Toespraak Commissievoorzitter Barroso over de Europese rol van Duitsland en de EU 2020-strategie en eurocrisis (en)

Ich freue mich sehr, heute den neuen Präsidenten der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, Christian Wulff, in der Europäischen Kommission in Brüssel begrüßen zu dürfen.

Ganz besonders froh bin ich, dass die erste Reise ins Ausland den neuen Bundespräsidenten auch zu den Institutionen der EU führt. Dies ist ein wichtiges Zeichen, welch große Bedeutung die Europa-Politik für Präsident Wulff besitzt.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

We just had a very good exchange of views on the European agenda. There was full consensus between the German President and me that we need better and closer coordination of our economic and fiscal policies in Europe. That we need a real European economic governance based on three pillars: monetary and fiscal stability, structural reform leading to sustainable growth, and sound regulation of financial markets.

The Commission and Germany are united in their resolve to restore confidence and stability and to enable Europe as a whole to come out of this crisis stronger and better equipped for the future. As we could see at the recent G8 and G20 summits, our partners worldwide do understand and welcome Europe's ambition and determination.

For economic growth and structural reform, the Commission has presented its Europe 2020 Strategy which all Member States have adopted three weeks ago. Now Member States and the EU have to work hard and also hand in hand to achieve our ambitious targets for employment, innovation, education, fight against climate change and also for social inclusion.

A European system of supervision of financial markets will be in place we hope at the beginning of next year.

Last week the Commission presented its proposals on enhanced economic governance. Concrete legislative initiatives will follow and I would like to see the strengthened economic governance already working in 2011.

We need a stronger surveillance regime. We are very grateful for the support that Germany has given to this agenda. We need a stronger surveillance regime that is both stricter, and broader, covering budgetary, macro-economic and structural policies - in full respect of national constitutional requirements. And one that ensures better enforcement of the rules with refined incentives and sanctions. Only in that way our system will be credible

The Commission has proposed to strengthen the Stability and Growth Pact by giving full prominence to both the deficit and the debt criterion. A pact with real teeth in order to make it respected by all.

The Commission is determined to give the economic and monetary union the tools it needs to fully function. For this we will use the existing instruments of the current Treaty to the full.

During our meeting I have thanked President Wulff for Germany's and also for his personal strong commitment to Europe. We fully agree on the European future for our citizens. I was very impressed by President Wulff's inaugural speech at the Bundestag which showed his vision of a Germany deeply anchored in the European Union. We both see the European Union as our powerful answer to tackling common challenges and also shaping globalisation.

I also welcome very much the strong commitment of President Wulff regarding the issues of inclusion and integration in our societies.

I think the fact that so soon after his election President Wulff included the European institutions and the European Commission in his first journey abroad is once again a great symbol of his commitment to Europe and also of the strong commitment of Germany to our common European project.

Once again thank you Mr. President.