16th Summit of Chairmen of EPP Parliamentary Groups: We need more Europe, more integration, more solidarity and more unity.

The 16th Summit of the Chairmen of the EPP Parliamentary Groups in the EU is taking place in the European Parliament today and tomorrow, Tuesday 5 June 2012. Debates will focus on growth and employment and an updated development on the achievement of the Single Market. The meeting will be concluded with a presentation of the upcoming Cypriot EU Presidency.

Opening the debates, the Chairman of the EPP Group, Joseph Daul MEP, said: "We created a monetary union without laying the foundations for an economic union. But we did so because we never forged the political union that Europe requires. In today's European Union, our ideas of sovereignty also need to change. This is why we need a political union. And this is why I believe that there has to be greater cooperation between all of our Parliaments. Together we need to define this new European sovereignty. And I believe that it is our role as the political family who created Europe to create this new sovereignty. But it cannot happen without you, national parliamentarians, and it cannot happen without the support of our citizens."

The Vice-Chairman of the EPP Group responsible for Relations with the National Parliaments, Paulo Rangel MEP, added: "Europe has a long history of peoples united by common roots, by a rich and diverse culture since the beginning of the European Community, by an unambiguous political will of freedom and peace. We need a global political solution to our crisis. I would say that we need to remember and to, again and urgently, approach the EPP ideal of federalism and the vision of the European Union's Founding Fathers like Adenauer, Monnet, Schuman, De Gasperi and so many others."

The Chairman of the largest and most influential political Group in the European Parliament underlined the importance of more cooperation between the national parliaments and the European Parliament: "The crisis which has hit our economies over these past three years has shown how interconnected we all are. But it has also shown some weaknesses in our EU system. We need our relationship to be a two way street. You need to help us as much as we need to help you, because the decisions we have to take today are no longer just technical, relating to the Single Market or common policies. Today's decisions have a direct impact on our citizens and require greater understanding."

"The EPP Group believes that we need a new impetus. Europe needs fiscal stability and growth. One without the other is not possible, stability and growth go together. Everything depends on a coherent action of national bodies (parliaments and administrations) and European Institutions: quick and effective action in the completion of the Single Market, cutting red tape, increasing research and innovation projects, the full implementation of the flagship initiatives of the 'Europe 2020 Strategy' and the 'Euro Plus Pact' can make a real difference bringing dynamism and growth to our economy."

"We know that the European Semester, with the full involvement of national parliaments, is a key process of mutual discipline, support and practical guidance, essential to the consolidation of all the policies that will lead Europe out of the crisis and give us a better future", concluded Paulo Rangel MEP.

Among the participants of the two-day Summit of Chairmen are: Iñigo Méndez de Vigo, Secretary of State for European Affairs, Spain, Rafal Grupinsky MP, Chairman of the Civic Platform Group, Poland, Othmar Karas MEP, Vice-President of the European Parliament, Charles Flanagan MP, Chairman of the Fine Gael Parliamentary Froup, Ireland, Marianne Thyssen MEP, Member of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs of the European Parliament, Michel Barnier, European Commissioner for the Internal Market and Services, Antonio Tajani, Vice-President of the European Commission responsible for Industry and Entrepreneurship, Peter Michael Ikrath MP, Vice-Coordinator of the Committee on Financial Affairs of the Austrian Nationalrat, Andreas Schwab MEP, EPP Group Coordinator in the Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee of the European Parliament, and Tasos Mitsopoulos MP, Chairman of the Democratic Rally Party Parliamentary Group, Cyprus .