BERLIN (MNI) – German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said
Friday that Germany will assume its responsibility for defending the
stability of the euro.
Standing up for the common currency is in Germany’s own interest,
Schaeuble said in a speech before the Bundestag, the lower house of
parliament, ahead of a vote on Germany’s share in the EU aid bill for
fiscally troubled members.
Without the euro “our economic potential would be much weaker,” the
minister said.
Schaeuble said the root causes for speculation needed to be
addressed by bringing down public deficits in all Eurozone countries.
The minister reaffirmed that the German government will lobby for a
financial transaction tax on the EU level. If the UK government blocked
that, Germany would aim for the introduction of such a tax in the
Eurozone, he said. However, he added that “I cannot promise a majority”
for a financial transaction tax even on the level of the Eurozone.
–Berlin bureau: +49-30-22 62 05 80; email: twidder@marketnews.com
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