BERLIN (MNI) – EU Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn said in a
newspaper interview published Tuesday that Italy and France also need to
step up their budget consolidation efforts.
Rehn also reaffirmed the “urgent” need for budget consolidation in
Portugal and Spain and said both countries will present proposals in the
coming days.
“The Italian debt level is indeed very high and that is why Italy
must also intensify its consolidation efforts,” the Commissioner told
German business daily Handelsblatt. “The same goes for France.”
Germany, however, belongs to those countries which have more fiscal
leeway and are in a position to let their economic stimulus programs
work longer, Rehn said. Thereby, Germany would support economic growth
in the whole Eurozone, he remarked.
–Berlin bureau: +49-30-22 62 05 80; email: twidder@marketnews.com
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