Mr. Jerzy Buzek:

There were so many questions that I will answer each of them with one or two sentences because it would not be possible to do more.

On the fiscal challenges facing us, we have a few steps to take, the first of which is recovery. There is some financial instability, but it is not a crisis in the eurozone. If we compare the GDP growth rate for the whole European zone with the sum of national debt in the eurozone, it is much better than in the United States. The problems in the US economy and those in the eurozone are somewhat different. The problem for us is instability in some member states. We are aware that such instability could influence the real economy. A few months after the Lehman Brothers' bankruptcy, there was a recession in the real US economy. We are aware the same could be case with a Greek bankruptcy.

From the point of view of the real EU economy, the position is not too bad. Plus 1.5% or 2% of GDP is not too bad and is generally not seen as a recession. We know that recovery is necessary and that we should avoid stagnation. We need an exit strategy, which is not necessarily the same as a recovery. It means GDP growth rates of 3%, 4% or 5% are needed to create jobs, because a rate of 1.5% is not leading to the creation jobs. As mentioned, we need the 20/20 strategy and other important initiatives to create jobs. We must take all of these steps. Structural reforms such as a change to the retirement age are most important because ours is an ageing society in the European Union. Reform of the labour market by achieving agreement with the trade unions is also important. Many things should be done and we are doing them in the European Parliament and European Commission all the time - we are very active on this issue.

There was a question about the interest rate. The interest rate for Ireland's loans from the IMF and EU at 5.8% is slightly too high if we wish to have growth in coming years. It is not only austerity measures and structural reform that are important; we also need growth and we should do everything to achieve growth. Competitiveness is not a bad starting point for Ireland, because generally speaking it has a very modest economy based on high technology. Ireland's young and skilled workforce is very promising for its economy. However, the interest needs to be approximately 1 percentage point lower. It is not a decision of the European Parliament; it depends on the member states, the International Monetary Fund, the European Central Bank, European Commission and eurozone leader, Mr. Juncker. Many international organisations and member states should discuss the problem. I would like to say there is great support and we can achieve it. It has the support of the majority of my colleagues in the European Parliament - it is quite obvious. We will see how much we can achieve, but 5.8% is probably slightly too much.

We talk about flexibility. We know it is very important for the International Monetary Fund and for the European Union to get money back. We know that if the international institutions want their money back it may be better to reduce the interest rate, because it would be easier for the country to pay all the money back. We must think about that in such a way. I underline again that the European Parliament is not responsible for that. We can create the atmosphere to help Ireland and we are trying to do so. With the euro bonds problem, we are just supportive. Generally I can speak for 60%, 80% or maybe sometimes 85% of my colleagues from the European Parliament, which means the majority, but it does not mean that all of my colleagues think in the same way. It is important to note that the European Parliament is a fully democratic Assembly in which we argue and have different points of view.

A Senator asked about plan B - I do not believe we should even think about plan B. It is most important for the European citizens - not only the member states from the eurozone and outside - to support countries such as Greece and Ireland because we are supporting ourselves. Any bankruptcy of Greece, for example, would influence the situation of some big banks in the European Union, but it does not mean that we help banks helping Greece because after any collapse or bankruptcy of banks it will be recession in the real economy. Only one financial institution, Lehman Brothers, went bankrupt in 2008. There is deep recession in many countries throughout the world so it could be the same result now. We should prevent such a situation and we try to do that. In helping Greece, Ireland or Portugal, we are helping ourselves and our citizens.

Two weeks ago I went to Germany for a lecture in Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, just to express this point of view. Germans are asking why they should support, which is a reasonable question. We must understand all the sides of the discussion. The reasonable true answer is that we would like to help ourselves, as otherwise it would be deep recession. We need responsibility on the other side and I can see responsibility and great honour for all people in Ireland. The Irish people ask for the solidarity in a responsible way. It is very important: we need solidarity and responsibility. We would like to work on such a way in the future.

There was a question about human rights and values, which is a most important point. In this case 100% of Members of the European Parliament agree. I am quite sure we have full agreement about the human rights issue. On some resolutions somebody will vote against, not because we do not agree on the fundamental values, but we have some small paragraphs which somebody might oppose. However, we agree absolutely; it is absolutely important to have values and be united.

European scepticism in Ireland and some other member states is typical in a time of crisis. Last Friday I was in Austria and faced the same question. Austria is in the eurozone and is doing rather well, and should also help. Austrians question why they should help. It is very important that at a time of crisis people express scepticism. They would prefer protectionism to showing solidarity with others. It is a natural answer from the point of view of our citizens. We know the experience in our continent. This is the deepest crisis since the 1930s. Our response to the crisis 80 years ago was to close our borders, be protectionist and divide ourselves. The result was not very interesting for all of us. Based on that experience of ours, we should be open, show solidarity and responsibility on all sides, and do it together. We need to be more united. We need more Europe and not less Europe. We had less Europe in the 1930s for each country in our continent.

Do we need an EU budget? Introducing new ideas like a 2020 strategy is just for creating jobs and nothing else. What do we need if we want to create jobs? We must be competitive, which will allow us to win in the global market. How can we achieve competitiveness? We need to be more innovative, have new technologies, and finance research and development. We can be more competitive by doing things through the Single Market. We should have a single market in energy, with cross-border connections. With a single market for energy we can be much more efficient and secure from the point of view of energy. Everything is grounded on the energy prices because we must use energy for everything we are doing. Let us create a single market for energy with cross-border connections with research on the climate issue and everything else. By financing initiatives such as roads, railways and airports from the EU level we achieve much better results - it is European added value. If we want to create cross-border connections Ireland should use its wind energy. Ireland needs the best possible connections with Britain or France to exchange energy. We know that wind energy does not last 24 hours at a time, that the wind blows for 12 hours or eight hours and then more energy is needed and it must be bought. Ireland, therefore, needs connections in each member state. We must create that and organise the European external action service for our common foreign and security policy, which is also necessary. We need money so 5% growth is not too much. I am sure that is absolutely necessary.

The last question relates to the right to life and family issues. The European Parliament respects these. While we can have resolutions on different topics, European Union law has certain meanings. In the treaties everything is clearly written - the responsibilities of individual member states and national governments, and what is decided at EU level. From this point of view, the division is clear. All the guarantees in our treaties will be kept, and I am sure the European Parliament will stick to this position.

I thank Senators and apologise that I spoke for longer than expected. It was interesting for me to be here for this discussion and for me to hear questions from Senators because sometimes the questions are much more important than the answers.