BERLIN (MNI) – The EU rescue measures for fiscally troubled
Eurozone member states have worked well and markets have reacted well to
them, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said Wednesday.
“The euro [foreign exchange rate] has reached a reasonable range,”
Schaeuble said at a briefing for the foreign press in Berlin.
The Minister again defended his government’s budget consolidation
program, arguing that it will boost confidence and thereby stimulate
domestic demand.
The German economy is currently developing well, yet next year
economic growth “will be somewhat lower,” he predicted.
In other remarks, Schaeuble attacked Bundesbank board member Thilo
Sarrazin for his recent anti-immigrant remarks, calling them “shameful.”
Earlier today, the leader of the center-left SPD, Sigmar Gabriel,
called on Sarrazin to leave the party. Sarrazin’s remarks have been
widely criticized as being right-wing and populist.
–Berlin bureau: +49-30-22 62 05 80; email: twidder@marketnews.com
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