Plenary speech by Sharon Bowles MEP on Treaty change

"Responses to the sovereign aspects of the economic crisis have been slow. Initially the markets punished inadequate responses; recently there has been a respite. Now some bond interest rates are creeping up again into the unsustainable zone.

"Rescue arrangements that were made have been shown to need change, and with the best will I doubt that the next attempt will be 100% correct, let alone future-proof.

"Therefore, we need a permanent funding mechanism that is flexible; not least to enable early intervention if that is the most effective remedy. This is not such a wild idea - the IMF does it, but of course there have to be boundaries, priorities and governance.

"So we need a Treaty change that enables evolution, not a Treaty change that leads to embroilment in what is meant by 'indispensible' to 'the Euro area as a whole' - which at the very least suffers from size discrimination.

"However, even strong Eurozone countries need the stability mechanism because of the interconnectedness of the banking system and sovereign debt - it is not a coincidence that the European Central Bank calls for a fund large enough to cope with Eurozone bank recapitalisation.

"And on interest rates, a balance has to be struck between sustainability and moral hazard. The end of the day position can not be that Member States extract rent from struggling partners."

ENDS

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