(PARIS) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Tuesday that the European Union must be about more than just a system for transferring wealth from richer members to their struggling partners. In an interview with three major European newspapers, Merkel said: "Joining the eurozone isn't about creating a union made up of financial transfers." Merkel's warning came as she faced strong domestic opposition to Germany's participation in the IMF-led bail-out of debt-ridden Greece and the creation of the eurozone's trillion-dollar emergency stabilisation fund. European leaders have tried to sell both measures to voters as essential tools to protect national economies from speculative attacks and reassure banks that eurozone states will not default on their debts. But there is resentment in relatively wealthy states such as Germany that strugglers such as Greece and eventually Portugal or Spain might get bail-outs after years of overspending on generous welfare and pension systems. Merkel told the French daily Le Monde, Spain's El Pais and Italy's Corriere della Sera that Germany believes "solidarity and solidity are inseparable" in the eurozone single-currency bloc. "For Germany, this culture of stability and solidity is not negotiable." Germany has been pushing for its fellow eurozone members to adopt rigorous public spending to cut deficits, halt the slide of the euro and stabilise financial markets spooked by the fear of sovereign debt defaults. Press reports say Germany could demand a European version of its own constitutional "debt brake", which puts a legal limit on public deficits. The eurozone was founded on treaty-based commitments to run national economies as a matter of common interest, by means of national controls on public finances and policies to achieve convergence. The term "transfer union" is used broadly to mean a politically different cooperative pooling of resources so that funds flow via a common fund, or under an automatic system, from stronger countries to weaker countries, much as occurs within countries between strong and weak regions.Angela Merkel: "For Germany, the culture of stability is not negotiable"
for The Monde.fr | 17.05.10 | 22.00 • Updated 18.05.10 | 5:49 p.m.
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In an interview given to Le Monde, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, draws its conclusions from the Greek crisis and the euro. Merkel, who was also receiving daily El Pais Spanish and Italian Corriere della Sera, said that within the euro area "solidarity and strength are inseparable." "For Germany, she says, this culture of stability and strength is not negotiable."
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After balk at implementing a fiscal stimulus package at the height of the crisis in late 2008, she paints a mixed picture of recovery actions and promotes rigor.
"Membership in the euro area, says she can give birth to a union made financial transfers. For Merkel, "our goal must be that all countries will one day become members of the eurozone".
The Chancellor is adamant: "We need more regulations on financial markets. The speculations are too absolute to be tempered.
"IN THE WAKE OF HELMUT KOHL"
As the European Council in June, she said give him "a very important meaning, because our growth strategy for the future will be adopted." "I agree with President Sarkozy [to consider] that a growth strategy to launch the signal, that besides stability, we need a Europe capable of facing the future" said Ms Merkel. This ability to prepare for the future, she considers, "arises with particular acuteness in Germany," aging country. "
Chancellor denies wanting to make Germany a large or small Swiss China. "This does not correspond to reality," she retorted. "I feel completely in the continuity of Konrad Adenauer and Helmut Kohl.
Read the interview and report on the meeting with Merkel in Le Monde dated Wednesday, May 19
Arnaud LeparmentierAngela Merkel : "Pour l'Allemagne, la culture de stabilité n'est pas négociable" pour Le Monde.fr | 17.05.10 | 22h00 • Mis à jour le 18.05.10 | 17h49 RÉAGISSEZ (21) CLASSEZ IMPRIMEZ ENVOYEZ PARTAGEZ Berlin Envoyé spécial ans un entretien accordé au Monde, la chancelière allemande, Angela Merkel, tire ses conclusions de la crise grecque et de l'euro. Mme Merkel, qui recevait également les quotidiens espagnol El Pais et italien Corriere della Sera, estime qu'au sein de la zone euro "la solidarité et la solidité sont inséparables". "Pour l'Allemagne, indique-t-elle, cette culture de stabilité ou de solidité n'est pas négociable". Les dossiers : les meilleurs articles du Monde pour approfondir un sujet Abonnez-vous au Monde.fr : 6€ par mois + 1 mois offert Après avoir renâclé à adopter un plan de relance budgétaire au plus fort de la crise fin 2008, elle dresse un bilan mitigé de ces actions de relance et prône la rigueur. "L'appartenance à la zone euro, souligne-t-elle, ne peut donner naissance à une union faite de transferts financiers". Pour Mme Merkel, "notre objectif doit être que tous les pays deviennent un jour membres de la zone euro". La chancelière est catégorique : "Nous avons besoin de régulations supplémentaires sur les marchés financiers. Les spéculations sont des excès absolus qui doivent être tempérés". "DANS LA CONTINUITÉ D'HELMUT KOHL" S'agissant du Conseil européen de juin, elle déclare lui accorder "une signification très importante, car notre stratégie de croissance pour le futur sera adoptée". "Je suis d'accord avec le président Sarkozy [pour considérer] qu'une stratégie de croissance lancera le signal, qu'à côté de la stabilité, nous devons avoir une Europe capable d'affronter l'avenir" indique Mme Merkel. Cette capacité à préparer l'avenir, juge-t-elle, "se pose avec une acuité particulière" en Allemagne, "pays vieillissant". La chancelière nie vouloir faire de l'Allemagne une grande Suisse ou une petite Chine. "Cela ne correspond nullement à la réalité" rétorque-t-elle. "Je me sens complètement dans la continuité de Konrad Adenauer et d'Helmut Kohl". Lire l'entretien et le reportage sur la rencontre avec Mme Merkel dans Le Monde daté du mercredi 19 mai. Arnaud Leparmentier
Europe must be about more than cash transfers: Merkel
Tuesday, 18 May 2010
18 May 2010,
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