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EUROZONE

Reinfeldt: eurobonds ‘totally wrong’

Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt repeated on Monday his opposition to so-called eurobonds, insisting it was the wrong way to go in fighting the crisis crippling the eurozone.

Reinfeldt: eurobonds 'totally wrong'

Introducing eurobonds to average-out the cost of borrowing for the crisis-hit countries is the “totally wrong method,” Reinfeldt was quoted by the Dagens Industri financial daily as saying.

Eurobonds “send wrong signals in both directions,” said the Swedish premier, whose country is not a member of the eurozone.

He lamented, according to Dagens Industri, that such a measure would push up borrowing rates for countries with well-managed economies while countries in need of reforming their economies would see rates artificially lowered, paving the way for over-consumption.

Instead of artificially boosting the struggling economies, Reinfeldt insisted that the answer lay in “more national reforms to increase competitiveness (and in) getting the national states to work by getting rid of corruption.”

The topic of eurobonds has split the 17-nation bloc and was the main sticking point at an informal EU summit last month.

France, the European Commission and several other member states believe that eurobonds could represent the best way to exit the crisis crippling the eurozone.

Germany had been steadfastly against introducing such bonds, believing both that it would end up picking up the tab and that it would reduce the pressure on debt-wracked countries to tackle their deficit problems.

Reacting to the outcome of elections in Greece on Sunday, where the euro-friendly conservative New Democracy party won a narrow victory, Reinfeldt meanwhile said the result was positive in the sense that there now “at least is a possibility” that a Greek government could be created.

This in turn would improve the possibility of Greece being able to remain in the eurozone, he said, according to Dagens Industri.

“However,” he stressed, “it is absolutely not possible to say the danger is over.”

“Many negotiations remain,” he said, adding that it would be a step in the right direction if Greece could get everyone, “also the richest, to start paying taxes.”

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BUDGET

Paris, Berlin agree on future eurozone budget: French ministry source

France and Germany have agreed on the broad outlines of a proposed eurozone budget which they will present to EU finance ministers in Brussels on Monday, a French finance ministry source said.

Paris, Berlin agree on future eurozone budget: French ministry source
French Economy and Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire (R) and German Finance Minister and Vice-Chancellor Olaf Scholz. File photo: AFP

The common single-currency budget was one of French President Emmanuel Macron's key ideas for protecting the euro, but it caused differences between France and Germany, the region's two largest economies.

French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire and Germany's minister, Olaf Scholz, will “jointly present a proposition on Monday… about the layout for a budget for the eurozone,” the ministry source told AFP.

“It's a major step forward,” the source said. “We will look forward to sharing with other members.”

The source said the amount of the budget has not been established as the proposal was to first set out the “architecture and main principles” of the budget.

According to a copy of the French-German proposal, the budget would be part of the EU budget structure and governed by the 19 euro members.

Macron will travel to Berlin at the weekend to meet with German Chancellor Angela Merkel where the two leaders will bolster their alliance as champions of a united Europe.

READ ALSO: France and Germany push for compromise on eurozone reform

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