President Herman Van Rompuy Opening remarks at the European Council

Brussels, 14-3-2013 — /europawire.eu/ — Welcome to this Spring European Council. Every year this season, we meet to inspect our economic situation, our prospects; and we set the direction on how best to guide our national and European policies. It’s called the “Spring Council”, but – looking outside – this year it feels like winter… for now.

The situation across Europe is of great concern. After three years of hard work to overcome the crisis, we’ve returned to relative stability, financial stability – and that is the precondition for all the rest. But these results are not yet translating into stronger growth and more jobs. That’s what hurts people now, that’s where our focus must be.

We are engaged in a long distance race. We’ve already made huge progress, climbed hills – even mountains! –, which before seemed insurmountable. Yes, we are closer to the finishing line than to the starting line. But it is not downhill from here. And after this long effort, the stretch-of-road ahead of us is perhaps the hardest…

But we cannot give up, we need to stay focused on the goal, the common goal. Our plan has four clear and consistent strands:

One: restoring financial stability – and maintaining it;
Two: ensuring sound public finances – structurally sound;
Three: fighting unemployment, especially for the young, today’s emergency;
And four: working on long-term growth, preparing for the future.

We need all four at the same time. The question is finding the right balance. We won’t overcome a debt crisis with more debt. We won’t create jobs if companies have no access to credit.

But neither will we bring back confidence and opportunities if our economies continue to shrink. It’s not black and white. Nuances matter. As some might say, there are many “shades of grey”.

But neither will we bring back confidence and opportunities if our economies continue to shrink. It’s not black and white. Nuances matter. As some might say, there are many “shades of grey”.

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Dirk De Backer – Spokesperson of the President
( +32 (0)2 281 9768 – +32 (0)497 59 99 19
Preben Aamann – Deputy Spokesperson of the President
( +32 (0)2 281 2060 – +32 (0)476 85 05 43
press.president@consilium.europa.eu
http://www.european-council.europa.eu/the-president