At a meeting in Madrid on Thursday 26 July, the President of the French Republic, Emmanuel Macron, and the Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, reiterated their commitment to deepening Economic and Monetary Union (EMU).
Sánchez spoke first to address a press conference, repeating the traditional declarations of the leaders of the European Union and of the Commission stating that the decisions concerning the deepening of EMU should be taken today, particularly as regards Banking Union and reforms concerning the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), in a favourable economic context. The head of the Spanish government also said that he shares the French President's “obsession” with creating a fiscal capacity for the Eurozone, as set out in the Franco-German roadmap on the future of EMU in June (see EUROPE 12044). “Like France, Spain is resolutely in favour of an ambitious future” for the Eurozone, Macron said.
The French President also stressed the need to make the decisions on EMU as soon as possible. He went on to express his hopes of arranging “regular meetings” of the heads of state or government during the autumn, leading into a conclusive summit in December.
Readers may recall that on 29 June of this year, the European leaders gave the Eurogroup a mandate to make specific proposals by the end of the year on reforms of the architecture of the ESM, for instance concerning the common backstop of the Single Resolution Fund (SRF) and the resumption of political discussions on the European Deposit Insurance Scheme (EDIS) (see EUROPE 12052). (Original version in French by Lucas Tripoteau)