Brussels, 11/02/2013 (Agence Europe) - The head of the Eurogroup, Jeroen Dijsselbloem, said upon arrival in Brussels on Monday 11 February that the euro exchange rate might be discussed by eurozone finance ministers at their meeting later that day when the economic situation in the eurozone comes under discussion but refused to comment on it himself.
French Economy Minister Pierre Moscovici is unhappy about the way the high euro exchange rate is penalising countries like France whose exports are not particularly specialised. He said that there had to be a call at global level for a coordinated approach to ensure stable exchange rates and exchange rates that reflect the fundamentals of world economies. He admitted that the reason for the rise in the euro was positive, due to returning confidence in the eurozone, but were also due to aggressive practices by other currencies.
In two months, the yen has lost nearly 20% against the euro and more than 10% against the dollar, raising fears of a currency war to boost competitiveness by facilitating exports. The Eurogroup, followed by the ECOFIN Council on Tuesday, is expected to give the EU27 a negotiating mandate for the G20 Finance summit in Moscow at the end of the week.
Expressing views similar to those of Germany, Luxembourg's finance minister, Luc Frieden, said the question of a strong euro was “interesting”, because a year ago it was the very survival of the euro that was being discussed. He said it was the best sign that the euro is here to stay, is stable and is the subject of great interest in the world, adding that the exchange rate could not be decided by the Eurogroup unilaterally. He did not feel this was a matter of concern or that statements were required at this stage.
Under Article 219 of the EU Treaty, the Council of Ministers can decide via a unanimous vote on an exchange rate system for the euro against other currencies. (MB/transl.fl)