Le Monde | • Updated | By
The Eurogroup meeting of finance ministers of the euro area, held Monday, December 8 in Brussels was largely devoted to the examination of notices published in late November by the European Commission on the 2015 budgets of countries sharing the single currency.
An entire paragraph of the conclusion of the text is devoted to France (all countries are eligible), where we read: “additional measures will be necessary for the improvement of structural effort to bridge the gap with commitments” reduction the public deficit, “taken under the Stability Pact. “
The country still do not understand how Paris can reach 0.5 extra effort in 2015 with 3.6 billion savings announced it a few weeks ago.
The day before, Merkel was responsible for leading the debate, saying the conservative newspaper Die Welt , that she agreed with Brussels, which granted three month stay in France and Italy, to ensure compliance with the Stability and Growth Pact. But it was necessary that the two countries do more structural reforms.
Michel Sapin, who was in Brussels for France, conceded Monday that “the first meaning of Angela message Merkel is that we need to free our reforms. She is waiting for a passage to the act, nothing more. “
The French finance minister said conceive that the Germans could be worried that countries say they need more time to make reforms, but ultimately they do not take not their promises.
“But Merkel does not think 2012 or 2013, it refers mainly to 2003. When Paris and Berlin are free from Pact stability, but that Germany then was reformed, while France, no, “ says Sapin.
He refuses to pay in the” German bashing ” and is also the updates from Jean-Luc Mélenchon on Sunday (“Maul zu Frau Merkel,” literally, “Mrs. Merkel close”) is “rude, insulting and stupid” .
The effect Macron
Paris relies on setting up and running of the Macron law, from March 2015, satisfy the requirements of the Commission European. This reform could have a positive effect on the growth potential of the Hexagon.
France has also the sharp drop in oil prices and that of the euro against the dollar to further reduce costs of the state. Mr Sapin confirmed last week that he expected more than a deficit of 4.1% of GDP in 2015, against 4.3% initially announced mid-September.
The country also hopes that the 600 million euros that the EU must pay back to it under an “overpayment” in the EU budget for 2014 can be used to reduce the structural deficit by 2015. The question is still under discussion with the Commission.
During the discussion Monday, Mr Sapin intends to defend the concept of overall fiscal position of the euro area no longer “restrictive” as in recent years, but “neutral” : the countries that are still too large to reduce the deficit continue, but that other, themselves, rather begin to invest. Message directly addressed to Berlin.
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