BERLIN (MNI) – Germany has reaffirmed its call for “more bite” in
the EU’s Stability and Growth Pact (SGP) in a letter by Finance Minister
Wolfgang Schaeuble to Europe’s leading officials.
“The SGP should be given more bite by speeding up the process and
by enabling application of sanctions on a quasi-automatic basis,”
Schaeuble argued in the letter to ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet,
European Council President Herman Van Rompuy, EU Monetary Affairs
Commissioner Olli Rehn, Eurogroup president Jean-Claude Juncker and
fellow EU finance ministers.
“Within the excessive deficit procedure, sanctions should take
effect more quickly and powerfully,” the minister urged. “Countries that
infringe the rules of Monetary Union should have their voting rights in
the Council suspended for at least one year.”
The minister also proposed that a non-interest-bearing deposit
amounting to 0.2% of GDP should be applied with the decision of placing
an Eurozone member state in excessive deficit status. The deposit would
be converted into a fine in a case of non-compliance with the initial
recommendations to correct the deficit.
The payment of EU funds should be coupled with the pursuit of
sustainable fiscal policy in the recipient countries, Schaeuble
suggested.
“Germany may present further proposals for suspending voting rights
of member states that repeatedly fail to adhere to agreed rules and put
EMU at risk,” the minister wrote. “These shall be discussed later.”
–Berlin bureau: +49-30-22620580; email: twidder@marketnews.com
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