"Como resultado de estas acciones, la unión económica y monetaria de Europa se ha transformado significativamente y la economía europea, y principalmente la economía de la zona euro, está de nuevo en forma", afirma el Ejecutivo comunitario en el comunicado, cuyo triunfalismo y falta de profundidad ha sorprendido a los expertos.
Desde Bruselas quieren tomarse medidas para evitar una nueva situación caótica de la economía Bruselas ha recordado que el 9 de agosto de 2007 el banco BNP Paribas se convirtió en la primera gran entidad europea en sufrir su exposición a las hipotecas subprime de Estados Unidos. La situación entonces se convirtió, explica Bruselas, en una crisis bancaria y en una crisis de deuda pública que afectaba a la economía real.
"En la adversidad, las instituciones de la UE y los Estados miembro tomaron fuertes decisiones políticas para contener la crisis, preservar la integridad del euro y evitar posibles resultados peores", reza el texto del Ejecutivo comunitario. En concreto, la Comisión Europea destaca el trabajo para regular el sector financiero, mejorar la gobernanza económica, establecer nuevos marcos institucionales y legales, poner en marcha un "cortafuegos" financiero para la zona euro, apoyar a los países con problemas financieros, mejorar las finanzas públicas de las capitales, adoptar reformas estructurales y impulsar la inversión, combatir el desempleo juvenil y mejorar la supervisión bancaria, entre otras cuestiones.
Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis, responsible for the Euro and Social Dialogue, said: "Thanks to the determined policy response to the crisis the EU economy is now firmly recovering and the Economic and Monetary Union is stronger than before. We need to build on this progress, completing the financial union, reforming our economies to foster convergence, inclusiveness and resilience, and maintaining sustainable public finances. In doing so, we should pursue a balanced approach where risk reduction and risk sharing go hand-in-hand and the unity of the single market is preserved."
Commissioner Pierre Moscovici, responsible for Economic Affairs, Taxation and Customs, said: "Ten years after the global crisis began, the recovery of the European economy has firmed and broadened. We must use this positive momentum to complete the reform of our Economic and Monetary Union. Not all legacies from the past correct automatically. We have seen greater social and economic divergences develop in and among Member States. It is essential that our work going forward contributes to the real and sustained convergence of our economies."
As a result of these actions, Europe's Economic and Monetary Union has been significantly overhauled and the European economy – and notably the euro area economy – is back in shape. The European recovery is sustained and unemployment is steadily going down. The number of Member States belonging to the euro has increased from 12 to 19 and the euro is now the second-most important currency in the world. Out of the eight EU Member States that received financial assistance, only Greece is still under a programme and is due to exit it in mid-2018. Only three Member States are now subject to the corrective arm of the Stability and Growth Pact, the so-called Excessive Deficit Procedure, down from 24 Member States at the height of the crisis. The Juncker Plan, or Investment Plan for Europe, launched in November 2014, is now set to trigger more than €225 billion across all Member States.
As robust as it is today, the EMU remains incomplete and the journey of the euro has just started. From the Five Presidents' Report of June 2015 to the reflection paper on the Deepening of the Economic and Monetary Union of May 2017, a lot of initiatives were taken in recent years to draw the lessons from the crisis and prepare the EU even better for future challenges.
For More Information
Reflection Paper on Deepening the Economic and Monetary Union
The White Paper on the Future of Europe
Reflection paper on the social dimension of Europe
Reflection paper on harnessing globalisation
