Debating Economic Governance with the European Commission

As a part of our work on economic governance in Europe we have organized a series of debates with the European commission. In relation with the pact of competitiveness being discussed by the European leaders, we set on June 26th a debate with the title  Competitiveness vs. democracy?

Our guest was Ms. Anne Bucher Director for Structural Reforms and Competitiveness of the European Commission Directorate General for Economical Financial Affairs (DGECFIN). The panelists, Mr. Ronald Janssen Chief Economist of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) and Ms. Sonja Ablinger Austrian MEP for the Social Democratic Party, challenged the logic behind the European Commission’s competitiveness agenda which is core component of the plans for a "Genuine Monetary and Economic Union". This competitiveness agenda is geared towards increasing pressure on member states to intensify the competitiveness of their economies.

The following people contributed:

• Panelist Ronald Janssen, chief economist of the ETUC. He will stress how the current model of decision making in western economies is based in the model designed by the Chicago boys. (14:02)

• The director of structural reform and competitiveness of theDGECFIN, Anne Bucher. She will present the process of reform that the EU is going trough as a consequence of the existing imbalances within the EU and that a common currency entails certain level of transfer of sovereignty from the member states. (15:51)

• Panelist Sonja Ablinger, member of the Austrian parliament by the social democratic party. Ms. Ablinger was the only member of her party voting against the fiscal compact in the parliament, and as she will explain, she is one of the initiators of a European campaign that questions the pact of competitiveness. (12:09)