Germany to push for deal on growth compact

Germany has said it will push ahead with a growth compact now that Irish citizens have adopted the fiscal treaty, despite cuts and hardships which they said deserved special recognition and respect.

It was one of many reactions of welcome and relief from politicians and governments across the EU as the result of the referendum was confirmed.

The German chancellor, Angela Merkel, said the result “reinforces the common course of the eurozone to create a new, lasting stability union”, and the treaty was an important step in this direction. The fact that the vote came despite “cuts and hardship for Irish people deserved special recognition and respect”.

Guido Westerwelle, Germany’s foreign minister, said Irish people had voted for stability, growth, and solidarity in Europe and that was good for Ireland and for everybody in Europe.

Showing a tempering of their austerity message, Mr Westerwelle said apart from fiscal consolidation they very much favour actions for growth. “We want to agree a new growth compact to increase competitiveness and we will work on this with our European partners over the coming weeks,” he said.

EU research and innovation commissioner Máire Geoghegan-Quinn reflected the hopes of many yes voters when she said that “international investors will now see Ireland as a safe and secure bet”, and that it would speed up the country’s return to the financial markets.

Commission president José Manuel Barroso, who like the German chancellor spoke to the Taoiseach Enda Kenny on the phone, said the vote “represents a significant step towards Ireland’s economic recovery and its place at the heart of the EU”.

The vote was “an important step towards recovery and stability”, said European Council president Herman Van Rompuy, who will chair the end of June summit when they hope to conclude a “growth pact” even if the events in Spain and Greece take centre stage.

The need for a growth pact was underlined by the Socialist group in the European Parliament, to which the Labour Party belongs. Noting the result of the referendum, their leader, Austrian MEP Hannes Swoboda, said: “Austerity has led the EU on the wrong path and we expect European leaders during their June summit to change the direction of Europe towards more growth and employment.”

Parliament president Martin Schulz, also Socialist, said the concerns of the no voters must be listened to and a growth strategy was needed to give the hard-pressed Irish “some cause for hope for the future”.

On the opposite side of the political divide, the centre right European People’s Party, to which Fine Gael belongs, underlined the importance of the treaty in “combating the excessive levels of public debt... which is a prerequisite for sustainable growth”.

The party’s president, Wilfried Martens, congratulated the Taoiseach — who is a EPP vice president — and said the treaty would “give a significant boost to the recovery of the Irish economy”.

The language from Graham Watson, leader of the liberal ALDE group to which Fianna Fáil belongs, was much more colourful. “Although the fiscal compact is by no means perfect, it is in no way like Spielberg’s Jaws nor like the Simpsons arch-capitalist Monty Burns as the no campaign tried to portray it,” he said, and praised FF leader Micheal Martin for putting national interest before short-term political gain.

MEP Pat the Cope Gallagher, whose Donegal constituencies rejected the treaty, said the vote would ensure Ireland had access to the EU bailout fund, the European Stability Mechanism, if it was needed.

Independent MEP Marian Harkin, also from the North and West constituency, said the treaty needed not just a growth compact but also project bonds, eurobonds, and a redemption fund to cut the country’s debt.

Not everyone was so positive however, with the European United Left to which Sinn Féin belongs decrying the outcome.