Labour MEP Alfred Sant has strongly criticized a report on eurozone performance prepared by a senior Socialist MEP, telling the European Parliament that one major problem in the eurozone was the increasing economic divergence between its different parts, notably between the north and south of Europe.

Dr Sant was reacting to the ‘Report on the review of the economic governance framework stocking and challenges’ presented to the European Parliament by MEP Pervenche Berès, Head of the French S&D Delegation.

Dr Sant said that the report emphasized the coordination of economic policies of member states rather than a convergence of economic performance and outcomes. The report, Dr Sant said, supported the partial deepening of eurozone structures without making this dependent on progress in efforts to achieve greater economic convergence.

It proposed to harmonize tax structures when this would further serve to reduce the flexibility of those economies which in order to boost their competitiveness and performance, given their limited endowments, would need to differentiate their tax profiles, naturally under conditions of full transparency.

Dr Sant said that the benchmarks that were being used to stabilize and run the system attacked only the symptoms but not the economic fundamentals that were producing this result. The discipline being followed on the basis of the set benchmarks might be contributing further to the divergences. Partial deepening of the existing arrangements could actually serve to further widen the divergences even within a steady state, stabilized context for the eurozone as a whole. 

The final vote on the resolution was 317 in favour, 254 against and nine abstentions. Dr Sant and the whole Maltese delegation (S&D and EPP Malta) voted against.