By David Barwick and Johanna Treeck
BRUSSELS (MNI) – Any increase of the European bailout fund’s size
or flexibility is strictly linked to progress in economic governance
reform, Dutch Finance Minister Jan Kees de Jager told Market News
International on the margins of the Eurogroup meeting.
“The Netherlands’ position is that we are only agreeing on anything
as part of a total package. So today we also agreed on one thing and
that is that nothing is agreed until everything is agreed,” de Jager
said.
Without a significant strengthening of Eurozone governance, in
particular with regards to competitive strength, fiscal austerity and
budget discipline, there will be no deal on the European Financial
Stability Facility (EFSF), de Jager stressed. “This is a sine qua non.”
“For the Netherlands it is very important that we will move forward
on governance according to the original Van Rompuy proposal, as well as
the Commission proposals,” de Jager said.
The latest ministers’ talk mainly focused on these aspects rather
than on the EFSF, de Jager said. He added that the details of the
German-Franco proposals for a “Pact for Competitiveness” had not been
discussed.
“We did discuss the effect that such a proposal was in the media
and before the European Council, but we are talking about proposals of
the Commission, the Van Rompuy Group and several countries — of course
also from Germany and France, but also from the Netherlands for
example,” de Jager noted.
Asked about the upcoming race for the European Central Bank’s
presidency and whether a policy maker from the Netherlands stands a
chance, de Jager said:
“Well of course the Netherlands has a very good reputation as to
delivering central bank directors, but I cannot comment on any specific
person.”
–Frankfurt bureau, +49-69-720142, frankfurt@marketnews.com
[TOPICS: M$X$$$,M$$EC$,M$G$$$,MGX$$$,MT$$$$,M$$EC$]
