Has Germany finally started to shift its position on the future of the Eurozone? Speaking today, at a conference for the German equivalent of the CBI, Chancellor Angela Merkel appeared to open the door to a new form of governance for the 19-country bloc. Since the financial crisis, the common currency zone has bounced from crisis to crisis, surviving by kicking the can down the road at each critical moment. It has long been obvious that major institutional changes were required to ensure the currency’s long-term viability.
During the recent French presidential election campaign, the euro was an important political issue: Marine Le Pen proposed restoring the French franc (albeit in parallel with the single currency); while Emmanuel Macron was a strong defender of the euro and the EU overall. After his election, he doubled down on his EU flag flying but used his victory to call for reforms to the Eurozone and for a ‘relaunch’ of Europe.
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James Delingpole
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Macron said the Eurozone was incomplete – ‘half pregnant’ – and called for changes including a specific parliament (potentially made up of relevant MEPs), a joint budget, and a shared finance minister.
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