On behalf of the European Alliance group, Mr Jan Bronś, Mayor of Oleśnica thanked Commisisoner Rehn for his work but also warned that fiscal consolidation measures put in place by the Troika have had devastating consequences on the approval of the European Union among its citizens and added that all measures and mechanisms in the EU must be democratically accountable, transparent and, mindful of the social consequences they produce. Talking about the future of the European Economic Governance, Mr Bronś stressed that growth must not become a goal in its own end and that we will be able to talk about the economic recovery only when citizens see actual improvements in their own lives. Finally, he strongly argued against wage reductions, pension cuts and liberalisation of employment protection across the EU and called instead for more sustainable growth-friendly tax incentives, such as removing the tax burden from labour, and for a deeper convergence within the Economic and Monetary Union with a stronger role for European regions.