Leaders of euro zone's biggest economies back multi-speed Europe

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Leaders of euro zone's biggest economies back multi-speed Europe

By Elizabeth Pineau

REUTERS

 

French President Francois Hollande welcomes German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Spain's Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy (2ndR) and Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni (L) during arrivals for a Franco-German-Italian-Spanish summit ahead of upcoming EU Summit, in Versailles, near Paris, France, March 6, 2017. REUTERS/Martin Bureau/Pool

 

VERSAILLES, France (Reuters) - The leaders of the euro zone's four biggest economies threw their weight behind a multi-speed Europe on Monday as the European Union ponders a future without Britain.

 

The leaders of France, Germany, Italy and Spain met at the palace of Versailles to prepare for a March 25 EU summit in Rome marking the 60th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome, which paved the way for European integration.

 

The event has been overshadowed by a series of crises for the EU, including Britain's shock vote to leave, financial trauma and how to handle migration flows.

 

EU founder members France, Germany and the Netherlands all hold elections this year in which anti-EU and anti-immigration parties hope concerns over security and immigration will help them to gains that could reshape the continent's politics.

 

French President Francois Hollande called for unity among the remaining 27 EU members in the wake of Britain's vote to leave, but said this did not mean uniformity.

 

He called for new forms of cooperation to allow some EU countries to push ahead more quickly in areas such as defence, deepening of economic and monetary union or tax harmonisation.

 

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, standing alongside the other three leaders, said the EU risked running into trouble unless it allowed members to participate at varying levels of intensity.

 

"We need to have the courage for some countries to go ahead if not everyone wants to participate. A Europe of different speeds is necessary, otherwise we will probably get stuck," Merkel said.

 

"If Europe gets stuck and doesn't develop further, then this work of peace may run into danger faster than one might think," she said.

 

EU chief executive Jean-Claude Juncker, who last week presented options for reforming the bloc that will be discussed at the Rome summit, has spoken positively of some states pushing ahead more quickly with integration.

 

But some governments, especially in the poorer east, fear this could entrench divisions to their disadvantage.

 

Speaking in Versailles, Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni also backed different levels of integration to allow Europe to provide different responses to different ambitions.

 

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said Spain was ready to go further with integration "with all those that wish to pursue that integration".

 

"In my opinion, it is necessary to complete the banking union ... it is essential to deepen the coordination of economic policies to make our economies more competitive,” he said.

 

(Additional reporting by Michelle Martin in Berlin, Jesus Aguado in Madrid, Isla Binnie in Rome; Editing by Adrian Croft and Alison Williams)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-03-07

[smedly]

2 speed Europe - sounds more to me like certain members are banding together to protect their own interests after brexit and abandon the rest

[Baerboxer]

5 hours ago, smedly said:

2 speed Europe - sounds more to me like certain members are banding together to protect their own interests after brexit and abandon the rest

 

Of course. More and ever closer unity means you become subordinate and do as told by Brussels which in turn is managed by Germany.  They need to support of the French, for appearances, and Italy and Spain make up the numbers. Belgium, Netherlands and Lxumbourg might get peeved if their not given seats at the new top table.

 

Imagine a EU run even more to benefit certain countries rather than all members, with a more unified military under the control and command of those top tier elite states, who also determine financial and future policies. 

All member states are equal, but some are more equal!

[Grouse]

I think you will find increased flexibility and many changes to avoid brittle fracture. Toughness is not necessarily hardness!

 

Please may I ask contributors to pay a bit of attention to grammar and punctuation? Some posts are difficult to decode. Sorry, old age I guess!

[Retiredandhappyhere]

5 hours ago, Grouse said:

I think you will find increased flexibility and many changes to avoid brittle fracture. Toughness is not necessarily hardness!

 

Please may I ask contributors to pay a bit of attention to grammar and punctuation? Some posts are difficult to decode. Sorry, old age I guess!

May I ask some contributors to be a little less pompous and condescending towards others who are possibly slightly less educated and/or knowlegable than themselves  and, in particular, to realise that English is not necessarily the first language of all members of this forum.  

 

As a 75 year-old, I refuse to apologise for having been born so long ago.