Gunnar Hökmark (PPE). – Mr President, we are facing deeper and deeper problems that are threatening the stability and the welfare of our societies. If increased spending and increased deficits had been the solution to our problems we would have no problems today.
The country reports presented by the Commission speak a plain language: it is a matter of a failure to make reforms and of ongoing imbalances based upon too much spending. I say this because we cannot avoid the problem, it is at the core of Europe and present in all of our societies.
The solution is not inventing new institutions or inventing new funds for new spending, it is making reforms in all Member States, something we have known for a number of years. We need to act together and we need to have common rules.
What is even more important is making all the reforms at European level – we can decide on this today – and at Member State level that can open up growth and new jobs. We all know what sort of reforms are needed.
Mr President, we do not need yet more new pacts; we need acts.