Euro: EPP Group wants an independent Monetary Fund under Union law

The EPP Group wants the planned European Monetary Fund (EMF) to be independent and integrated into Union law.

"The European Stability Mechanism should be turned into a fully-fledged European Monetary Fund, provide for crisis prevention and conditional support for Member States with difficulties in accessing financial markets, and accompany debt-restructuring processes", said Burkhard Balz MEP, the EPP Group's Spokesman in Parliament's Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs.

The Committee will debate recent proposals today, including Franco-German ones, to reform the Monetary Union and Eurozone with Germany’s Finance Minister and Vice-Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

The EPP Group opposes attempts by some EU Member States to set up the EMF outside EU law as an intergovernmental institution only.

"It is important that its Director is accountable to the European Parliament, while the control held by national parliaments or their rights should not be diminished", Balz said.

We want an external face of the Euro Burkhard Balz MEP

"Also beyond the EMF, it is important to ensure accountability and democratic legitimacy. We want a Vice-President of the European Commission responsible for the EMU who is also the external face of the Euro, and we want Finance Ministers to take full responsibility at national level for the decisions they take in Brussels", Balz stressed.

Balz also recalled that the EPP Group’s response to the debt crisis, consisting of sustainable economic policies and fiscal discipline, has proven to be effective and successful.

"The EU and the Euro area have regained stability and solid growth. This shows that responsible policies and compliance with the Stability and Growth Pact remain the cornerstone of economic prosperity in the EU", said Balz ahead of the debate with Scholz.