JEF presents the alternatives you face in the election. Today we present the views of all Political Party Youth Organisations (PPYO’s) and JEF-Europe about economic crisis. Yesterday we published their views on education.
EFAy – European Free Alliance Youth: EFAy’s socio-economic view is based on two principles: an economy for people, and an economy for peoples. The economy for people involves favouring job creation using tax policies aimed at rewarding organisations that maintain workers, raising redundancy pay, promoting cooperative organisations, investing in research and development. The economy for peoples involves a more democratic economic system, getting rid of unfair social and fiscal dumping, respecting the subsidiarity principle, and redefining the competences of the different levels of government (local, state, EU). The EU must support an inclusive and fair economic model in all aspects.
Federation of Young European Greens – FYEG: There are several reasons for the current economic crisis. It started with a banking crisis and then revealed that the current economic model of the EU is unsustainable, since of its imbalances in economic activity. With the austerity measures a policy crisis was added. We need a reform of the banking system, investment – and commercial banks need to be separated and banks need to pay for their own insolvency. The ECB should also focus on controlling unemployment. The Financial Transaction Tax and a fiscal union could help generate capacities to even the trade and balance of payment imbalances in Europe. There would be no crisis, if we would controll tax fraud and tax evasion. We need put an end to such practices and close down the tax havens in Europe. A Common Corporate Tax basis in Europe is key to tackle this issue.
International Federation of Liberal Youth – IFLRY: The foundation for individuals to make their own choices in the economic sphere is the free market. This must be seen in a context of sustainability and Human Rights. Concerning the economic crisis, closed labour markets in several countries left hundred thousands of jobs vacant and thus many (mainly young) people unemployed. This approach should be changed, in order for economic recovery and growth.
European Liberal Youth – LYMEC: In the years preceding the crisis, several European countries did not respect the Stability and Growth Pact, based upon a counter-cyclical budgetary approach: balance and surplus in growth, deficits in crisis. With the financial crisis, governments lost control of their finances and engaged in a spiral of debt and recession, including the bailout of banks. We don’t think that growth is created by the state. It is the real economy that generates wealth. This means that states should reduce red-tape. Free trade and free movement of workers should be enlarged. Public budgets must be balanced, thus reducing the financial costs (interests) of debt. LYMEC opposes bail outs and refuses to engage in debt-based policies. Uncontrolled spending drove us to the crisis; it cannot take us out of it.
Young European Socialists – YES: We strongly condemn the conservative austerity-only policy. The stability and growth pact has proven to be inefficient. The addition of the fiscal pact only makes things worse. In times of economic downturn, we demand for anticyclical investments in education and growth in order to create the necessary employment and to ensure the social security of all. We demand a new pact: a pact for growth and full employment. The new pact has to change the current guidelines on financial stability: the maximum deficit should vary across countries, according to their overall debt situation, the severity of the crisis in the country and the ability of the state to finance the core welfare policies for its population.
Youth of European People’s Party – YEPP: We want to build a stronger and more competitive economy. We stand against more regulations, more spending, more borrowing and more debt that puts Europe in danger. The private sector should be allowed to create jobs in a business friendly environment, small businesses should be relieved of burdens and barriers to business activity, while the state should not reach into the pockets of its citizens to fund excessive and untargeted spending. The single market should be completed, more credit should be made available for investments, and taxation should be lower and simpler to promote growth.
Young Europeans Federalists – JEF Europe: The restoration of the authority of democratically legitimized politics over the dynamics of the globalized financial markets is only possible by enforcing a political, economic and fiscal integration of the EU! This means also that the EU has to be equipped with its own (tax based) budget which is independent from the moods of the member states and thus lends credibility to the common currency. European bonds are a vital part thereof.
