France And Germany Break Eu Rules

[Craig Read]

France and Germany believe that Europe is a plaything and toy for their ambitions to reassemble the Old Continent to rival US power. Without massive reforms good luck.

Both countries believe that hypocrisy and greasy double dealing are natural. Hence, make contracts to break them. The EU Stability pact was intended to slow down fiscal impropriety. Apparently the Frogs and Teutons don't believe in keeping promises.

This bodes VERY ill for Europe.

Germany and France, the twin economic engines of the euro zone, on Tuesday forced through exceptional measures that will allow them to disregard a restrictive fiscal policy in an attempt to spend their way out of an economic slump.

After a deeply fractious all-night meeting the two countries grudgingly agreed to efforts to contain their budget deficits and avoided the threat of sanctions from the European Commission, but the decision opened a deep rift within the euro zone.

Spain, the Netherlands, Austria and Finland voted against the reprieve plan because they demanded a bigger effort from the zone's two biggest economies to bring their spending back in line within tight budget caps set a 3% of gross domestic product.

The decision also suspended possible disciplinary action against France and Germany for overspending.

EU Monetary Affairs Commissioner Pedro Solbes said the decision went "against the spirit and the letter" of a pact between the euro-zone nations demanding strict budgetary restraint as an economic and monetary policy.

"This was not a victory for Europe," Mr. Solbes said when he entered Tuesday's session of the meeting of EU finance ministers.

Germany agreed to budget cuts of around 0.6% of gross domestic product next year and 0.5% of GDP the following year in an attempt to bring it back within the 3% cap demanded by the commission for 2005