Eurofile: Chirac wants to get out of Brussels straitjacket

[Llewlladdwr]

Eurofile: Chirac wants to get out of Brussels straitjacket
By Philip Delves Broughton
(Filed: 30/08/2003)

Eleven years after France signed the Maastricht Treaty it has decided it has had enough of its obligations. The straitjacket of the stability pact, which paved the way for the euro, is bound too tight for an economic downturn, it has told Brussels.

So instead of suffering for the common European good, President Chirac has decided to bust out, to let his deficits soar and try to spend his way to an economic recovery.

It is hard to know what lesson Sweden is to draw from this as it prepares to vote on Sept 14 on whether to start using the euro. Is every country that uses the single currency allowed to behave like this?

Was not the very purpose of the stability pact to ensure a collective economic responsibility? What if every country decided to cheer up their depressed economies with a credit card binge?

More:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2003/08/30/wfile30.xml&sSheet=/news/2003/08/30/ixworld.html

[Kellanved]

1. Germany will back this most likely

Two of the economically most important EU nations won't meet the 3% dept limit this year.
Germany is expecting 3.8% .

[coralrf]

2. I think we should learn to read...

"Eleven years after France signed the Maastricht Treaty it has decided it has had enough of its obligations."

Who said that? Did President Chirac say that? No.

But from this wingnut article you are to infer that he did.

"had enough of its obligations". Read: The French are abandoning responsibly. When will we grow tired of and ignore those that quote ghosts, misconstrue quotes and fabricate intentions in their efforts to bash the French?

Nice try but I am not buying.

[Paschall]

3. This is what you can expect...

...from what our British friends call the "Torygraph."

On the other hand, a lot of our economic problems in France have not been helped by Chirac's pro-business government, with it's "cut taxes and privatize" model. He well deserves his share of blame here. The Socialists under Lionel Jospin left the French economy in better shape than it had been in years. Chirac has trashed it, and is still attempting to trash a lot of our social safety net. He cut funding to nursing homes and raised requirements for at-home assistance for the elderly in February, measures which--in hindsight after last month's killer heat wave--speak volumes.