Merkel meets King Juan Carlos, Zapatero in Spain to address the state of the euro

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http://www.eitb.com/news/politics/de...nomic-reforms/

The German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, was in Madrid with six of her ministers on Thursday to jointly preside over the 22nd Bilateral Summit with Spanish Government President José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero. The current economic recession and Spain's recent money-saving reforms are the focus of this year's encounter.

During the meeting, which started at midday at the Zarzuela Palace, the Spanish and German leaders plan to address the current state of the Euro, the credit markets of the sovereign

The Spanish Government, Zapatero disclosed to the German press on Wednesday, wants Germany to lead a genuine economic government of Europe that includes the harmonization of tax policy, employment and retirement age.

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Re: Merkel meets King Juan Carlos, Zapatero in Spain to address the state of the euro

Merkel/Sarkozy

http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,14816108,00.html

German and French leaders hope to convince their counterparts at the European Union summit in Brussels of the need for a deeper harmonization of economic policies.

Securing euro stability

Kietel added that German industry supports measures such as a competitiveness pact that secures the stability of the euro.

The German Chamber of Industry and Commerce (DIHK) shares a similar view. In an e-mail, DIHK economic expert Dirk Schlotböller warned of "a further centralization of competencies in the hands of a European economic government" but agreed with the need for greater economic coordiantion among member states and for sanctions to force their compliance.

Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: The euro has been up and down; European businesses want stabilityGerman industry has every reason to support the single currency. The euro area is its single biggest market, accounting for 43 percent of its exports.

Shipments of cars, train and chemicals, for instance, have more than doubled since the euro was introduced. More recently, they helped Daimler, Siemens and BASF to bounce back from the credit crisis stronger than ever.

At the Detroit auto show last month, Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche conceded that while many German taxpayers have been critical of the their government's willingness to help bail out Greece and Ireland, "the German economy is doing well and wouldn't have been in this situation without the euro."