Moses Kennier leads UROP into the Promised Land – The dead arose and appeared to many – Hallelujah

Kenny: We can lead EU out of doldrums

Ireland will seek to move Europe beyond austerity and place renewed
emphasis on boosting economic growth when it assumes the presidency of
the EU, Enda Kenny has said.

But the European Central Bank would need to break from rigid policies
and play a “fuller role” in resolving the eurozone debt crisis, the
Taoiseach indicated.

In a speech suffused with religious imagery at Harvard University in
Massachusetts, Mr Kenny drew a link between Ireland’s role in
spreading Christianity in Europe and the role the country could play
in the EU’s economic recovery.

Ireland assumes the rotating EU presidency for the first half of 2013
and Mr Kenny made clear he would be pushing European leaders to widen
their focus to growth measures rather than just cutbacks.

Mr Kenny began his speech at the JFK School of Government by paying
tribute to the Kennedy family’s legacy and their impact on US and
Irish affairs.

But he moved on to the key theme — “reasserting Ireland’s place in the
world” — and drew on history to demonstrate the country’s role in
global affairs.

In the sixth century, monks had set sail from Ireland to bring “a
semi-barbarian Europe” out of the Dark Ages.

“Irish monks like Gall and Columbanus rescued Europe and brought the
light of Christianity to a dark continent.”

This “seminal development” in European history should be remembered
“at this difficult juncture” for Ireland, the EU, and the world at
large.

While Ireland was taking the required measures to recover from “a
bleak midwinter”, with economic growth returning last year, Europe had
been too slow to respond to the crisis.

The fiscal compact was welcome and necessary, but the EU must move
beyond austerity, he said.

The EU presidency gave Ireland “an invaluable opportunity” to make
that case and “prove why we still belong at the heart of the
decision-making process in Europe”.

“There is now, I believe, a shared understanding that discipline and
austerity — necessary as they are — will only take us so far.

“Vital recovery depends on vital growth. And with that growth will
come those much needed jobs for our people.”

He said “bigger financial firewalls” were required to resolve the debt
crisis and the ECB, as the principal provider of such firewalls, would
need to step up to the plate.

As at the end of the Dark Ages, he said Europe and Ireland now stood
“on the edge of a new frontier”.

“What’s new can be frightening, but equally, it can be exhilarating.

“Now, Ireland and Europe must leap together into the new, into the
next stage of the European process.”

Mr Kenny concludes his three-day visit to the US today. He will meet
with British prime minister David Cameron on March 12 for further
discussions on how Europe can expand the single market, in a bid to
foster more growth.

By Paul O’Brien, Political Editor Boston
Read more: http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/kenny-we-can-lead-eu-out-of-doldrums-184205.html#ixzz1mbPTaNc3