Berlin,
Paris vow to speed up eurozone integration
Core EU
powers France and Germany vowed Monday to accelerate eurozone integration, with
a new bilateral panel to work out ways to kickstart the reform process.
"We've
been talking about progress in eurozone integration for years, but things are
not moving fast enough," said France's new Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire
in Berlin after talks with his German counterpart Wolfgang Schaeuble.
"We
have now decided to get things going more quickly and further in a very
concrete manner," he said.
Schaeuble
agreed that "we are convinced that Germany and France must take a leading
role" in strengthening the European Union in challenging times.
The new
working group will look at how the currency bloc can better coordinate economic
policies, harmonise its tax regime and find potential Franco-German investment
projects, according to a joint statement.
"Not
only our compatriots in France and Germany but also others in the eurozone are
expecting concrete proposals and concrete investments that can generate
economic activity and jobs," said Le Maire.
The
bilateral panel will report to a joint ministerial meeting of the eurozone's
two biggest players in July.
Le Maire
and Schaeuble's meeting came a week after German Chancellor Angela Merkel
hosted France's new President Emmanuel Macron and the two leaders vowed to give
a new impetus to Europe.
Anti-EU
sentiment has been rising in the bloc which has also suffered from the body
blow of Britain's decision to quit the union.
Efforts
towards further integration or modernisation of the EU and eurozone have been
hampered for years by the rejection of new treaties by French, Dutch and Irish
voters, although governments could negotiate and adopt reforms via negotiations
between themselves.
Underlining
the need to improve the EU's relevance to Europeans, Le Maire pointed to
France's bitterly fought presidential election in which both the far-right and
the far-left scored their highest margins since the end of World War II.
"If we
don't succeed, then it will be those in the extremes who will succeed us,"
warned Le Maire, adding that "our compatriots will only judge us by our
results."
Separately,
Le Maire's colleague, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, was also in
Berlin Monday for talks with his German counterpart Sigmar Gabriel -- with both
ministers also affirming the need for reforms.
"Europe
is in a difficult situation, we need new initiatives... and we will push for
this together," said Gabriel, adding that "we want to use this
historic window opened in France to do this."
Brexit
'an opportunity'
Merkel and
her government have pledged their support to help Macron succeed, mindful that
any election outcome in France would not only affect Europe's second biggest economy
but also have a profound impact on the EU.
At a talk
in Berlin, Merkel reiterated her backing for Macron's "Republique En
Marche" movement with an eye on legislative elections on June 11 and 18 in
France.
"We
know that there are many disappointed people who are on an anti-European track
and that's why we need to help him and ensure that he really succeeds,"
said Merkel.
Le Maire
said France and Germany will now work towards getting the EU members on the
same page in building a "big strong economy" that stands up to
competition against China or the United States.
This means
improving competitiveness, lowering costs for companies, financing innovation,
as well as improving capacity to better defend the eurozone's economic
interest, he said.
The French
minister also urged the financial sector to seize the opportunity of Brexit to
improve their attractiveness vis-a-vis their British counterparts.
"With
Brexit, we see the possibility for our financial companies to become more
attractive than they were before," said Le Maire, adding that this meant
"jobs and wealth for our countries".
Many
financial sector firms based in London are now looking to move operations to
cities in the eurozone as Brexit could see London banks lose their
"passporting rights" to sell services to clients on the continent.
#UPDATE France and Germany vowed to accelerate eurozone integration with the help of a new bilateral panel. https://t.co/35vmCj4wyh pic.twitter.com/qRPKzGfgPd— AFP news agency (@AFP) May 22, 2017
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