Euro zone: A cold shower for Macron from Berlin
(B2) Angela Merkel's conservative party in Germany distanced itself sharply from Emmanuel Macron's euro zone reform plans on Monday. A position that is not insignificant, on the eve of a speech by the French head of state in the European Parliament.
The euro zone budget: an idea to bury
The Chancellor's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) notably criticized the idea of creating a budget specific to the euro zone to help investments. " I don't think that's a good idea to have a second budget separate from the one that already exists for the European Union as a whole, the secretary general and number two of the movement told the press.
Many other areas of concern
Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, a close friend of Angela Merkel, judged that the European Union, following Brexit, already had many budgetary challenges to overcome to compensate for the departure of Great Britain. She underlined that the countries of the euro zone, alone, represented 85% of the current total budget of the EU and that therefore a second budget seemed to her difficult to construct as it stood. " Consequently, we are of the opinion that we must first and foremost deal with the question of the main budget of the European Union “, She concluded, speaking after a meeting of deputies from the Christian Democratic Party and its Bavarian ally (CSU).
No to the European Monetary Fund
The elected officials published on this occasion a position paper which reflects their skepticism, in particular on the project of European Monetary Fund (EMF) to anchor in marble a mechanism of assistance to the countries of the euro zone in difficulty. Angela Merkel's Conservative MPs condition the creation of such a permanent mechanism on a reform of the European treaties, which de facto makes its realization very unlikely.
No EMF without treaty reform
« The possible establishment of an EMF in European law can only be done within the framework of a reform of the European treaties “, underline the elected officials in their text. In addition, they demand that this mechanism be independent of the European Commission, which they believe is too lax with states posting public deficits. And they refuse that this Fund helps governments facing " cyclical crises », as Brussels wishes. In their eyes, this EMF could only intervene in the event of a debt repayment problem and in return for significant savings efforts in the countries concerned.
(with AFP)
