- Title: France and Germany united on strategy to fight global slowdown: French minister
- Date: 19th September 2019
- Summary: PARIS, FRANCE (FILE - AUGUST 30, 2016) (REUTERS) FRENCH FINANCE MINISTRY BUILDING FRENCH AND EUROPEAN FLAGS ON MAST
- Embargoed: 3rd October 2019 13:34
- Keywords: France Germany Bruno Le Maire Olaf Scholz Peter Altmaier finance ministers trade tensions United States
- Location: PARIS AND TOULOUSE FRANCE / UNKNOWN LOCATION / RENTON, WASHINGTON AND WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES
- City: PARIS AND TOULOUSE FRANCE / UNKNOWN LOCATION / RENTON, WASHINGTON AND WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES
- Country: France
- Topics: Government/Politics,International Trade
- Reuters ID: LVA007AXBQLVR
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: PLEASE NOTE: THIS EDIT CAN BE USED IN CONJUNCTION WITH EDIT 4171-FRANCE-GERMANY/ECONOMY UPDATE, WHICH CONTAINS SOUNDBITES OF SCHOLZ AND ALTMAIER
France and Germany are agreed on a strategy to respond to a global economic slowdown at a time of international trade problems but differ over how fast to move, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Thursday (September 19).
French policymakers are growing anxious as Germany, Europe's largest economy, dithers over how to pull itself back from the brink of recession, and they want Berlin to do more with its budget surplus to engineer a recovery.
In a news conference alongside Germany's finance and economy ministers, Le Maire said the strategy was based on three pillars: "keep reducing public debt where it is necessary. And it is the case in France; keep pursuing structural reforms, as we are doing in France; have budget policies that can take up the baton from monetary policy."
However, Le Maire said that while there was agreement on the approach there remained an open debate on the timeframe for action.
Addressing the subsidy row between European planemaker Airbus and rival Boeing, Le Maire said Paris and Berlin both hoped for an amicable solution while acknowledging the European Union may face U.S. sanctions.
"If our American friends keep on not wanting a friendly solution and impose sanctions against Europe, then Europe will have no other choice but to respond," Le Maire said.
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