respond to his demands for closer European integration.
Martin Schulz, the leader of the Social Democrats
(SPD) and main challenger to Chancellor Angela Merkel in Germany's looming
election, weighed in on Wednesday, backing Macron's idea to create a budget for
the euro zone to fund investments.
His remarks to German weekly Die Zeit followed
comments from Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble on Tuesday suggesting that
some of Macron's ideas were unrealistic because they would require politically
divisive changes to the EU treaty.
The jousting comes a week before Macron is expected to
travel to Berlin to meet with Merkel.
He is expected to take over as president on Sunday, a
week after defeating National Front leader Marine Le Pen, who had threatened to
take France out of the EU and the euro.
During his election campaign, the 39-year-old Macron
promised to reinvigorate the Franco-German relationship and press ahead with
closer integration, including the creation of a finance minister and budget for
the euro zone.
"If the euro group states are to tackle things
together, joint budget financing would be sensible," said Schulz in
support of Macron. "If we want to get out of this endless cycle of
meaningless and resultless summit declarations, we need a strategy for creating
more growth and jobs in the euro zone."
NO "BIG BAZOOKAS"
Macron has said his priority this year will be to
implement economic reforms at home and his aides say he has no plans to begin a
potentially contentious discussion with Berlin on euro zone reform before a new
German government is in place.
"I expect him to be quite open with Merkel about
what he wants to do but also mindful that the election puts the chancellor in a
difficult position. He won't be putting big bazookas on the table," one
person close to Macron told Reuters.
Instead, the person said, Macron could discuss with
Merkel the idea of setting up Franco-German working groups in the coming months
in areas where there is appetite for cooperation, including security and
defense, energy and taxation.
Macron's eagerness to seek a dialogue with Berlin on
Europe, at a time when many economists worry whether the single currency bloc
is sustainable in its current form, hasn't stopped German politicians from
openly criticizing his ideas.
Christian Lindner, the leader of the liberal Free
Democrats (FDP), a potential coalition partner for Merkel if she beats Schulz
in September, told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) on Wednesday that
he expected an "uncomfortable" discussion with Macron on Europe.
"He is for an EU in which responsibilities are
standardized and blurred," Lindner said, accusing Schulz's SPD of
conspiring with Macron to promote higher government debt.
The criticism has also flowed in the other direction.
Top Macron adviser Jean-Pisani Ferry said last week
that Germany's fixation on the idea that other European countries want its
money had clouded its view on the need for closer euro zone integration.
*REUTERS*
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