Europe picks up Hollande’s growth theme

European
politicians have reached out to France’s new president, François
Hollande, by focusing on the central theme of the Socialist’s campaign –
that “austerity can no longer be the only option” for Europe. José
Manuel Barroso, the president of the European Commission, said that he
and Hollande “shared a conviction that we must invest in growth and in
infrastructure”, while “maintaining the cap on budgetary consolidation
and debt reduction”.   

He also highlighted “other convergences,
notably [Hollande’s support] for the Commission’s proposal for a
financial-transaction tax and support for Eurobonds for growth”.  

Herman
Van Rompuy, the president of the European Council, has yet to comment
on Hollande’s victory, but in a letter sent to government leaders on 26
April, he suggested that EU leaders should hold an informal dinner to
discuss pro-growth policies.  

Van Rompuy’s initiative also
reflects concern about Hollande’s stated desire to re-negotiate the
fiscal compact treaty – or budget treaty – agreed by 25 EU governments,
under which member states bound themselves to balance their budgets.  

“The aim is to bring Hollande into the fold [on the fiscal compact treaty],” an EU official told European Voice on Wednesday (2 May).  

Elio
Di Rupo, Belgium’s prime minister – until yesterday one of just four
Socialist prime ministers in the EU and the only EU leader to visit
France during the campaign to support Hollande – threw his backing
behind Hollande’s policies.  

Mario Monti, the leader of Italy’s
technocrat government, also highlighted the importance of growth,
saying that he looked forward to working with Hollande to forge “an
increasingly efficient and growth-oriented union”.  

Hollande’s
most powerful centre-right counterparts – Germany and the UK – have so
far restricted their comments to congratulations and pledges of
co-operation. Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel has phoned Hollande and
invited him to visit Berlin as soon as he can.  

Another
centre-right leader, Spain’s Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, who is due to
speak to Hollande today (7 May), is likely to welcome the arrival of
another proponent of growth policies. Since entering office in December,
Rajoy has been struggling to revive the Spanish economy, which is in
recession, to create work for the 24% of the labour force now without
jobs and to allay the anxieties of the financial markets about Spain’s
financial position.  

The Party of European Socialists hailed
Hollande’s victory as “a great day, not only for France, but for
Europe”, arguing that his election was “a profound rejection of the
Merkozy madness that has choked European economic growth for the last
two years”.  

The leader of the Socialists in the European
Parliament, Hannes Swoboda, described the result as “the start of a
economic, social and economic recovery in Europe.” He said that with
Sarkozy “it was always ambiguous; he followed no clear line”. Describing
Sarkozy’s relationship with Merkel as “Merkel’s diktat with the support
of Sarkozy”, he said that “now, there’ll have to be negotiations”.  

The
reaction of Guy Verhofstadt, the leader of Liberal grouping in the
European Parliament, was notable more for relief at the departure of
Sarkozy than at Hollande’s arrival. “Nicolas Sarkozy is an energetic man
who has recently directed his energy in taking positions on the
eurozone crisis and on the Schengen area that have been particularly
disappointing and alarming for those in Europe who, like me, expect more
from France,” he said, referring to Sarkozy’s threat to leave the
Schengen zone of border-free travel unless Europe’s borders are made
more secure.  

Verhofstadt described as a mistake Hollande’s
stated intention to renegotiate the budget treaty, saying that “nothing
will happen without fiscal consolidation”. He added, however, that “he
is right to want this complemented by a growth pact”.