PARIS (MNI) – France and Germany have agreed on a series of
proposals to strengthen the EU’s fiscal Stability Pact, including
tougher financial sanctions, the finance ministers of the two countries
said Wednesday.
“This is a key moment, where we agree jointly, together, to propose
specific measures to strengthen Europe,” French Finance Minister
Christine Lagarde said after a meeting with her German counterpart,
Wolfgang Schaeuble. “It’s our way to express our determination to share
the same ambitions, to insist on the stability and unity” of the EU and
the Eurozone in particular.
The proposals, to be presented to the task force on economic
governance headed by European Commission President Herman Van Rompuy,
include an “interest-bearing” deposit to be “temporarily imposed” on
countries lagging in budget consolidation.
Further leverage could come from the withdrawal of EU structural
and regional aid “proportionate to the extent of non-compliance” with
the Stability Pact, according to a paper distributed by the ministers to
the media.
Acknowledging that some proposals for sanctions would require an
amendment of EU treaties, Schaeuble suggested that Eurozone members
could agree to accept them “voluntarily” in the meantime.
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