Brussels, 31/07/2014 (Agence Europe) - On the fringes of an official visit to Rome on Thursday 31 July, French Economy Minister Michel Sapin said that there was total convergence of views between France and Italy on how public deficits in the eurozone should be treated.
France shares the Italian Presidency's priority of striking a better balance betweenthe serious business of the budget and supporting growth and there is total convergence between France and Italy over what needs to be put into action, said Sapin ahead of a meeting with a number of Italian politicians, including his counterpart Pier Carlo Padoan. Sapin added, however, that this did not mean sweeping all European rules aside, but rather of using existing flexibility. He said he wanted finance ministers to discuss the role of the euro as a global currency, a question that is very important to France following the hefty fines on French bank BNP Paribas issued by the US justice system for transactions in dollars that broke US embargoes. Paris wants to see the euro promoted as a trading currency. Economists and international institutions are predicting growth of 0.7% this year in France and 0.2% in Italy. (LC)