Bye-bye, euro: France’s Macron says European currency may vanish in 10 years
The European currency may cease to exist in 10 years without significant economic reforms, mainly by France and Germany, according to French presidential candidate and former economy minister Emmanuel Macron.
“The truth is that we must collectively recognize that the euro is incomplete and cannot last without major reforms,” Macron said in a speech at Humboldt University in Berlin on Tuesday, as cited by Reuters.
Speaking on the fiasco of the single European currency, he stated that it failed to provide Europe with “full international sovereignty against the dollar on its rules,” and “a natural convergence between the different member states.”
Macron said that Germany and France are the two main powers that are able to change the situation. He believes that France must reform its labor market and education system to revive economic growth. As for Germany, the politician said the failing euro is currently benefitting Germany at the expense of weaker member states.
“The dysfunctioning of the euro is of good use to Germany,” he stated, noting that in order for things to change, the country should turn to investment instead of austerity. The German government under Chancellor Angela Merkel, for instance, has been strongly and consistently opposed to extending aid to countries in crisis.
An outspoken advocate of European integration, Macron also mentioned the lack of trust between France and Germany, which in his words is hindering euro zone reforms which could bolster solidarity among its 19 members and strengthen the euro. Likening the current status of the single currency to “a weak Deutsche Mark,” he said the creation of a euro zone budget could save the day for the euro. This budget could finance growth-oriented investments throughout the bloc and assist member states with weaker economies.
“I could tell you that Europe is out of date – it would be easier. Talking about turning the tables and using hard talk against Germans seems to be great politics in my country.
“We need a political willingness to move forward,” the politician also noted.
Macron said that if elected, he would back “strong” reforms and push for cooperation with Germany.
“There is a French responsibility to fix the situation. I will assume my responsibilities. France will assume its responsibilities. And I do trust Germany,” he said.
“I could tell you that Europe is out of date – it would be easier. Talking about turning the tables and using hard talk against Germans seems to be great politics in my country.
“We need a political willingness to move forward,” the politician also noted.
Macron said that if elected, he would back “strong” reforms and push for cooperation with Germany.
“There is a French responsibility to fix the situation. I will assume my responsibilities. France will assume its responsibilities. And I do trust Germany,” he said.
Macron, a 39-year-old French politician who resigned from his post as economy minister under President Francois Hollande last year, formed the political movement “En Marche!” (Foward!) to pursue his own centrist political agenda.
He has been steadily gaining popularity in recent polls, where he comes in third, close behind Marine Le Pen of the far-right National Front, and the leader, the Republican Party’s Francois Fillon.
According to economists worldwide polled by Reuters in December, the upcoming elections in Germany, France, and the Netherlands pose a potential threat to the euro, which could further challenge the EU status quo in 2017, adding to the economic effects from the planned UK exit from the Union.
In October, Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz published a book describing the euro as a threat to the future of Europe. He wrote that the single currency as designed to hold together a region with enormous economic and political diversity is almost incapable of working, and suggested Europe break up the euro, creating two different currencies for northern and southern member countries to save the bloc.
Another Nobel Prize-winning economist, Oliver Hart, last month suggested that the EU should start decentralizing and handing back the right of decision-making to its member states, saying that “the euro was a mistake.”
