completely new understanding of growth and competitiveness. There must be a new approach to measuring economic and social progress. Industrial change and employment will only be compatible with sustainability targets if the EU and the world as a whole agree on a different vision of growth. The proposal made by the Commission on its 2020 strategy is insufficient.
  The EESC is in favour of the democratic participation of the European public in the broad debate that must take place on the industrial change, its impact on the employment markets, its pace and the overall social repercussions. This is not about obstructing environmental policy but managing it in a socially sustainable manner.
  The EU needs economic government within its institutions so as to make the European economy greener and generate sustainable jobs.
  The new jobs will be generated by the private sector and, in particular, by SMEs. The role of the public sector will be to establish a stable and constructive framework that allows companies to optimise the transition towards a greener economy that performs better and is rich in sustainable employment. More specifically, the public sector plays an important part in the areas of education, training and research, as well as in promoting green technologies. That is why economic, social and environmental progress requires a healthy public sector. Furthermore, in order to safeguard the general interest it is going to be necessary to review the regulatory framework for the liberalised energy markets. In addition, the Member States should agree on a tax on speculative financial transactions; the receipts from this tax should be used to reduce public deficits, giving them more leeway, for instance, to finance education systems more effectively.
  The EESC proposes establishing a dedicated European fund to support industrial change and, more specifically, research, development and the application of green technology. A solid industrial base will be indispensable if sustainable employment objectives are to be reached. Many jobs, even in the services sector, depend on the success of European industry. The EESC is of the view that it is up to the European institutions to secure a level playing field within the EU and as far as possible with its partners, to prevent relocations, or even the dismantling of entire sectors, from having a detrimental impact on employment and the environment.

www.eesc.europa.eu

Vladimíra Drbalová
International Organisations and EU Affairs
EESC Member