The German Minister of Finance, Wolfgang Schäuble, thinks that the euro zone won't recover for another two years. So financial instability in the area will be a main focus of the G-8 summit at the end of this week. If anything characterizes the German minister, it is that he does not speak ambiguously, despite the fact that on occasions he makes his European counterparts suspicious.
Schäuble has created a well-defined action plan for the crisis and evinced a clear interest that political changes in France do not alter collective action between France and Germany, who are euro zone leaders. He has delivered this message countless times to German authorities during the past several days in order to make it clear that mere elections cannot jeopardize past collaboration between the core of the EU.
The German formula originates from the principle that France and Germany, as pillars and partners, are obligated to come together and are demanded of those who belong to any club.
This collective effort seems inevitable and necessary, so each country must resolve its individual problems as soon as possible. The EU barely escaped a recession in the first quarter thank to Germany growing by 0.5%, and Schäube is proud that he knows what characteristics promote solid growth: clean balance sheets and strong competitiveness.
He recommends these characteristics to his EU partners so that all countries may achieve sustainable growth. In a wink to France's new president, Francois Hollande, Schäube admits to being open to considering proposals that increase growth and reduce unemployment so long as they align with his plan. Merkel and Hollande know that they will have to come together in order to get through this tough time for the euro zone.
