Eurozone leaders to hold summit on 11 March
Leaders to discuss “competitiveness pact”.
The 17 leaders of the eurozone will hold a special summit in the evening of 11 March to discuss plans for a new EU ‘competitiveness pact’ being pushed by Germany and France.
The pact is intended to boost the competitiveness of the eurozone through closer co-ordination of national economic policies. The pact calls for eurozone countries to scrap wage indexation, set up a common corporate tax base, mutually recognise professional qualifications and ensure retirement ages are in line with demographic developments.
The pact met strong opposition when it was presented to the EU’s national leaders by Angela Merkel, Germany’s chancellor, and Nicolas Sarkozy, France’s president, on 4 February.
Belgium and Luxembourg opposed scrapping automatic wage indexation. Ireland objected to plans to set up a common corporate tax base. There was also general opposition to the two big countries dictating how other should run their economies.
Sarkozy said last week the aim was to agree on the outlines of the pact amongst the 17 eurozone leaders before presenting it to all 27 EU leaders at a summit on 24-25 March.
The later summit is supposed to agree a package of measures to ensure eurozone stability. They include extending the scope of the eurozone’s €440 billion rescue fund and setting up a permanent crisis mechanism.
Herman Van Rompuy, president of the European Council, has been asked by leaders to prepare the eurozone meeting along with José Manuel Barroso, the president of the European Commission. The two will consult on ways to bolster economic convergence within the eurozone.
The date of the first summit in March has been set so that it takes place after a new Irish government has taken office. Ireland holds national elections on 25 February and a new government will be sworn in on 9 March.