Franco-German meeting

Commenting on the outcome of the meeting between German chancellor Angela Merkel and French president Sarkozy today, Green co-presidents Rebecca Harms and Dany Cohn-Bendit said:

“Another high-level meeting has come and gone, and we are left with another missed opportunity to provide answers to the core issues confronting the Eurozone and the wider European economy. There is an overriding sense of déja-vu, as today's outcome continues the blinkered focus on austerity and fiscal discipline, while ignoring the urgent need for a clear statement of solidarity in the Eurozone.

"The Merkozy deal completely falls short of what is needed to draw a line under the sovereign debt crisis, whether as regards the urgently-needed measures to stanch the contagion or the long-term solidarity measures needed to end the doubt surrounding the Euro's future, namely a commitment to Euro bonds. Merkel seems to be more scared of Euro bonds than of Euro dissolution. Bringing forward the start date for the permanent crisis mechanism (ESM) is another cheap stunt that will again fail to convince the markets in the absence of sufficient firepower.

"The approach of Merkel and Sarkozy also continues to undermine the democratic process in Europe. Any narrow intergovernmental deal, from which the directly-elected European Parliament is excluded, will lack democratic legitimacy, which will make any far-reaching changes even more difficult to accept for Europe's citizens. The Greens in the European Parliament will fight against this democratic roll-back and expect the European Council to correct this aberration."