Remarks by President Van Rompuy following the first session of the European Council

Tonight we focussed on the economy.

Our discussions fell into three parts:

•           Firstly, economic policy coordination, with the work done in the European Semester and the Euro Plus Pact;

•           Secondly, the implementation of the comprehensive March package;

•           Thirdly, the situation of the countries under EU/IMF programs, not to mention Greece.

Concerning the first part, economic policies: all Heads of State and Government are taking tough decisions in their country, to secure also growth and jobs. Tonight was the moment to see where we stand as a Union. We had a good and long discussion on everybody's budgetary choices and on economic reforms.

We concluded the first European Semester, the new framework for economic policy coordination. We endorsed the recommendations of the Commission to the Member States, without -- and I insist -- without watering them down. That is very positive, all the more so since the Commission gave uncompromising assessments and strong public recommendations. Now it is up to the Member States: they have to take these recommendations into account when drafting their budgets and working out reforms for 2012.

What I draw from our discussions is not that Member States can live with the Commission's recommendations; no, all members of the European Council are personally committed to implement them.

We also discussed the commitments under the Euro Plus Pact by the 23 Member States who participate in the Pact. All agreed we are working in the right direction: increasing competitiveness, fostering employment, reinforcing financial stability, improving the state of public finances, and especially of the pension sector. But we concluded that the next round of commitments should be more ambitious and more concrete.

With this stronger economic policy coordination, the Union draws the big lesson of the sovereign debt crisis in the Eurozone: interdependence, the fact that the decisions of one country affect all the others, especially for those sharing the euro.  The way Heads of State or Government looked tonight at each other's economic performances is new. We never did this before. In that respect also, this first experience is positive.

There is a stronger sense of common responsibility. Even if these are difficult and worrisome days, we are strengthening the groundwork of the Economic and Monetary Union.

Second element in tonight's discussion: the state of implementation of the comprehensive March package of economic measures.

•           In particular, we endorsed the amended text on the European Financial Stability Facility and the treaty text of the European Stability Mechanism, the permanent safety net for the future.

•           We recall the key importance of fully transparent bank stress tests.

•           Regarding the legislative package for strengthening the economic governance (the so called "six-pack"): a stronger Stability Pact and the new macro-economic surveillance are within reach. Council and Parliament agree on more than 95 % of the text, and I therefore urge the legislators to complete the final negotiations so that this important package can be adopted soon. To the European Parliament I say: the better should not be the enemy of the good; le mieux ne doit pas être l'ennemi du bien.

Third and final part of tonight's discussion, we looked at the situation of the countries under an EU/IMF programme.

Regarding Greece, colleagues congratulated Prime Minister Papandreou on the positive vote of confidence earlier this week.

We adopted an extensive text on Greece, this text was distributed. I will only highlight crucial sentences:

"A comprehensive reform package agreed upon with the Commission, in liaison with the ECB, and the IMF, and adoption by the Greek Parliament of the key laws on the fiscal strategy and privatization must be finalized as a matter of urgency in the coming days. This will provide the basis for a new programme jointly supported by its European partners and the IMF, and allowing disbursement in time to meet Greece's financing needs in July.

The euro area Heads of State or Government agree that required additional funding will be financed through both official and private sources. They endorse the approach decided by the Eurogroup on 20 June as regards the pursuit of voluntary private sector involvement in the form of informal and voluntary roll-overs of existing debt while avoiding a selective default."

Tomorrow we will talk about three further issues:

·       the Southern Neighbourhood, in particular Syria and Libya and Middle East Peace Process;

·       second theme: migration and the free movement of persons within our borders;

·       and last theme, a very positive one, is on Croatia. and the positive conclusions of the negotiations and the positive signal that we'll send out to a future membership of Croatia.

So that was our work of tonight and the programme for tomorrow.