ALDE Policy: The Future of the Economic and Monetary Union

So, what did we decide upon in Dublin? Here's a taster for you, and i'll try to publish some more as I have the opportunity...

The Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) Party convening in Dublin, Ireland on 8-10 November 2012

Whereas 

• the cohesion and stability of the eurozone is an indispensable precondition for the economic recovery of Europe;
• the limitations of  the current system of European Economic and Monetary Union are now self-evident;
• the efforts of the European Council and Member States to coordinate national economic policies have been insufficient to restore market confidence;
• the continuing economic problems put the cohesion of the entire European Union at risk; 

Recognises

• that it is primarily the Member States’ own responsibility to restore market confidence;
• the continuous market stress, however, could be alleviated with an appropriate political framework for economic governance in the euro area and that deeper integration and a streamlined economic governance are necessary conditions to emerge from this crisis;

Believes 

• that all stages of European integration should be attempted by and for all member states;
• nevertheless urges those states which choose not to follow the integrationist path not to obstruct the will of the majority of their EU partners but to negotiate constructively;

Stresses

• that deeper integration and stronger economic governance must be accompanied with an ambitious agenda to strengthen legitimacy, democracy and accountability within the EU.

Rejects 

• the notion that withdrawal from the eurozone by one or more states is neither straightforward nor desirable, and in any case notes the huge long-term cost for both sides to be weighed against the potential short-term benefit of an exit from the eurozone;

Welcomes 

• the report of 25 June 2012 by the President of the European Council, the President of the Commission, the President of the Eurogroup and the President of the European Central Bank on creating a true economic and monetary union.

Whereas

• it is the prime responsibility of each Member State to restore the confidence of private investors in the sustainability of its sovereign debt and in the competitiveness of its economy; the European Union has the competence to support the own efforts of the Member States but it cannot replace them.

Calls for 

• the greatest possible level of ambition  to build the proposed economic, banking, fiscal and political union.
• decisive action with regard to the issue of the democratic legitimacy of EMU policymaking, based on the principle that each governing level, be it European or national, should be directly politically and fiscally responsible to the people, implying that each governing level has its own resources and that there is a direct democratic link between the decision-making body and the people.
• all EU institutions and Member States to act in order to encourage and facilitate public debate on European issues and safeguard accountability, for example by increasing transparency throughout the decision-making process.
• the European Commission to establish a practice where Commissioners publicly present, defend and debate country-specific recommendations in national Parliaments, prior to adoption.
• the European Commission to act as a true European government in those areas where it has competences according to the Treaties or secondary legislation, and respecting the principle of subsidiarity, with its President democratically elected, where all of the Commission’s actions are democratically controlled by the European Parliament and where the Council acts as a Second Legislative Chamber.
• European Liberals and Democrats to campaign together within all the EU institutions and at national, regional and local levels to achieve as soon as possible our goal of a united democratic Europe.