EC president urges economic integration amid euro crisis

The European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso has called for more economic integration to tackle the eurozone crisis. In his annual State of the Union address in Strasbourg, Barroso vowed that Greece would remain in the euro but had to implement its commitments. EC president urges economic integration amid euro crisis “Amid much criticism of his leadership and doubts over the EU’s ability to control events, he said the “inter-governmental approach” had not worked; what was needed, was a stronger centralized European Union, under the “independent authority” of the Commission,” he explained. “For the euro area to be credible – and this is not only the message of the federalists, this is the message of the markets – we need a truly community approach. We need to really integrate the euro area, we need to complete the monetary union with a real economic union,” the European Commission president pointed out. Barroso outlined steps to boost the European bailout fund to make intervention more effective, and urged the European Central Bank to do whatever was necessary to ensure stability in the eurozone. On the question of financial sector regulation, he said more about a planned EU-wide financial transaction tax. “In the last three years, member states – I should say, taxpayers – have granted aid and provided guarantees of EUR 4.6tn to the financial sector. It is time for the financial sector to make a contribution back to society. That’s why I’m very proud to say that today the Commission adopted a proposal for the ‘Financial Transaction Tax’, that if implemented, may generate revenue of about EUR 55bn per year.” The over-riding pre-occupation remains the debt crisis. Amid talk of a possible break-up of the eurozone and even the EU, the Commission President admitted the Union was facing the greatest challenge in its history. Jose Manuel Barroso (Beta, file)

EC president urges economic integration amid euro crisis

“Amid much criticism of his leadership and doubts over the EU’s ability to control events, he said the “inter-governmental approach” had not worked; what was needed, was a stronger centralized European Union, under the “independent authority” of the Commission,” he explained.

“For the euro area to be credible – and this is not only the message of the federalists, this is the message of the markets – we need a truly community approach. We need to really integrate the euro area, we need to complete the monetary union with a real economic union,” the European Commission president pointed out.

Barroso outlined steps to boost the European bailout fund to make intervention more effective, and urged the European Central Bank to do whatever was necessary to ensure stability in the eurozone.

On the question of financial sector regulation, he said more about a planned EU-wide financial transaction tax.

“In the last three years, member states – I should say, taxpayers – have granted aid and provided guarantees of EUR 4.6tn to the financial sector. It is time for the financial sector to make a contribution back to society. That’s why I’m very proud to say that today the Commission adopted a proposal for the ‘Financial Transaction Tax’, that if implemented, may generate revenue of about EUR 55bn per year.”

The over-riding pre-occupation remains the debt crisis. Amid talk of a possible break-up of the eurozone and even the EU, the Commission President admitted the Union was facing the greatest challenge in its history.