As Europe is sliding into recession, we ask two MEPs (S&D, EPP) for their views on what the European Central Bank and the European Commission should be doing.

Interview: Fighting the crisis

https://api.multimedia.europarl.europa.eu/documents/20125/15770685/N003-0155-ENb.srt

US President Obama, the OECD,  many economists and the markets agree:

They are all asking the ECB to take action  to stop the crisis from spreading.

We ask two MEPs for their opinion:  Should the ECB take more action?

The purchase of sovereign debt  by the European Central Bank

is now the only way to defuse  speculation on public debt.

Today, the US finances itself  at historically low rates.

Europe could do the same, if it changed  the mission, the statute of its central bank.

I completely disagree  with the US administration

which in any case  is extremely indebted itself.

It's a misconception that public debt  helps avoid unemployment in the long term

For the ECB to take action on growth,  its statute would have to be changed.

On what condition would  Germany agree to that?

I'd warn against calling into question  the role of the ECB in general.

as part of its monetary stability policy,  to buy government bonds.

It has had this possibility since 1997  and makes use of it.

It has withdrawn the corresponding  amount of money from the markets

so that the inflationary expectations  do not rise too high.

But the mandate of the ECB  should not be changed for this purpose.

That's why it has banned this process  in its own central bank.

But the situation is different from the 1920s.  There is no inflationary pressure.

There is massive underemployment of  productive capacity, and no wage inflation.

So a small monetisation of public debt  by the ECB today is not inflationary.

France and Germany are working  on new eurozone governance.

Firstly, it must be possible in the future

that the aspects of the treaty  that everyone has signed,

namely solid budget management on  the basis of the Stability and Growth Pact,

Economic governance is obviously  necessary in a monetary union

where you have to organise  the mutualisation of certain policies,

particularly the pooling of sovereign debt,

and a resource transfer to the countries  that should converge upwards.

But that said, we cannot do it in subsets.  It's essential that we remain 17 countries.

because that would be a prelude  to the breakup of the eurozone.

The European Commission  should have a key coordinating role,

but it must not be content  to simply monitor fiscal discipline.

It must implement policies to promote  investment. That's what's missing now.

The European Commission  did not pay attention

to whether the single market  was correctly implemented in Greece

or if the cohesion funds were used to  boost competitiveness in the eurozone.

It has neglected its task  in a careless manner.

Mr Barroso's leadership of the Commission  leaves a lot to be desired.

During the last legislative period we asked  the Commission, in 14 resolutions,

to use its power of initiative to push financial  market regulation, but nothing happened.

The Commission has not lived up to its role  as the most important European institution.

Consequently, there is talk of taking action  on an intergovernmental basis.

We should rather consider  if we need a different Commission.