GERMANY HAS denied reports that it wants to create additional EU budgetary watchdogs in member states, parallel to national governments, to prevent spending going off track.
Yesterday Der Spiegel magazine quoted from a finance ministry paper proposing the creation of independent “expert commissions”, comprising academics and economists, to function as an early-warning system against deficit spending.
A finance ministry spokesman said yesterday the report quoted an “internal paper” that did not reflect current political thinking in the German government.
“The finance ministry will not now make new proposals, but instead supports the known proposals of the European Commission,” said a ministry spokesman.
The paper “only presents the opinion of the author”, the spokesman added.
EU member states have already agreed to tougher financial regulation of their national finances, with greater oversight competences for the European Commission on national budgets.
The Berlin paper proposes going further, granting greater direct intervention powers to the EU economic and monetary affairs commissioner – currently Olli Rehn.
In future Mr Rehn, or his successor, should be able to intervene pre-emptively to ensure the implementation of agreed policy – from the existing stability pact to the new fiscal treaty.
The latest suggestion from the finance ministry comes months after German finance minister Wolfgang Schäuble proposed sending a special austerity commissioner to Greece to oversee the implementation of the EU-IMF programme.
The proposal caused uproar in Athens and has not been mentioned since in Berlin.
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