Brussels, 12/01/2004
In a letter addressed to the Commissioner Solbes Mira, John Monks, General Secretary of the ETUC, asks the Commissioner not to proceed with plans for legal action against France and Germany for their breach of the terms of the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP).
John Monks recognises that the action of France and Germany could well be unlawful under the rules as currently drafted and that in the manner in which they acted against the SGP, the two countries damaged the Commission's authority. However there is a need for a more responsive and flexible set of rules to support the €uro and economic growth.
John Monks said “The main effort surely must be on redrawing the way the SGP works and on securing agreement and commitment to revised arrangements. Legal action of the kind envisaged can only make a bad situation worse and divert attention from this central task”.
- Letter adressed to Commissioner Solbes