Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/269668
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 2 MARCH 2014 Opinion 22 Marlene Mizzi E uphoria could be felt in some parts of Brussels as the European Commission announced that Spain was set to become the second country, following Ireland, to exit its bailout programme. This is indeed good news for the Eurozone per se. Insiders at the commission have in fact described Spain's programme and subsequent exit as a success. While indeed this may be considered as a success in financial and economic terms, it has come at a great cost. Spain, which is the 4th biggest economy of the Eurozone, is now facing unprecedented unemployment rates of more than 26%. To put things in perspective, the last time that Spain had suffered from such high unemployment rates was during the Franco dictatorship. It comes, therefore, as no surprise that the celebratory notes that are being sung over here in Brussels are met with derision and ridicule in the rest of Europe, particularly in Spain. After all people's families do not feed themselves with positive economic figures. This recent recovery in Spain is also similar to other European recoveries. Ireland was the first country to exit its bailout program, yet the effects on the general population are still to be felt. The same thing with Portugal, Greece and Italy. Even in countries that had not been severely affected by the economic and financial crisis, the people are still not feeling the effects of this very weak recovery. So one can say that whilst austerity measures worked on paper, they certainly failed to deliver in real life. As Social Democrats in the European Parliament, we had always argued that this was the wrong way to go about things and that much more attention should have been given to the social aspect of this crisis. Moving forward, as an S&D group together with our affiliated national parties, we have identified the need to resolve this social crisis as our biggest priority for the new European parliament legislature. It is very easy to talk about the need to have sound public finances without considering the human cost that was involved in achieving them. What we are offering is, however, an alternative where targets in public finance are also compatible with social targets. In an increasingly globalised world, Europe's hope to compete against the rest of the world is to focus on quality, sustainability and innovation. Through these 3 concepts, we believe that we can not only get the European economy back on track but also transform it into a powerhouse for the rest of this century, thus ensuring better lives for future generations and for ourselves. From my side, my work in the S&D taskforce on jobs has been illuminating. Speaking with other MEP's from different countries allows you to get a very different perspective on the unemployment situation in Europe. However, our job is that of coming up with appropriate solutions for this problem. Policy proposals such as the Youth guarantee and the Progressive economy forum have given us the possibility to put forward concrete proposals that directly affect the lives of our citizens. Through activities such as the Relaunching Europe campaign, we are trying to show the electorate, before the May elections, that an alternative does truly exist. I was honoured to be invited to participate in one of these Relaunching Europe debates in Lithuania. I was given the opportunity to discuss, together with the Lithuanian Prime minister and the S&D President Hannes Swoboda, the challenges faced by Europe on this issue, in particular the problem faced by many countries of brain drain. We are in fact seeing a concerning increase in this problem where our brightest talents are seeking pastures new, a very worrying problem, especially on a long-term basis. Admittedly there is no quick fix to this problem. With over 20 million people unemployed in the European Union, the problems will not be solved overnight. However, we must make sure that any solutions are long-term and sustainable. I believe that it is our duty to ensure that such solutions are put forward to the electorate before the next elections in order to offer our citizens a real choice. The citizens need to feel and know who are the representatives who will really safeguard their interest and the interest of their children in the European Parliament. It is the only way to ensure a decent future. Marlene Mizzi is a Member of the European Parliament. info@mizzimarlene.com Counting chickens? With over 20 million people unemployed in the European Union, the problems will not be solved overnight The last time that Spain had suffered from such high unemployment rates was during the Franco dictatorship