Live replay of the Formal sitting : 20th Anniversary of the Euro during the plenary session in the European Parliament in Strasbourg (14-17 January 2019)

TAJANI, Antonio (EPP, IT)

Strasbourg

formal sitting

single currency (T)

Formal sitting - 20th Anniversary of the Euro: opening statement by Antonio TAJANI, EP President (11:54 - 11:59)

https://api.multimedia.europarl.europa.eu/documents/20125/19899229/I166171Chapters%5BSD-EN%5D.srt

SOUNDBITE (Italian), Antonio TAJANI, EP President, Members, Guests, today we're celebrating the 20th anniversary of our currency the euro is used by 340 million European citizens. It's the second most important currency in the world according to the latest survey Eurobarometer three Europeans out of four have a positive view of the euro the euro has made our single market more transparent and competitive facilitating transactions movement trade and tourism during the economic crisis also thanks to quantitative easing as enacted by the European Central Bank and I'd like to thank President Draghi for this initiative.

The currency has acted as a shield preventing the collapse of our weaker economies nevertheless the crisis also brought out the failure to fully complete the architecture of the euro and has also flagged up a number of errors made in the management of sovereign debt but not everyone is convinced that the currency is functioning properly. Even this in this house there are many colleagues criticizing the architecture of the euro and consider it to be a brake upon competitiveness. And consider the austerity policies to be mistaken.

Nevertheless I am convinced that the euro is a good thing and it cannot be an end in itself. It is a means to achieve a social market economy with the objective of bringing prosperity and work to all European citizens so it is imperative that we conclude the architecture that we have started to build.

It's important that capital markets union and banking union be completed as well as fiscal union an economic union we cannot remain bogged down where we are where we risk being overrun by a new crisis we're seeing signs of a slowdown in growth and in industrial production. The risk is that there could be a new recession in some European countries. There are growing economic and social disparities between the different parts of the eurozone in some regions indeed and in some areas one young person in every two does not find a job.

And this is absolutely unacceptable so it's clear that we still need effective instruments for relaunching investment supporting the real economy creating employment stimulating social convergence and regional convergence so it's important that we follow up this Parliament's demands that we should have an appropriate budget that is up to the level of the challenges so today we are not merely celebrating the euro.

We need to look at the mistakes that have been made. And we need to take note of the problems that still have to be solved. I'm calling upon Europe's leaders to show a sense of responsibility in urgently starting the work on reinforcing the year the euro relaunching a jobs and growth and they should set the objective of giving work to the largest possible number of European citizens because without employment there is no freedom without work. There is no dignity. Thank you very much.