madam president every week the press is filled with news of a new or modified proposal from a country the european council and the president of the commission
i commend the president of the ecb because he has paid heed to the discussions and reports in the parliament and recognises our direction and determination
the competitiveness pact and its evolution is a case in point
we already have a richer tapestry of ideas in our amendments to the economic governance package so we will have little difficulty in moving into codecision to merge the outcomes of the positions that we take in parliament and council
but we should not cherry-pick from the single market nor continue to get it wrong
the single market is not about a fortress with a level playing field inside
it is about the external competitiveness that a large single market can generate so it is intimately mixed with the recovery side of economic governance
we also need a permanent financial stability mechanism capable of evolving over time subject to governance and priorities
to the german people convulsed with the transfer union issue i say look at what accompanies the demands of your own government recapitalisation of banks and purchase of sovereign debt in a secondary market
germany's banks will take ten years to recognise their impaired assets from the crisis and that includes sovereign debt
germany's banks will not meet new international rules for bank capital so transfer to german banks should also be the issue on your lips
that is why you need the mechanism like all the eurozone
finally on interest rates there is a balance that has to be struck between sustainability and moral hazard
