The President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso is currently presenting a plan aimed at solving the ongoing crisis of the Eurozone.
The proposals are being spelt out in a previously unannounced address to MEPs at the European Parliament in Brussels.
Mr Barroso said that the plan needs to be agreed as soon as possible by the 27 EU member states. A summit is to be held in Brussels on October 23.
The following are the main points of the new roadmap:
- Decisive action on Greece – so that all doubt is removed about Greece's economic sustainability. This must include disbursement of the sixth tranche of loans, a second adjustment programme, based on adequate financing through public sector and private sector involvement and continued support from the Commission Task Force.
- Completing Euro area intervention – including making the decisions agreed on 21 July 2011 operational, maximising the effectiveness of the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF), accelerating the launch of the European Stability Mechanism and the provision of sufficient liquidity by the European Central Bank.
- A fully coordinated approach to strengthen Europe's banks - this should be based on a reassessment by the supervising authorities using a temporary significantly higher capital ratio of highest quality capital after accounting for exposure. Banks should first use private sources of capital, with national governments providing support if necessary. If this support is not available, recapitalisation should be funded via a loan from the EFSF. Pending this recapitalisation, these banks would be prevented by national supervisors from distributing dividends or bonuses.
- Speeding up stability and growth-enhancing policies – including rapid implementation of existing commitments on services, energy and free trade agreements; swift adoption of pending proposals to enhance growth such as tax initiatives, fast-tracking forthcoming proposals, especially those that extend the benefits of the Single Market and targeted investment at the European Union level, including through project bonds.
- Building robust and integrated economic governance for the future, based on the existing treaties (Article 136), reinforcing the Community approach. Building on the reinforced "six pack" on economic governance and the European semester already adopted, the proposals seek to integrate the European Stability Mechanism and the Stability & Growth Pact into the same fully integrated governance system to increase coherence and efficiency. This would provide new powers for the Commission/Council to intervene in the preparation of national budgets and monitor their execution. Enhanced cooperation should be envisaged in all cases where otherwise decisive action would be held back.