- Title: Germany's Schaeuble tells Brussels don't criticise us, we have spent
- Date: 22nd November 2016
- Summary: BERLIN, GERMANY (NOVEMBER 22, 2016) (REUTERS) SCHAEUBLE TALKING, SEEN WITH REFLECTION WIDE OF SCHAEUBLE TALKING
- Embargoed: 7th December 2016 11:17
- Keywords: Schaeuble EU European Commission tax dumping
- Location: BERLIN, GERMANY
- City: BERLIN, GERMANY
- Country: Germany
- Topics: European Union,Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA00759J0O0D
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: The European Commission's call for fiscal stimulus should not be aimed at Germany, Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said on Tuesday (November 22), arguing Europe's biggest economy has increased investment more than the eurozone average in the last decade.
"I think the EU Commission's recommendations are addressed at the wrong country," Schaeuble told the Bundestag lower house, adding that investment in Germany grew 3.9 percent a year between 2005 and 2015, compared to a rise of 0.7 percent in the eurozone.
He added that increases in tax revenues would slow in coming years and interest rates would not get any lower, giving Germany less fiscal room for manoeuvre.
Schaeuble also aimed some barbed comments at the European Commission over its political role and regulatory powers. This is not the first time Schaeuble has criticised the Commission for not always, in his view, finding the right balance between its political function and its role as a guardian of the European Treaties.
Schaeuble also recognised the additional budget spending necessary to fund the growing need for domestic an external security. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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