22 May 2017

POLITICO: Germany and France join forces to boost eurozone

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble and his new French counterpart Bruno Le Maire said a bilateral working group would aim to draft “an ambitious roadmap” for further economic integration inside the eurozone.

Measures will include economic reforms on the national level, the reduction of public and private debt, and harmonizing corporate taxes across the monetary union, the ministers said.

“We are both convinced that France and Germany hold a special responsibility for leadership” when it comes to strengthening the eurozone, Schäuble told reporters during a press conference before heading to Brussels for a Eurogroup finance ministers’ meeting.

The Franco-German working group will present its results ahead of a joint cabinet meeting in July.

“We’ve been talking about progress in eurozone integration for years, but things are not moving quickly enough,” Le Maire said. “Now, we will tackle this face-on so that we can see progress.” [...]

In a joint statement, Schäuble and Le Maire said the key to a better functioning monetary union is further integration and regaining lost confidence — especially since the eurozone remains vulnerable because of “large macroeconomic imbalances, sluggish core inflation in the euro area and a significant financial fragmentation.”

The ministers also announced an initiative on improving “Franco-German industrial cooperation.”

Asked about the United Kingdom’s looming departure from the EU, Le Maire said he believed it had the potential “for our financial sectors to become more attractive.”

“Our job is it to come up with a [new] direction for our countries, and Brexit offers this chance,” he added.

Full article on POLITICO

Related article on EURActiv: Schäuble insists EU treaty change now is ‘unrealistic’

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