Trichet Proposes European Finance Ministry |
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June 2, 2011
European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet, setting out a vision for the future of the euro, proposed deeper European intervention in the economic policies of euro-zone countries struggling with debt crises.
European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet, setting out a vision for the future of the euro, proposed deeper European intervention in the economic policies of euro-zone countries struggling with debt crises. In a speech accepting the Charlemagne prize for European unity, Mr. Trichet said the "union of tomorrow" could include veto power for European institutions over national budgets, and even a common European finance ministry to shape countries' economic policies. Mr. Trichet's bold ideas are unlikely to prevail anytime soon. His repeated pleas for a "quantum leap" in the enforcement of fiscal discipline were rebuffed last year by national governments eager to keep their powers to set economic policy. Smaller euro countries balked at a plan by France and Germany early this year that would have imposed common economic measures to improve competitiveness.
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