BERLIN (MNI) – German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President
Nicolas Sarkozy in a joint statement issued on Sunday reiterated their
commitment to fully implement the decisions to solve the European
sovereign debt crisis taken by Eurozone leaders on July 21.
Merkel and Sarkozy stressed “the importance that parliamentary
approval will be obtained swiftly by the end of September” in Germany
and France.
The two leaders welcomed the recent measures announced by Italy and
Spain with regard to faster fiscal consolidation and improved
competitiveness.
Especially the Italian governments’ goal to achieve a balanced
budget a year earlier than previously envisaged “is of fundamental
importance,” Merkel and Sarkozy pointed out. They stressed that
“complete and speedy implementation of the announced measures is key to
restore market confidence.”
As decided on July 21, the effectiveness of the European Financial
Stability Facility (EFSF) will be improved and its flexibility increased
linked to appropriate conditionality, Merkel and Sarkozy reaffirmed in
their statement.
The EFSF will be allowed to undertake precautionary programs,
finance the recapitalization of financial institutions and intervene in
secondary bond markets “on the basis of an ECB analysis recognizing the
existence of exceptional financial market circumstances and risks to
financial stability and on the basis of a decision by mutual agreement
of the Eurozone member states, in order to avoid contagion,” the two
leaders affirmed.
In line with the decisions taken by Eurozone leaders on July 21,
“France and Germany are confident that the ECB analysis will provide the
appropriate basis for secondary market interventions as it will help
determine the case when financial stability of the eurozone as a whole
is at risk,” Merkel and Sarkozy said.
–Berlin bureau: +49-30-22 62 05 80; email: twidder@marketnews.com
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