New French president agrees to work out differences on growth with Merkel
New French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel agreed to work around their differences on how to boost growth in the crisis-ridden Eurozone, and also pledged to put "everything on the table" during a summit of European leaders next week.
Addressing a joint press conference just hours after Hollande's inauguration, the leaders of the eurozone's two largest economies also said they would consider measures to spur economic growth in Greece but as long as the people there committed to the austerity measures required.
In his first diplomatic tryst, Socialist Hollande held an hour-long meeting with Merkel, a conservative, Tuesday. He arrived over an hour late after his plane was hit by lightning and he was forced to return briefly to Paris.
"We share the responsibility for a good development in Europe and I think we will find solutions for individual problems in this spirit," Merkel said.
Hollande said he is willing to build a "balanced" and "respectful" relationship with Germany.
"Carried by this spirit, I believe we will of course find solutions for the different problems," Merkel said.
Hollande said, "Everything should be put on the table" at the May 23 informal summit of EU leaders in Brussels.
"It will be very important that Germany and France present their ideas together at this summit and work closely together to prepare it," Merkel said.
Hollande also reaffirmed his wish for renegotiation of the EU fiscal pact. "I said it during my election campaign and I say it again now as president that I want to renegotiate what has been agreed to include a growth dimension."
In response, Merkel said, "Growth has to feed through to the people. And that's why I'm happy that we'll discuss different ideas on how to achieve growth."
"We want Greece to stay in the euro," Merkel said. Greece has announced fresh elections following the collapse of talks on forming a government.
Source: France News.Net
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