In Europe, "we must continue to consolidate" public finances, but given that "the imbalances have halved in the last two years, we can now slow down" and "we can concentrate on measures for growth, in particular as regards taxation". So Olli Rehn in a hearing at the Economics-Labour commission of the EU Parliament.
The vice-president of the Commission then said that "restoring bank lending to the economy must be the priority of politics: it is capital to reduce the debt of households and society", but also "to build bank buffers and find alternative forms of financing for businesses ", measures that are "vital for returning to strong and robust growth", for which "the cooperation of all the member states, as well as the EIB and the ECB is needed".
Meanwhile, German Chancellor Angela Merkel also intervened on European issues, who in unison with Rehn and replying to the accusations about Germany's excessive competitiveness argued - opening the annual conference of the "Sueddeutsche Zeitung" in Berlin - that "intra-European trade it is the basis of our exports and for this reason Germany can only do well if Europe does well too. We therefore have a national interest in Europe recovering and finding more growth”.
