Jean-Pierre Audy (EPP): “A Europe of regulation”

A more competitive and democratic Europe in a market social economy: such is the program of the EPP, the European People’s Party of which Jean-Pierre Audy, 57, is a member. The regional councillor of the French department of Corrèze and member of the national council of the UMP (Union for a People’s Movement) has been a Euro-MP since June 2005. At the heart of the EPP, he is Vice-President of the budgetary control commission.
His group, presided over by the French MEP Joseph Daul, represents the centre and centre-right. With 265 MPs, the EPP is the most strongly represented and has a great deal of influence on the political program of the European Parliament. Moreover, he presides over nine Parliamentary commissions including Budgets, Industry, Research and Energy and Regional Development. The number of reporters is often high. “We are working for a Europe of regulation.  A Europe that acts at world level whilst remaining close to its citizens,” says Jean-Pierre Audy. For this chartered accountant, community instruments need to be reviewed. Then the European Parliament would be able to provide mutually agreed solutions, in particular concerning recovery plans.
For the period 2009-2014, the EPP hopes above all to be able to provide pragmatic responses to the financial crisis. This means preventing companies and in particular SMEs, from suffering tougher credit conditions as well as supporting measures in favour of freedom of enterprise, transmission, recruitment and independent and part-time work. The other issue on which the Group intends to work concerns the acceleration of the single market. The EPP intends, for example, to support proposals for the effective protection of intellectual property and a law on SMEs that provides legal clarity and access to finance. In the light of this, Jean-Pierre Audy recognises that the Chambers of Commerce and Industry represent an influential source of proposals. “But they can go still further by presenting new cooperations between political and economic representatives,” he says.