Merkel, Sarkozy Propose Euro Zone Government, New Budget Rules

Bulgaria in EU | August 16, 2011, Tuesday // 20:15|  views

French President Sarkozy and German Chancellor Merkel. File photo

France and Germany will propose that the 17 euro zone countries adopt constitutional changes for balancing their budgets, it became clear after Tuesday's Sarkozy-Merkel meeting on the euro zone debt crisis.

The balanced budget proposal of the leaders of France and Germany states that all 17 euro zone countries should enshrine that goal into their constitutions by the summer of 2012.

Merkel and Sarkozy met after coming under intense international pressure to invent a plan to stabilize the euro zone and restore global market confidence after international market turmoil is continuing in spite of euro zone bailouts of Greece, Ireland and Portugal and the creation of a rescue fund, with newest worries focusing on the debt situation of Spain and Italy, and even France.

"For improving the culture of stability, we want a self commitment of our parliaments. If the Commission makes critical comments on a national budget that it has been presented with, then the euro states i.e. their parliaments must commit themselves to not simply take note of these critical comments and then put them aside but rather to act upon them," Merkel declared.

"We believe that euro zone member states must, with a higher commitment, ensure that the core of this stability and growth pact will be strictly adhered to," she added.

At their joint news conference in Paris, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel also said that as part of their program for strengthening the economic governance of the euro zone they would propose that the euro zone should have a government of its own, including a fixed president elected every 2.5 years, and the President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy should the first to hold this office, as cited by DPA.

"The first of [our proposals] is to create a real economic government for the euro zone. This economic government will be made up of heads of state and government that will meet twice a year, and more if necessary. It will elect a stable president for two and half years," Sarkozy said.

The leaders of France and Germany expectedly did not propose the selling of euro zone bonds.

"We have exactly the same position on euro bonds ... Euro bonds can be imagined one day, but at the end of the European integration process not at the beginning," Sarkozy stated.  

"The question is what is right now for overcoming the current phase of the crisis," Merkel said in turn, adding, "I feel that people are looking for the one event, the one method which will solve everything and lift us out of the crisis, and in this context people often say that the last resort is euro bonds. I neither think that Europe is at the point of needing its last resort, nor do I think that we can solve these problems with what I have called a bang. And therefore I think that what we are proposing here is the means with which we can solve the crisis right now and win back trust, step by step ... I do not think euro bonds will help us in this."

Merkel and Sarkozy also shied away from putting forth an increase of the euro zone bailout fund. They did confirm, however, their absolute commitment to the euro.

"We want to express our absolute will to defend the euro and assume Germany and France's particular responsibilities in Europe and to have on all of these subjects a complete unity of views," Sarkozy said.

"Germany and France feel absolutely obliged to strengthen the euro as our common currency and further develop it. And it is entirely clear that for this to happen, we need a stronger interplay of financial and economic policy in the euro zone," Merkel stated in turn.

 The two leaders further said France and Germany have agreed to have common corporate tax rates.

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Tags: euro zone, Eurozone, Euro Area, Nicolas Sarkozy, Angela Merkel, EU, Herman van Rompuy, European Council, Germany, France, debt crisis, debt crises, sovereign debt, euro zone government

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