Brussels, 01/09/2015 (Agence Europe) - The Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs, Pierre Moscovici, is in favour of merging the posts of super-Minister of Finance of the eurozone and European Commissioner.
“For years, I have argued in favour of better eurozone governance, with a specific government with its own budget for more convergence”, Moscovici said in Paris on Tuesday 1 September, at a press conference at the headquarters of the Permanent Representation of the European Commission, AFP reports. In particular, according to the former French finance minister, this eurozone government would act “under the authority of a kind of eurozone finance minister who, as far as I am concerned, could be a member of the European Commission”.
Moscovici is therefore going a bit further than the suggestions made the day before by the French minister for the economy, Emmanuel Macron, regarding the creation of the post of finance minister for the euro with extended competences (see EUROPE 11371). This could be achieved by merging two competencies which are currently separate, along the lines of what was done in the field of foreign affairs, with the creation of the position of High Representative of the EU.
The European Commissioner also argued in favour of the creation of a “eurozone parliament to create greater legitimacy and proximity to the European people”. (Mathieu Bion)