mr president i would just like to say that the debate this afternoon reflects parliament's willingness indeed insistence on being fully engaged in this process
given my limited time i would just like to make three brief points
i support commissioner rehn's statement and indeed commissioner andor's statement today in regard to the scrutiny of member state's budgets
at one point it looked like the eurozone and the eu might not make it to twenty twenty as an entity
so to ensure that not only do we survive but thrive it is crucial that member states deliver on commitments and promises already made
closing the stable door after the horse has bolted has always been a useless exercise
secondly for the past eighteen months member states and the eu have focused almost exclusively on the stabilisation of financial institutions
in fact we have been consumed by it
while this is important very many citizens have lost trust and are now feeling abandoned
they are looking for support from member states and they are looking to the eu to put in place a framework that is conducive to job creation to entrepreneurship and to the support of smes but crucially that framework must link growth in the economy with the creation of decent jobs and an improvement in the well-being of all citizens especially those below the poverty line
finally there is a major crisis in youth unemployment
a commission document issued yesterday confirmed that youth unemployment in the eu stands at twenty which is twice that forecast for overall unemployment
this crisis is every bit as real and as immediate as the economic crisis and while i heard the commissioner's comments on youth initiatives and i welcome them there must be real coordination between and strong influence on member states to translate those initiatives into concrete jobs
