Unstable economies lead to social problems, said leading EPP Group MEPs in today’s joint debate on the 2016 European Semester which took place in the European Parliament’s plenary session.

“This European Semester report introduces new social indicators that allow the monitoring of any imbalances in Member States that will undermine growth and job creation. This is important because, as we have seen over the last years, Member States’ resilience to the financial crisis is linked to the strength of their public finances, and those with the worst social outcomes were those with the most unstable economies with larger deficits”, stated Sofia Ribeiro MEP, Rapporteur on the Employment and Social Aspects in the Annual Growth Survey 2016.

Burkhard Balz MEP, EPP Group Spokesman in Parliament’s Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs, called on the stability of public finances as a precondition for social welfare.

“European rules apply to every government in Europe. Whatever an EU government does has an impact on the other Euro countries. We want stable public finances in Member States because we want a stable European Union”. Balz specifically criticised the “underlying assumptions” of the Portuguese budgetary plan. “They soup up growth estimations and overweight deficit-reducing measures. The structural reforms started by the previous government must be continued.”

“Only through the consolidation of public finances and fiscal systems and applying structural reforms can we prepare a proper future for younger generations, hence we need to continue on the path of fiscal responsibility and enhancing our competitiveness. But to do so, economic stability is required. We cannot just cut and throw away our existing policies and the efforts of Europeans, especially those who received financial assistance”, concluded Ribeiro.