Turkophagos
05-01-2012, 11:00 PM
http://www.athensnews.gr/sites/athensnews/files/imagecache/group4_410x//sites/athensnews/files/FHolland.jpg
Greece has reached the limits of what it can take and needs to be put on a path to development, the Socialist candidate in the French presidential election said on Wednesday.
Describing the situation in Greece as a "vicious cycle", Francois Holland said that the country was in the midst of "a very bad recession".
"It cannot take any more. Whatever the sacrifices, they are important … [but] they are not having the results in terms of deficit reduction desired by the international community and Europe."
"We need to lighten the burden" on Greece, said Holland, who led in Sunday's first round of the election, adding that if beats President Nicholas Sarkozy in the run-off election on May 6, he would " convince the Greeks – after they have voted – of the need for stability and coherence".
In a strong indication that he believes more can be done to help Greece get back on track to development, Holland said: "Greece cannot utilise [EU] structural funds because it cannot support the components that are required for this. So we need to ensure that Greece can rediscover a level of growth."
At a presidential-style news conference in Paris, the self-confident favourite said that leaders across Europe were awaiting his election to back away from German-inspired austerity, and he welcomed a call by ECB President Mario Draghi for a growth pact.
Fiscal pact needs reform
Hollande says a budget discipline treaty signed by 25 EU leaders in March would plunge Europe into a deep recession.
He said he would set out his ideas for reforming the pact in a letter to European leaders the very next day.
"On this front things are already moving forward. Before Sunday's election, heads of state were already starting to say what I was proposing - the ambition for growth, the willingness to include more in the treaty than just fiscal discipline and sanctions," Hollande said.
"Today many heads of state and government are waiting for the French election to open these discussions," he said, citing Spain and Italy among countries resisting excessive austerity.
Insisting that he was not questioning the principle of balanced budgets, Hollande said he would have a "firm and friendly" discussion with Merkel on the pace of fiscal consolidation.
In the first clear indication that he would not necessarily seek to change the existing text, he said that whether a growth pact was added to the treaty or agreed in a separate document was a matter for negotiation, he said.
Hollande said his letter to EU leaders would suggest four changes, including the creation of joint European bonds to finance infrastructure projects and greater investment by the European Investment Bank (EIB).
He also backed a financial transaction tax levied by like-minded countries to help fund youth and education projects and a more efficient deployment of EU regional development resources.
Hollande welcomed Draghi's call for a "growth compact" in the European Parliament on Wednesday, although he recognised that the central bank chief did not necessarily envisage the same kinds of measures he was advocating.
Draghi did not question the thrust of the fiscal compact – of which he was a leading advocate. He has long argued in favour of structural reforms to labour, goods and services markets, which would increase the flexibility of European economies and their growth potential.
"This goes in the direction which I was talking about," Hollande said. "He is not necessarily talking about the same measures as me to stimulate growth."
http://www.athensnews.gr/portal/11/55175
Greece has reached the limits of what it can take and needs to be put on a path to development, the Socialist candidate in the French presidential election said on Wednesday.
Describing the situation in Greece as a "vicious cycle", Francois Holland said that the country was in the midst of "a very bad recession".
"It cannot take any more. Whatever the sacrifices, they are important … [but] they are not having the results in terms of deficit reduction desired by the international community and Europe."
"We need to lighten the burden" on Greece, said Holland, who led in Sunday's first round of the election, adding that if beats President Nicholas Sarkozy in the run-off election on May 6, he would " convince the Greeks – after they have voted – of the need for stability and coherence".
In a strong indication that he believes more can be done to help Greece get back on track to development, Holland said: "Greece cannot utilise [EU] structural funds because it cannot support the components that are required for this. So we need to ensure that Greece can rediscover a level of growth."
At a presidential-style news conference in Paris, the self-confident favourite said that leaders across Europe were awaiting his election to back away from German-inspired austerity, and he welcomed a call by ECB President Mario Draghi for a growth pact.
Fiscal pact needs reform
Hollande says a budget discipline treaty signed by 25 EU leaders in March would plunge Europe into a deep recession.
He said he would set out his ideas for reforming the pact in a letter to European leaders the very next day.
"On this front things are already moving forward. Before Sunday's election, heads of state were already starting to say what I was proposing - the ambition for growth, the willingness to include more in the treaty than just fiscal discipline and sanctions," Hollande said.
"Today many heads of state and government are waiting for the French election to open these discussions," he said, citing Spain and Italy among countries resisting excessive austerity.
Insisting that he was not questioning the principle of balanced budgets, Hollande said he would have a "firm and friendly" discussion with Merkel on the pace of fiscal consolidation.
In the first clear indication that he would not necessarily seek to change the existing text, he said that whether a growth pact was added to the treaty or agreed in a separate document was a matter for negotiation, he said.
Hollande said his letter to EU leaders would suggest four changes, including the creation of joint European bonds to finance infrastructure projects and greater investment by the European Investment Bank (EIB).
He also backed a financial transaction tax levied by like-minded countries to help fund youth and education projects and a more efficient deployment of EU regional development resources.
Hollande welcomed Draghi's call for a "growth compact" in the European Parliament on Wednesday, although he recognised that the central bank chief did not necessarily envisage the same kinds of measures he was advocating.
Draghi did not question the thrust of the fiscal compact – of which he was a leading advocate. He has long argued in favour of structural reforms to labour, goods and services markets, which would increase the flexibility of European economies and their growth potential.
"This goes in the direction which I was talking about," Hollande said. "He is not necessarily talking about the same measures as me to stimulate growth."
http://www.athensnews.gr/portal/11/55175