Jan O'Sullivan
Question:35 Ms O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Finance the nature of the input made by him and his Department into the formulation of the EU broad economic guidelines. [13841/99]
Written Answers. - EU Economic Guidelines.
The broad economic policy guidelines are currently being finalised and it is hoped that they will be adopted at ECOFIN in July.
As the Deputy will be aware, the guidelines are produced on an annual basis but have taken on an increased significance for member states this year as a result of EMU. The guidelines focus on the need for sound budgetary policies within the context of the Stability and Growth Pact and for structural reform measures of product, capital and labour markets. Achievement of these objectives will be of vital importance for ensuring sustainable economic and employment growth throughout Europe.
While the guidelines are based on Commission recommendations which were drawn up in March, member states have played an important role in contributing to them. The guidelines have been the subject of intense discussion at recent meetings of the Economic Policy Committee, the Economic and Financial Committee and the ECOFIN Council. I myself have used the opportunity, on two occasions, at recent meetings of ECOFIN, to express Ireland's views in relation to the guidelines.
The first part of the guidelines recommends economic policy priorities for the EU for the medium term. Time precludes me from referring to each and every suggestion that we made. However, I am happy to outline some of them. For example, we suggested amendments to better emphasise the role of the proposed new European Employment Pact in terms of an open dialogue with the European social partners. On the tax front, we emphasised the need for recommendations to be in line with the conclusions of the Vienna European Council. Furthermore, we drew attention to the potential role of telecommunications liberalisation in terms of promoting electronic commerce and the information society.
In relation to the section on Ireland, our input has been significant in a number of ways. It was important to ensure that all references were accurate reflections of our current economic situation, in particular in relation to our budgetary position and our record to date on structural reform. A significant number of changes we suggested have been taken on board.
Changes we suggested, for example, highlighted the fact that while both venture capital and research and development in Ireland are modest by international standards, improvements have been made recently. Also, as regards labour market policies, we emphasised the need for a balanced approach between active and preventative measures to reduce unemployment, particularly long-term unemployment.