France, Germany Mull Creation of Joint Eurozone Finance Ministry

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — In a guest article for the Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper, Deutsche Bundesbank’s Jens Weidmann and Banque de France‘s Francois Villeroy de Galhau warned that the monetary union was "at a crossroads" and needed profound structural reforms to boost growth.

"A common finance ministry for the euro area in connection with an independent fiscal council, as well as the creation of a stronger political body that can take political decisions and is subject to parliamentary supervision" were some of the measures that, the central bankers said, would restore the "balance between liability and control."

Should member states balk at the proposal to further integrate, the only remaining option left open to the monetary union to create long-term sustainable growth would be a "decentralized approach based on personal responsibility with stricter rules," the bankers asserted.

Earlier this month, the European Commission cut this year’s forecast for economic growth in the eurozone. It predicted growth within the bloc would continue at a moderate rate and be driven mostly by consumption.