France and Germany Are at Odds Over How to Bring Debt Down in EU
French finance minister says automatic rules would be mistake
German counterpart says he has support of other member states
The sticking point is whether all member states with excessive debt and budget deficits should have to make fixed annual reductions regardless of their individual economic situations.
“The true point of disagreement is whether, yes or no, we should have automatic and uniform rules in the Stability and Growth Pact,” French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire told reporters ahead of a meeting of EU finance chiefs in Luxembourg on Friday.
“Our response is clearly ‘no’ because we consider it would be an economic mistake and a political mistake,” he said, adding that this had led to recession and lost growth in the past.
Bloomberg 16 June 2023
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