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Germany refuses to slam French economic policy

Germany will not publicly criticize France over economic policy, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble insisted on Thursday, amid differences between Berlin and Paris over growth versus austerity in battling the eurozone debt crisis.

Germany refuses to slam French economic policy
Wolfgang Schäuble and his French counterpart Pierre Moscovici. Photo: DPA

“We work really well together,” Schäuble said about Berlin and Paris when asked whether Germany was losing patience with its neighbour, during a panel discussion about Europe.

“We only talk positively about each other. With one another, we speak openly,” he said at the event in Berlin.

Friction has arisen between the neighbours recently as Berlin stresses the need for belt-tightening to make growth sustainable while Paris believes higher public spending can kick-start struggling eurozone economies.

Schäuble has in the past also defended the European Commission’s decision to give France two more years to meet the EU deficit target of three percent of GDP.

“We will not criticise France publicly,” Schäuble told the panel organized by regional WDR TV, adding that he and his French counterpart Pierre Moscovici would cooperate “in mutual trust” as long as they were finance ministers.

However, Schäuble said that he appreciated that the commitment by France to carry out structural reforms in exchange for the two-year extension was “difficult” given French public opinion, including the position of the trade unions.

AFP/mry

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POLITICS

France vows to block EU-South America trade deal in current form

France has vowed to prevent a trade deal between the European Union and the South American Mercosur bloc from being signed with its current terms, as the country is rocked by farmer protests.

France vows to block EU-South America trade deal in current form

The trade deal, which would include agricultural powers Argentina and Brazil, is among a litany of complaints by farmers in France and elsewhere in Europe who have been blocking roads to demand better conditions for their sector.

They fear it would further depress their produce prices amid increased competition from exporting nations that are not bound by strict and costly EU environmental laws.

READ ALSO Should I cancel my trip to France because of farmers’ protests?

“This Mercosur deal, as it stands, is not good for our farmers. It cannot be signed as is, it won’t be signed as is,” Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire told broadcasters CNews and Europe 1.

The European Commission acknowledged on Tuesday that the conditions to conclude the deal with Mercosur, which also includes Paraguay and Uruguay, “are not quite there yet”.

The talks, however, are continuing, the commission said.

READ ALSO 5 minutes to understand French farmer protests

President Emmanuel Macron said Tuesday that France opposes the deal because it “doesn’t make Mercosur farmers and companies abide by the same rules as ours”.

The EU and the South American nations have been negotiating since 2000.

The contours of a deal were agreed in 2019, but a final version still needs to be ratified.

The accord aims to cut import tariffs on – mostly European – industrial and pharmaceutical goods, and on agricultural products.

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