Eurozone budget discipline
October 1, 2014German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Wednesday it was up to each EU nation to implement sound budget policies that would not jeopardize the credibility of the entire bloc.
Speaking at a business meeting organized by the Federation of German Wholesale, Foreign Trade and Services (BGA) in Berlin, Merkel warned that Europe was not yet at the point where people could say the crisis was fully over.
"Long-term, sustainable growth can only be attained on the basis of solid budget policies," she said, adding that "a resurgence of the eurozone crisis would be a catastrophe in the current global framework."
Staying the course
The German Chancellor's statements came only hours after France announced it would not been able to meet agreed EU deficit targets until 2017.
BGA President Anton Börner said if France was not able to get out of its downward spiral, the euro currency would be in danger.
He called on Merkel not to show any leniency towards the crisis-hit nations in Europe, arguing that a policy of printing more money and amassing more debt would not result in enhanced competitiveness.
hg/cjc (dpa, Reuters)