EU summit

Commenting on the EU summit of heads of state and government that opens tomorrow, Daniel Cohn-Bendit calls for a new international architecture for financial institutions. But the financial crisis must not be used as an excuse to dilute or postpone the measures urgently needed to protect our climate.

Commenting on the EU summit of heads of state and government that opens tomorrow, Greens/EFA Group co-president Daniel Cohn-Bendit said:

"Tomorrow heads of state and government must - and will - admit the failure of neo-liberalist policies that have been blindly followed for decades. They will state the obvious: that we need tighter regulation of the financial market, stronger control and supervision mechanisms - and hopefully also that we need a new international architecture for our financial institutions. The Greens support this, as well as the intention to cap bank managers' exorbitant salaries and end the system of excessive bonuses. This greed was certainly a major factor in the derailment of the financial system.

The financial crisis must not be used as an excuse to dilute or postpone the measures urgently needed to protect our climate. The industry lobbies calling for this are showing the same kind of irresponsibility that led to the banking sector collapse. If allowed to go unchecked, the looming climate crisis could cost us many times more than the billions spent to buy our way out of this financial collapse.   

Heads of government must show a long-term view tomorrow. To avoid the threat of recession we urgently need a European investment offensive that also works for climate protection and the environmental renewal of Europe. We hope for the spirit of Keynes at the negotiating table. We need a European investment plan for renewable energy, energy saving and efficiency measures, a climate-friendly building sector and sustainable transport. We also need to inject more support to education and training to equip Europe for the future.

We call on EU leaders to open new avenues to finance this investment: for example by increasing the European Investment Bank's powers to provide credit for the necessary investment for our environment. Climate protection must not fall victim to the financial crisis."

Press Service of the Greens/EFA Group
in the European Parliament

Chris Coakley,
Press Officer,
The Greens/EFA in the European Parliament
Tel: Brussels +32 2 2841667 / Strasburg +33 3 88174375
Mobile: +32-477-44-38-42
Fax: 0032 2 2844944
email: chris.coakley@europarl.europa.eu