An essential problem of the eurozone has become the increasing economic divergence between its different parts (north- south and so on). The bench marks that are being used to stabilize and run the system – which are fully endorsed in this resolution – attack only the symptoms but not the economic fundamentals that are producing this result. Indeed, 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 report emphasizes the coordination of economic policies of member states rather than a convergence of economic performance and outcomes. It supports the partial deepening of eurozone structures without making this dependent on progress in efforts to achieve greater economic convergence. It proposes to harmonize tax structures when this will further serve to reduce the flexibility of those economies which in order to boost their competitivity and performance, given their limited endowments, will need to differentiate their tax profiles, naturally under conditions of full transparency. For these reasons, I cannot therefore support the report.

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