Debate on the Preparation of the European Council meeting of 9 and 10 March 2017 during&nbsp;plenary session of March in Brussels. (01-02/03/2017)

Brussels

RODRIGUES, Maria João (S&D, PT)

debate

plenary session

KATAINEN, Jyrki (FI, EC)

TELIČKA, Pavel (ALDE, CZ)

AVRAMOPOULOS, Dimitris (EL, EC)

GROSSETÊTE, Françoise (EPP, FR)

European Council meeting 9-10 March 2017 (T)

Preparation of the European Council meeting of 9 and 10 March 2017: extracts from the debate

SOUNDBITE (English), Chris AGIUS, Parliamentary Secretary for Research, Innovation, Youth and Sport, (On the commitment to tackle migration) Leader want to review what has been done to implement the decisions taken in February and keep the pressure high so that efforts are pulled to tackle the central Mediterranean route. With the start of the spring around the corner leaders want to avoid repetition of the tragedies of last year.

SOUNDBITE (English), Jyrki KATAINEN, Vice-President of the EC in charge of Jobs, Growth, Investment and Competitiveness, We want the European Council to keep political impetus next week to our efforts to keep the Union with modernised tools to tackle unfair trade. When other step back from rule based trade European Union must step forward. And we have others, such as Japan, Mexico, American Sur, India willing to do likewise and make sure that rules of the game are the rules which best serve and protect our citizens and our societies.

SOUNDBITE (English), Dimitris AVRAMOPOULOS, Member of the EC in charge of Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship, Even if we make progress in the management of the migratory flows the situation is still very, very fragile. We need to be all committed to implement the agreed, I repeat the agreed measures and find a way forward to complete the structural reforms. The credibility of our actions inside the Union and our borders and in our migration management is central in building mutual trust and enable us to act in a collective way.

SOUNDBITE (French), Fran&#231;oise GROSSET&#202;TE (EPP, FR), Convergence and social and fiscal and other policies are essential for the Eurozone to push ahead and we need reforms in many member states, for example France. The Euro should be a symbol of European strength, we can build nothing without confidence and without an economic and social foundation which is solid.

SOUNDBITE (Portuguese), Maria Jo&#227;o RODRIGUES (S&amp;D, PT), You have in this European Council agenda, many issues, critical issues where we need to deliver better European solution. Nevertheless let me underline that when it comes to growth, we really want also more, because the current European semester shows clearly there is a limit in the growth strategy that we are following in Europe. So far we have been driven by export, there is nothing against this, but we feel that is the moment to bet on domestic demand and this means to reduce social inequalities.

SOUNDBITE (English), Pavel TELI&#268;KA (ALDE, CZ), I agree with the Vice-President Katainen that CETA has to be ratified and I also believe that we do need necessary and fine-tuned defence mechanism. In what I believe more in is that we as a heavy weight economic trends well beyond our demography use that force, it is not just question to negotiate with Japon and other countries at a time when we have let&rsquo;s say a stance with the U.S., why don&rsquo;t we have our own agenda that we impose on the Americans?