Merkel says Hollande relationship is strong
Source: Agencies |
May 17, 2013, Friday
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GERMAN Chancellor Angela Merkel may not have a "bosom friendship" with her French counterpart, she said yesterday, but her working relationship with Francois Hollande was strong and crucial for Europe.
With her foreign minister saying Germany must not act with "Teutonic arrogance" toward its eurozone neighbors, Merkel played down criticism she has received from France's ruling Socialists.
"Living in an open society we must have nuances between conflict and bosom friendship. It seems there is nothing between the two - but the reality is different," Merkel told a conference on Europe in Berlin.
Hollande's party last month called Merkel's leadership in the eurozone crisis "self-centered" in a text - later amended - which revealed the depth of hostility in France provoked by her drive for fiscal austerity.
Germany's ruling conservatives have offered steady criticisms of Hollande's inability to reduce the public deficit.
But Merkel told an audience of politicians and diplomats she had "a good personal relationship" with Hollande and that relations between Europe's two biggest economies "stand on very strong foundations."
Her partnership with Hollande's conservative predecessor Nicolas Sarkozy, which led to the pair being dubbed "Merkozy," was tough to follow.
But Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, who until recently ran summits of the 17 eurozone states, said media reports about hostile body language between Merkel and Hollande were "laughable."
Merkel said she and Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble were both "very optimistic" France would strike the right balance between consolidating its budget and encouraging growth.
With her foreign minister saying Germany must not act with "Teutonic arrogance" toward its eurozone neighbors, Merkel played down criticism she has received from France's ruling Socialists.
"Living in an open society we must have nuances between conflict and bosom friendship. It seems there is nothing between the two - but the reality is different," Merkel told a conference on Europe in Berlin.
Hollande's party last month called Merkel's leadership in the eurozone crisis "self-centered" in a text - later amended - which revealed the depth of hostility in France provoked by her drive for fiscal austerity.
Germany's ruling conservatives have offered steady criticisms of Hollande's inability to reduce the public deficit.
But Merkel told an audience of politicians and diplomats she had "a good personal relationship" with Hollande and that relations between Europe's two biggest economies "stand on very strong foundations."
Her partnership with Hollande's conservative predecessor Nicolas Sarkozy, which led to the pair being dubbed "Merkozy," was tough to follow.
But Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, who until recently ran summits of the 17 eurozone states, said media reports about hostile body language between Merkel and Hollande were "laughable."
Merkel said she and Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble were both "very optimistic" France would strike the right balance between consolidating its budget and encouraging growth.
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