Press Release – The eurozone needs automatic sanctions

The UK should support Germany in its push for automatic eurozone sanctions.

At the beginning of the latest make-or-break week for the eurozone, the biggest political fault line is between France and Germany on how to enforce greater fiscal discipline in the eurozone.  President Sarkozy wants ‘political control’; Chancellor Merkel wants automatic enforcement by the European Commission and the European Court of Justice.

Phillip Souta, Director of BNE, said, “For the plan to be credible, Mrs. Merkel must have her way on common rules for all the eurozone’s members.  France can only protect its ‘triple A’ credit rating – and save the tens of billions of euros that a downgrade would mean for its debt interest payments – by giving up its exceptionalist position.”

He went on to say, “It looks likely that Germany will not stop the European Central Bank from standing behind the euro if Mario Draghi so chooses, and that it will ultimately endorse some form of eurobond, however, the price it rightly demands is automatic sanctions enforced by the Commission and the ECJ.”

Phillip Souta concluded, “We are starting to see the final shape of the euro emerge.  Mrs. Merkel wants the currency to be managed within the institutions of the EU27; Mr. Sarkozy within the intergovernmental 17.  The UK has sensibly dropped talk of demanding powers back; now the Prime Minister should stand behind the Commission and the German Chancellor as they push for a rules-based solution to the crisis with the institutions of the wider EU27.”

 

Notes to Editors

- Business for New Europe is a coalition of pro European British business leaders who articulate a positive case for reform in Europe.  We comment on European issues that have an impact on the UK.  For a list of our members, please follow this link http://www.bnegroup.org/about/people

- For media enquiries, please contact Paul O’Hagan on paul.ohagan@bnegroup.org  or contact +44 (0)7944 572 351.  Phillip Souta can be contacted directly on +44 (0)78 8788 6437.