Dijsselbloem: For a strong EMU we should get the convergence machine working again

Mr Van Iersel and Mr Dijsselbloem

A delegation of the EESC's ECO section meets the Eurogroup president in The Hague

On 19 January 2015, a delegation of the EESC's Section for Economic and Monetary Union and Economic and Social Cohesion (ECO), met Jeroen Dijsselbloem, President of the Eurogroup and Minister of Finance of the Netherlands, to discuss key issues related to the euro area economic situation and governance mechanisms, as well as the latest Commission initiatives in this field. The EESC delegation was composed of Joost van Iersel, President of the ECO section, together with Carmelo Cedrone and Michael Smyth, rapporteurs for numerous EESC opinions related to EMU and the financing of the European economy.

Mr Dijsselbloem mentioned the hard work that had been done over the last years to bring back stability to the euro area, and pointed out that the current policy emphasis was shifting from only budget consolidation to stimulating initiatives to boost competitiveness and investment levels. The EESC representatives agreed with the Minister that all Member States need to undertake ambitious structural reforms which would eventually be rewarded in terms of higher growth rates. If performed with the necessary democratic legitimacy, such reforms would contribute to a gradual convergence of the Member States' fiscal and economic policies and, as a consequence, to a stronger Economic and Monetary Union. In that sense, civil society stakeholders should assume their responsibility and thus can play an important role in helping to define the necessary political actions both at national and European levels.

The meeting with Mr Dijsselbloem followed a series of meetings between ECO section members and officials from the Ministries of Finance of the Member States, including France, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands, aimed at giving appropriate follow-up to the EESC own-initiative opinion on "Completing EMU", which outlines a roadmap for the next steps towards further economic integration during the new European legislature and beyond. It also gave the EESC members the opportunity to discuss the Committee's new work on the Investment Plan for Europe and the Economic Governance Review in response to the latest Commission communications in the field of EMU.