“New Economic Governance rules give EU hope for future stability” says Sharon Bowles MEP

The Liberal Democrat Chair of the European Parliament's Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee, Sharon Bowles MEP, welcomes Parliament's approval of the Economic Governance package - legislation which will bring about tighter rules on economic policy coordination across the EU.

The 'six pack' of Economic Governance proposals will be put to a vote in the European Parliament in Strasbourg today.

Ms Bowles, who was heavily involved in the negotiations on Economic Governance, said:

"With the Eurozone problems now threatening a full blown global crisis similar to that following the collapse of Lehman's, this is a welcome step to show the world that the EU is making solid moves to address flaws in fiscal policy. Without this first step, any hope of building the long-term solutions for the Eurozone would have been lost.

"Thanks to the involvement of the Parliament in this legislation, all European countries will now have an independent Office of Budget Responsibility like the UK and they will not be able to fiddle their books so easily. We have also strengthened the role of the single market, which brings enormous benefits to UK companies.

"There is still a long way to go and it is easy to sit on the sidelines and cast gloom and doom over the future of the Euro but passing this legislation today is the first signal that European politicians are at last grasping the nettle and taking responsibility for difficult decisions.

"It's unfortunate not all UK MEPs can see fit to support something which we will benefit from so greatly and which the government supports. The time for populist rhetoric is over and the hard work starts here in restoring growth and sustainable finances to European economies."

ENDS

Note to Editors:

• Measures that Sharon Bowles added strengthen commitment to the Single Market, which has been sadly lacking in some Eurozone countries, and embedding the principle of independence of statistics across the EU. For instance, all EU countries will now have independent oversight of their budgets - something which the UK already has in the Office of Budgetary Responsibility.

• The measures also include strengthening the Stability and Growth pact - sanctions will be imposed more rigorously on Eurozone countries if their deficits exceed more than 3% of GDP or they have more than 60% of public debt. This procedure introduces changes to voting procedures so that such disciplinary measures are more likely to be taken.

• Another part of the package creates monitoring of macroeconomic imbalances - where countries have excessive reliance on imports or have big surplus exports which create pressure on importing economies.

• The Parliament made big improvements in increasing transparency, including reporting to the European Parliament and, within the laws of European countries, ensuring maximum involvement of national parliaments.

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