Joint statement of the Ministers for European affairs of France, Italy and Germany: For a European Union of values and solidarity, of prosperity and competitiveness The European Union is gradually recovering from a severe financial, economic and social crisis. Our joint efforts have brought us very far. Nevertheless challenges remain: We need to make the Union fit for globalisation, we need to create sustainable jobs, in particular for the young generations, we need to strengthen social cohesion, we need to address shadow banking and to fight against tax fraud and evasion tactics. And we have to make sure that we stand united in the fight against anti-semitism, xenophobia and racism. Growth and employment We the ministers for European affairs of France, Italy and Germany, reaffirm our common commitment to strengthen the European Union’s competitiveness and social cohesion, to improve its functioning and to bring it closer to its citizens. Our shared goal is to make the Economic and Monetary Union a more solid and resilient factor of stability and growth, with stronger euro area governance and stronger economic policy coordination, convergence and solidarity. Structural reforms that enhance growth and improve fiscal sustainability should be given particular attention, including through an appropriate assessment of fiscal measures and structural reforms, while making best use of the flexibility that is built into the existing Stability and Growth Pact rules. The beginning of a new legislative cycle is the opportunity to map out the course for the future. We and the other member states have agreed on a common agenda to focus on the Union’s key priorities in the five upcoming years. Our joint responsibility, as ministers for European affairs, is now to ensure that the General Affairs Council makes use of its overarching role to encourage all necessary measures to fully implement this agenda and to track progress of its implementation. High youth unemployment remains one of the most urgent problems. The Youth guarantee and the Youth Employment Initiative are important steps into the right direction. The disbursement of the financial resources provided by the Youth Employment Initiative must be accelerated. 1 The upcoming Youth Conference Summit should develop sustainable ideas and solutions in order to tackle the difficulties arising from the implementation of the Youth Employment Initiative. We are determined to reduce administrative barriers in the application process for EU funds. As far as growth is concerned, we consider that bridging the investment gap within the EU is a priority. It is particularly the case in the field of energy, transport and digital economy infrastructures. It requires making full use of existing instruments, such as EU structural funds, EIB loans and project bonds. But it is also necessary to stand ready to consider new instruments, where appropriate, whether public or private. Green growth and its contribution to employment is an important topic that deserves high attention. Sustainable use of our natural resources offers more and more business and job opportunities. We welcome the Commission’s communication for a green employment initiative as a good starting-point for further discussions. By doing so, we will encourage other nations and regions in the world to do likewise, which will lead us to draw up a new global and ambitious climate agreement in 2015 (COP21). Small and medium sized companies hold the key to Europe’s future prosperity and economic dynamism. Therefore, we invite the EIB to use its funds to support more sustainable projects with a higher leverage effect on growth. Especially the combination of private and public capital could help to fully respond to the existing needs. Moreover, we invite our partners to fully appreciate the EIB´s successful initiative to provide attractive loans to small and medium sized businesses as well as the EIB’s very successful youth employment program. We suggest the GAC to take up those issues on its agenda in order to explore all possibilities to speed up the efforts to fight unemployment and foster growth. The August 28-29 informal GAC will, among other things, discuss the appropriate follow up to the “Strategic Agenda of the Union in times of change”, making full use of its responsibility in monitoring the implementation of the European Council Conclusions. Social cohesion must be at the core of a reinvigorated Europe 2020 strategy. The mid-term review of the strategy in 2015 should take a fresh look at the results of our economic and social policies and see whether there is room for improvement. Finally we have drawn our lessons from the crisis whose origins lied also in the excesses of a once largely unregulated banking and financial sector. We are determined to fully implement the banking union and to address remaining challenges in this area, such as shadow banking. And we are determined to fight against tax fraud and evasion, in particular by promoting automatic exchange of information and transparency. Furthermore, we will promote tackling of so-called tax optimisation. 2 Asylum and Migration The tragedy of Lampedusa, the steadily increasing influx of migrants across the Mediterranean and the Syrian refugee crisis have heightened our awareness of the complexity of the European migration and refugee policy. Humanity and the principle of solidarity among EU member states demand new answers from all of us. Cooperation with countries of transit and origin is key to a sustainable solution. Cooperation should notably address all aspects of migration issues in a balanced manner, and tackle root causes of irregular migration by appropriate policies, including through development cooperation. Germany has decided to join and France will consider joining the EU-Horn of Africa Initiative as proposed by Italy. We will also intensify our cooperation with African countries within the framework of the Rabat Process and through “migration, mobility and security” dialogues based on the Global Approach to Migration and Mobility, as exemplified in the Mobility Partnerships with Morocco, Tunisia and hopefully Jordan in the near future. Frontex should be strengthened, in particular with regard to its operational activities. Regional protection programs, particularly in Northern Africa, and resettlement measures, on a voluntary basis, should be expanded. We will also further develop synergies between networks, such as national liaison officers, in Germany, Italy and France: to fight against organized crime, with respect to assisted return and to better coordinate our country situation assessment with respect to asylum procedures and in the field of irregular migration. At the same time, in order to remain an attractive destination for talents and skills, Europe needs to develop strategies to maximize the opportunities of legal migration through coherent and efficient rules. This will also help to face the challenges of demographic change and the resulting shortage of skilled labour. We will exchange our experiences with legal migration to Europe including the necessary integration offers to migrants, not only with a view to its contribution to the cultural enrichment of societies but also to promoting growth and employment in Europe. Values and fight against anti-semitism Europe is more than a common market and a single currency. Europe stands for a unique community of values: respect for human dignity and rights, freedom, democracy, equality, inclusion and the rule of law. Anti-Semitic or xenophobic rhetoric and hostility have no place in our societies. In our own countries, we will use all means available under the rule of law to combat actions and comments which cross the line to anti-semitism, racism and xenophobia. In the EU we will do everything we can to establish an effective mechanism to ensure that our citizens can continue to live in peace and security. As a first step, we have invited our experts to meet with a view to jointly defining, in the framework of existing treaties, key elements of such a mechanism. Berlin-Tegel, 30 July 2014 3