Πηγή: FT
By Quentin Peel, Hugh Carnegy, Peter Spiegel and George Parker.
Dec 7 2011
Germany on Wednesday insisted that its European partners must undertake the politically fraught process of changing European Union treaties, or at least accepting a binding new eurozone accord, to bring stability to the single currency and restore the confidence of investors.
On the eve of a European summit in Brussels to stem the eurozone crisis, a senior German government official dismissed the suggestion by Herman Van Rompuy, European Council president, that tougher fiscal discipline could be enforced without a full-blown treaty overhaul.
“A number of actors have not understood the seriousness of the situation,” the German official said, warning that a “bad compromise” of small steps or “little tricks” would not meet the expectations of the public or the financial markets.
The tough German line came as Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, and Nicolas Sarkozy, French president, published a joint letter to Mr Van Rompuy, calling for sweeping measures to enforce fiscal discipline, including near-automatic sanctions for countries with excess debt or deficits.
“We propose that those new rules and commitments should be enshrined in the European treaties,” they said, urging an immediate decision to go ahead at the eurozone and EU summits on Thursday and Friday.
In France, Mr Sarkozy warned members of his ruling UMP party: “The risk of explosion is looming if the decisions taken with Angela Merkel are not put into effect.”
However, the prospect of treaty change has been greeted with alarm in the UK and also in Ireland, where any such move would have to be put to a national referendum. Previous attempts to introduce new EU treaties have been voted down by French, Dutch, and Irish voters.
A senior EU official said last night: “There is absolutely no enthusiasm for revisions of the treaty,” while admitting that “the majority have agreed to go along with it”.
The German hard line went down badly in Brussels, with the senior EU official warning that if they agreed only to an extended process of treaty change without initial quicker alterations it could cause renewed panic in the financial markets at the prospect of years of additional debate over the eurozone’s economic governance.
Insisting that all 27 EU members should be involved, and not just the 17 eurozone members, the official defended the Van Rompuy plan, saying: “We are not going to save the euro if this is a split Europe.”
In Berlin, the senior government official – speaking on condition of anonymity – said that Ms Merkel also wanted treaty change agreed by all 27, although its measures would only affect the 17 eurozone members. She wants to reinforce the powers of European institutions – including the European Commission and the European Court of Justice – to police the new fiscal rules. A treaty at 17 is regarded by the chancellor as a second best solution that could entrench the division of the EU between a hard core and non-euro outsiders.
While Paris backs Berlin on the need for treaty change for the whole EU, Mr Sarkozy is clearly much more prepared to settle for an agreement just for the 17 eurozone members. The joint letter says any non-euro members can sign up to the agreement.
On top of rules for fiscal discipline, they propose “a new common legal framework” for the 17, to enable faster progress towards common financial regulation, convergence and harmonisation of a corporate tax base, and creation of a financial transaction tax, as well as labour market regulation and “growth-supporting policies”.
Such suggestions are likely to alarm David Cameron, UK prime minister, who told MPs on Wednesday he would use his “leverage” in Brussels to win safeguards for the City of London from future excessive legislation, warning that UK financial services were “under continuous attack”.
The tough German line came as Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, and Nicolas Sarkozy, French president, published a joint letter to Mr Van Rompuy, calling for sweeping measures to enforce fiscal discipline, including near-automatic sanctions for countries with excess debt or deficits.
“We propose that those new rules and commitments should be enshrined in the European treaties,” they said, urging an immediate decision to go ahead at the eurozone and EU summits on Thursday and Friday.
In France, Mr Sarkozy warned members of his ruling UMP party: “The risk of explosion is looming if the decisions taken with Angela Merkel are not put into effect.”
However, the prospect of treaty change has been greeted with alarm in the UK and also in Ireland, where any such move would have to be put to a national referendum. Previous attempts to introduce new EU treaties have been voted down by French, Dutch, and Irish voters.
A senior EU official said last night: “There is absolutely no enthusiasm for revisions of the treaty,” while admitting that “the majority have agreed to go along with it”.
The German hard line went down badly in Brussels, with the senior EU official warning that if they agreed only to an extended process of treaty change without initial quicker alterations it could cause renewed panic in the financial markets at the prospect of years of additional debate over the eurozone’s economic governance.
Insisting that all 27 EU members should be involved, and not just the 17 eurozone members, the official defended the Van Rompuy plan, saying: “We are not going to save the euro if this is a split Europe.”
In Berlin, the senior government official – speaking on condition of anonymity – said that Ms Merkel also wanted treaty change agreed by all 27, although its measures would only affect the 17 eurozone members. She wants to reinforce the powers of European institutions – including the European Commission and the European Court of Justice – to police the new fiscal rules. A treaty at 17 is regarded by the chancellor as a second best solution that could entrench the division of the EU between a hard core and non-euro outsiders.
While Paris backs Berlin on the need for treaty change for the whole EU, Mr Sarkozy is clearly much more prepared to settle for an agreement just for the 17 eurozone members. The joint letter says any non-euro members can sign up to the agreement.
On top of rules for fiscal discipline, they propose “a new common legal framework” for the 17, to enable faster progress towards common financial regulation, convergence and harmonisation of a corporate tax base, and creation of a financial transaction tax, as well as labour market regulation and “growth-supporting policies”.
Such suggestions are likely to alarm David Cameron, UK prime minister, who told MPs on Wednesday he would use his “leverage” in Brussels to win safeguards for the City of London from future excessive legislation, warning that UK financial services were “under continuous attack”.
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