The German and French finance ministers, Christian Lindner and Bruno Le Maire, said on Monday 25 July that their two countries were deploying “exactly the same strategy” to deal with the economic repercussions of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
According to Mr Le Maire, who was awarded the Verdienstkreuz in Berlin on the same day, this strategy is based on three pillars: - support, for a limited time, for those most affected by inflation and in particular rising energy prices; - pursue “structural reforms” that help reduce unemployment and increase the competitiveness of companies; - return to “sound public finances”.
Mr Le Maire said that, in the stability programme he will present shortly, the French government was “determined” to respect the objective of bringing the public deficit below 3% of national GDP by 2027. And he advocated unfailing “solidarity” between France and Germany.
Also advocating a return to robust public finances, Mr Lindner noted that Germany had agreed to return to the use of the ‘debt brake’ in its constitution in 2023.
The two ministers did not welcome an increase in taxation to deal with the current situation. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)