In this number of Observatory Europa we illustrate some of the most significant passages in the recent European debate. The first reference is to economic governance: in October the European Council identified the strategy for making the defence of monetary stability more effective. From the point of view of the government of the Euro area, the main modifications concern the nomination of the President of the Euro Summit. Another important point concerns the reinforcement of the European Financial Stability Facility (Efsf), and the introduction of the European Stability Mechanism (Esm), a sort of European monetary fund. In this number we reconstruct the stages between June and October that produced these institutional proposals. In the second part we analyse the main interventions on social policies: the redefinition of the so-called «Monti-Kroes Package» on services of general interest, the revision of structural funds and the European cohesion policy, the question of food aid to the poorest European citizens (still deadlocked) and the question of the social responsibility of business, which has been the object of a communication from the Commission.only subscribers can see the full article

The first European Semester (an intrinsic part of the new economic governance presently being activated) ended in June/July 2011. While some progress in coordinating economic policy is clear, concern for the worsening of the global financial crisis has not diminished. Although much of the community’s action is concentrated above all on negotiating a new aid plan for Greece, we are still awaiting some significant progress. We are faced with a clear inability to deal with the structural problems: both of the integration process and of the development model that should guarantee an end to stagnation for member countries. Meanwhile the adoption of the six legislative proposals that make up the «packet of economic governance», on which the European Parliament pronounced on 23 June, is progressing, with some difficulty. Announced for the plenary session in July, the vote on the overall package was not put on the agenda due to persistent differences between Council and Parliament. In a context of general uncertainty, which also calls into question the policy of free circulation of persons, the European debate continues, for example through the search for alternative indicators to Gdp.only subscribers can see the full article