FRANKFURT (MNI) – Germany’s rejection of eurobonds without closely
studying the proposal is not in the spirit of Europe, Eurogroup head
Jean-Claude Juncker told the German weekly Die Zeit on Wednesday.
“Germany’s thinking is a bit simplistic. They rejected our
suggestion before studying it. This way of creating taboos and not
considering ideas of others is a very un-European manner to go about
European business,” Juncker said.
Jean-Claude Juncker and Italian Finance Minister Giulio Tremonti,
in an opinion piece published in the Financial Times over the weekend,
proposed the option of a common eurobond, which would be issued by a
European Debt Agency, to help calm market concerns. Germany quickly
reasserted its longstanding opposition to commonly underwriting debt.
Juncker’s outspoken criticism is an unusual attack on a fellow
Eurozone member state and may well reflect growing frustration with
Eurozone policies increasingly dominated by Germany and France.
Juncker, who is also the Finance Minister of Luxembourg, argued
that the introduction of a eurobond would — contrary to German
chancellor Angela Merkel’s claims — not result in uniform interest
rates, since national interest rates would continue to apply on the
largest share of debt.
–Frankfurt newsroom +49 69 72 01 42; e-mail: jtreeck@marketnews.com
[TOPICS: M$$EC$,M$X$$$,MT$$$$,MGX$$$,M$$CR$]