BERLIN (MNI) – German Chancellor Angela Merkel is pushing for
closer economic cooperation in Europe in order to combat the root causes
of the sovereign debt crisis in the Eurozone, German weekly Der Spiegel
reported over the weekend.
According to the magazine, Merkel and French President Nicolas
Sarkozy are to unveil a “Pact for Competitiveness” at the upcoming
summit of EU heads of states and governments on February 4.
The magazine cited a confidential paper from the German Chancellery
which argues that closer integration of financial, economic and social
policies is necessary to dispel concerns about the euro.
Fiscally ailing Eurozone member states will likely not be able to
repay their debt if their competitiveness isn’t increased, the
Chancellor argues, according to the news item.
Merkel aims to open the competitiveness pact to all 27 EU member
countries, Der Spiegel wrote. France and Germany will take the lead in
working out the details of the project. The plan is to be adopted at the
EU summit in March. However, the Chancellor also considers calling for
an extraordinary summit.
The paper from the Chancellery recommends an emergency program to
be implemented on the national level of members states within twelve
months, which foresees an harmonization of the retirement age as well as
a debt limitation rule based on the German model.
Moreover, the Chancellery wants member states to agree on a
homogeneous tax base for corporate tax rates, Spiegel wrote.
On Friday, Merkel said in a speech at the World Economic Forum in
Davos that “indebtedness is the biggest danger and the biggest risk for
prosperity on this continent.”
“This is why we have to work resolutely against debts, and work
resolutely for enhanced competitiveness,” she stressed.
–Berlin bureau: +49-30-22 62 05 80; email: twidder@marketnews.com
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