Having noted last week of the rising tensions between the French (pushing forward with plans for a budget deficit that far exceeds EU Treaty rules) and Germany (letting a Frenchman run EU's finances is "an unwise personnel decision") and Brussels (planning to reject the French budget) [7]; it seems the French are unimpressed. As les Echos reports, French finance minister Michel Sapin has proclaimed he won't change the budget, arguing that the EU commission has no power to reject a budget as sovereignty belongs to France's parliament... fighting words for a 'union'! In addition, the EU is now planning to reject Italy's budget, due to its "serious violation" of EU rules.
Italy is now up for rejection:
- ITALY BUDGET PLANS LIKELY TO BE SEEN AS "SERIOUS VIOLATION" OF EU RULES AND REJECTED BY COMMISSION - EU SOURCE
As France previously did, but is now fighting back (as Bloomberg reports),
The EU Commission has no power to reject a budget as sovereignty belongs to France’s parliament, Finance Minister Michel Sapin says in an interview with Les Echos.
France will give nature and calender of planned structural reforms very soon, Sapin says in the interview.
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Which seems odd - let's see the Greeks pull the same game...
Via Les Echos,
The Commission, I believe, has absolutely no power to "reject", "return" or "censor" a budget, as I have read it.
Here as elsewhere, sovereignty rests with Parliament French. About the bullies I hear often uttered anonymously, can only harm Europe ...
France is a responsible country, we can not have the same currency without concern for consistency of budgetary developments in each of our countries.
The euro zone is in a situation of very low growth and very low inflation. With a clear risk of " Japanese-style scenario ."
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The bottom line is that France is arguing that it will run bigger deficits now to ensure better growth in the future and that the EU commission needs to comprehend that and let them off... once more, hope trumps reality - for now we wait to see just how quickly Brussels folds.
Or summing it up in two words, it appears France is telling the EU to "F##k Off" - we'll do what we like! Having learned the lessons of the Greeks as beggars can be choosers...
UPDATE: and it seems the Italians will be saying the same soon.
