“He’s so German!” “The old European welfare state model is in fact dead, because it had to make debts far too often. The Germans have reinvented it – with no excessive debts.” ECB president Mario Draghi, Bild Zeitung, March 2012

Public debt crisis?

Winners and losers

“What is going on is a silent revolution - a silent revolution in terms of stronger economic governance by small steps. The Member States have accepted - and I hope they understood it exactly – but they have accepted very important powers of the European institutions regarding surveillance, and a much stricter control of the public finances.” José Manuel Barroso, June 2010

”Thank you Greek crisis!” Mario Monti PM of Italy Former Commissioner January 2011

1. The loans (EFSF/ESM) “What we're witnessing today is the great success of the euro, and the most concrete demonstration of that success is Greece, which is being obliged to take on the culture of stablity with which it's transforming itself.” Mario Monti, November 2011

2. The European Semester “…at the drafting stage, the implications of national budgets and of major national fiscal policy measures [should be] reviewed at the level of the Union,” “EU Governance”, European Roundtable of Industrialists, 2002

3. The Europlus Pact “The emphasis on wage moderation in the Pact for the Euro is not an attack on collective bargaining. In Germany for example, the social partners themselves autonomously decided to follow this course.” Philippe de Buck (BusinessEurope), 24 March 2011

3. The Europlus Pact “Unjustified hostility to balanced reforms cannot be allowed to block the necessary modernisation of Europe’s labour markets.” Philippe de Buck (BusinessEurope), 24 March 2011.

4. The stability pact 1... increase the effective retirement age. 2...restructuring of the banks in need of an adequately funded and viable business model. 3. …reform the system of wage bargaining and wage indexation 4...reform system of (job security) 5. …boost competition in the retail sector, by lowering barriers to entry and reducing operational restrictions, and strengthen competition in the electricity and gas markets. Commissioner Rehn’s Letter to the Belgian government, November 2011

4. The stability pact “I expect the necessary budgetary correction to be carried out with due regard to these recommendations. I am committed to rigorously apply the new rules of economic governance from day one of their entering into force. As it stands, this would be in the second half of December.” Commissioner Rehn’s letter to the Belgian government, November 2011

4. The stability pact "The European Commission does not have a political agenda when it tries to apply its rules. Its decisions are based on rigorous economic analysis." Commission spokesperson, January 2012

5. The imbalance procedure “When wages in the public sector damage competitiveness and price stability then the country will be requested to change this policy. And the wage development in the public sector does of course have a great influence on the private economy”. Marco Buti (DG ECFIN), Die Welt Online, 27 September 2010

6. The fiscal compact (the Austerity Treaty) "The debt brakes will be binding and valid forever. Never will you be able to change them through a parliamentary majority.” Angela Merkel, March 2012

6. The fiscal compact (the Austerity Treaty) “In order to continue, the monetary union needs … the willingness to be subject to a discipline that cannot be changed by any government whatsoever.” Mario Draghi March 2012

6. The fiscal compact (the Austerity Treaty) “What we see is a bureaucratisation of economic policy in Europe.” Niels Bernstein, CEO of the National Bank, February 2012

The German governments vision ”We have to get use to the fact, that the Commission will become more and more like a government” Angela Merkel, January 2012 ”I would be for the further development of the European Commission into a government” Wolfgang Schäuble, May 2012

Draghi’s vision Before we move to a fiscal union we have to have in place a system where countries can show that they can stand on their own. And this is the prerequisite for countries to trust each other.

Draghi’s vision This so-called fiscal compact treaty is actually a major political achievement because it’s the first step towards a fiscal union. It’s a treaty whereby countries release national sovereignty in order to accept common fiscal rules that are especially binding, and accept monitoring and accept to have these rules in their primary legislation so they are not easy to change. So that’s the beginning.

Van Rompuy’s vision

“We have to adapt our socio- economic models to a rapidly changing world, while bringing people and public opinions on board. Election results and opinions polls across Europe show this is a huge political challenge. As active businessmen, who experience these changes firsthand, you have a vital role to play – feeding your message into the public debates in your own countries and societies.” Council President Van Rompuy, European Business Summit, 26. April 2012

The road to a different vision Reach a consensus on a progressive response to the crisis Roll-back of the emerging system of economic governance Challenge the legitimacy of the present EU project Build strong European coalitions and launch major cross border actions