ReAct Madrid: Getting Europe’s economy back on track

How do we nurse Europe’s economy back to health? Should the EU keep taking the same austerity medicine or try something different? On 20 February, the EP organised a ReACT event in Madrid to discuss how to create jobs and growth in a sustainable way with academics, MEPs, bloggers and ordinary people.

Spanish MEP Pablo Zalba, a member of the EPP group, made it clear that for him there were no miracle cures and that austerity and growth were two sides of the same coin: "We had no choice but to knock Europe’s public finances back into shape. But the EU central bank has to pump more cash into the economy to get credit flowing, boost growth and get people back to work."

Although he understood why people were angry, Zalba said a better macroeconomic situation was need to create confidence, which was a must for growth and employment.Economics Professor José García Montalvo said he expected the banking union to help recover market trust in the EU's financial system and in the long term he could see EU countries sharing their debt burden. The professor also praised the work done by the European Central Bank: "Without the measures it took, the euro would be in trouble.” He now expected the euro to stay.

Professor Reyes Calderón highlighted the key role played by small and medium-sized entreprises and outlined her four-point plan for success: education, innovation, flexibility and more Europe. She said young people needed to be able to get out and go where the job opportunities are and governments had to do more to help them move from one country to another.

Meanwhile, Professor Javier Díaz-Giménez said that although cuts were tough, going back to the peseta was not an option. Responding to tweets claiming the German economic model doesn’t work for Spain, the professor said there was no other way forward: “A €400 salary is better than nothing at all and also better than a €400 subsidy!”

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New draft rules for State aids in agriculture, forestry and rural areas, now available for information and feedback