CoR members adopted today by large majority the CoR's opinion on Reform proposals for the Economy and Monetary Union (EMU) drafted by Christophe Rouillon, mayor of Coulaines (PES/France). "The strengthening of the EMU is a financial and democratic emergency. There is indeed an urgent need to make the EMU resilient before the next crisis, in particular by establishing a Euro Assistance Fund to withstand the systemic threats facing the global economy. This European firewall needs to be put in place now instead of being tinkered with during the next crisis", Mr Rouillon stressed.
Building on Mr Rouillon's November 2017 opinion on the Reflection Paper on the future of the EMU, the CoR makes a series of political recommendations, reflecting major PES positions, including:
- introducing a budgetary capacity aimed at increasing the euro area's resilience, and paving the way for convergence with future euro area members;
- supporting EU co-financing for structural reforms at national level only if they occur, in line with the subsidiarity principle, in areas of EU competence, focusing on measures with EU added value. Moreover, these new financial tools cannot be financed to the detriment of cohesion policy;
- welcoming the fact that the Commission proposal incorporates the European Stability mechanism (ESM) into primary EU law. The CoR, however, suggests that it would be more suitable to establish a "European Assistance Fund" instead of a "European Monetary Fund".
