José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, delivered his State of Union address on September 11 at the European Plenary session in Strasbourg. Barroso highlighted a number of important milestones the EU has reached including with respect to the progress made in addressing the economic crisis. During the peak of the crisis, many feared the disintegration of the Eurozone but Barroso stated rather than this eventuality, five years later, enlargement of the EU has continued with the accession of Croatia and the Eurozone will also continue to grow.

While President Barroso’s analysis of the current economic situation gives us hope, others in the chamber were not so encouraging. Indeed members of political groups from the left criticized Barroso for being out of touch with reality and unaware of the suffering of citizens across the EU, many of whom have been most negatively affected by austerity measures introduced to counter the crisis. Reality is somewhere in between - the latest economic data is indeed positive but the situation on the ground for many remains desperate. Measures that address the social, rather than simply economic, crisis are now what are needed. I am pleased to note that initiatives such as the European Youth Strategy, for instance, will give EU policymakers the ability to use real tools to provide aid to citizens. Initiative such as the EU Youth Guarantee, provide concrete, tangible aid in this regard. There is however still a great deal more that can be done.

Never than before has it been more important to unlock the full potential of the Internal Market. This has been an EU success story from which there is still a lot more to gain. During the plenary this week in Strasbourg a Report penned by MEP Corazza Bildt was adopted. The Report focused on the implementation of the Services Directive and the steps that should be taken in the future to enhance further integration of the sector. Part of continuing the process of recovery involves better implementing the tools we already have at our disposal. The Internal Market is one such tool. As the lead MEP on this dossier for the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs I welcomed the emphasis made on the necessity for the creation of Second Generation Points of Single Contact. Existing PSCs have proven to be enormously beneficial for SMEs and have greatly facilitated start-up creation - they do however need to be improved and made more visible and user-friendly. 

The Report also called for the implementation of the Digital Single Market. Another initiative that is to be welcomed, and is indeed an important part of a properly functioning Internal Market. It must consist of a freely accessible European public space that provides for information, price comparison, easy payment and delivery mechanisms across member states.

In my view, continued recovery therefore hinges on two pillars. The first is that of putting to better use the tools already at our disposal. But this must indeed be combined with more direct aid to those who need it most. To a large extent this is what is being done. And while my view of the current state of affairs might not be through the same rose-tinted spectacles as Mr Barroso's, I do feel we are on the right track. 

I will end with a quote from the Commission President who urges us to hope that "a hundred years ago, Europe was sleepwalking into the catastrophe of the war of 1914; next year, in 2014, Europe will be walking out of the crisis towards a Europe that is more united, stronger and open."