Seillière: Europe needs 'economic government' to tackle crisis[fr] 

Ernest-Antoine Seillière has been president of EU employers' association BusinessEurope since 2005. He holds a degree from the Institut des Etudes Politiques in Paris, attended the Ecole Nationale d’Administration and is a Harvard graduate. He was president of French employers’ association Medef from 1997 until June 2005.

To read the full transcript of the interview on the Euractiv France, please click here .

EU member states have chosen to allocate 30 billion euros, via the European Investment Bank (EIB), to come to the aid of small and medium-sized companies. Are you satisfied with this measure?

By nature, the EIB is an instrument that constantly supports SMEs in Europe. With the probable intense paralysis of the credit system related to the crisis, governments wished that the EIB would introduce supplementary measures to help SMEs to get through this difficult period. At BusinessEurope, we are totally in favour of this initiative.

30 billion euro for all of Europe: is this sum not a bit too low?

It is a good start. We should rather see the EIB as an initiator of guarantees and secure financing. Then, it is up to national banking systems to take over. In France, this means Oseo. Maybe we will go further if the banking system becomes less capable of ensuring the distribution of services, which is its principal function. But at the moment, this is not the case. 

What role can BusinessEurope play in mitigating the consequences of the crisis?

A fortnight ago, we went to the European Central Bank (ECB). Firstly, we congratulated it on the way in which it ensured the liquidity of the whole European banking system, and secondly to let it know that we believe that the elements of the rate cuts were complementary, namely decreasing prices for raw materials and the economic slowdown. The recent rate cut was absolutely necessary.

On the other hand, we went to see Nicolas Sarkozy to tell him that it was necessary to closely coordinate initiatives at European level. Of course, national responsibility for banking systems remains total, as demanded by the member states, but we realise that the real response should be taken at European level. 

We hope that EU countries, and particularly those of the euro zone, will make a concerted effort to adopt joint measures that will create conditions for improved functioning of financial markets and the banking system. We have also called for the idea of an potential economic government of Europe to be explored. We could not have created a single currency without having genuine organisational ability at the economic level. 

Must industry bosses' pay be taken into account in resolving the crisis?

In this regard, BusinessEurope does not have any particular European policy. Things are determined by the political culture in each country. But we understand that whenever capitalism goes through a crisis, we single out the issue of directors' remuneration. 

The more countries massively contribute to bailing out the European financial system, the more normal it becomes for them to want their points of view to be taken into account. 

But the intensity of these questions varies according to national cultures. It seems normal to us that we have singled out this subject, and that namely in France we have wanted to put an end to the perceived abuses of the past. 

Is it possible to imagine a European code of conduct, similar to what was presented by Laurence Parisot, president of Medef, on 6 October?

Whilst it is not possible to introduce essential technical initiatives in Europe, it seems to me that it would be even more difficult to move towards initiatives of an ethical nature. But nevertheless, it would not be impossible. We could address this issue when Europe is much stronger as a political organisation.