Emmanuel Macron to outline Eurozone reform plan in push for integration
Today, Emmanuel Macron will outline his case to reform the Eurozone.
Macron has pushed changes, like a stabilisation fund worth 1-2% of the Eurozone’s GDP, to support governments faced with asymmetric economic shocks. This would serve to cushion the blow on the entire monetary union, should one country face an extreme economic crisis. To streamline the management of such a fund, Macron has proposed the creation of a finance minister apart from the European Central Bank, the entity that monitors the euro and administers monetary policy for the Eurozone.
The reforms have received mixed reviews. Smaller, more economically volatile countries, like Greece, have been somewhat receptive to the reforms. Berlin has been somewhat hesitant to adopt such steep measures, as it does not wish to shoulder the burden of other countries’ debt.
In recent months, Chancellor Merkel has warmed to some of the French president’s proposals. With the Eurozone’s two biggest economies on similar pages, it is likely that some of Macron’s reforms, like a common finance minister, will be pushed through. A large stabilisation fund– or anything else resembling the establishment of a collective debt– will face opposition from Germany.
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