GERMANY: French President Jacques Chirac, on a visit to Germany, rejects protectionism claims amid criticism

Record ID: 872750

  • Title: GERMANY: French President Jacques Chirac, on a visit to Germany, rejects protectionism claims amid criticism
  • Date: 15th March 2006
  • Summary: CLOSE UP OF STATUE
  • Embargoed: 30th March 2006 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Germany
  • City:
  • Country: Germany
  • Topics: International Relations
  • Reuters ID: LVA9ZGF4CCDNXJXAETTWZN6RK9EN
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  • Story Text: French President Jacques Chirac rejected accusations on Tuesday (March 14) that France has resorted to protectionism in warding off takeovers from abroad, saying his country was more open to foreign investment than many others in Europe.
    Standing next to Chirac at a joint news conference in Berlin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel steered clear of publicly criticising the French stance.
    Chirac, in Berlin for a biannual meeting of senior French and German government officials, suggested the accusations of protectionism were completely off the mark.
    Chirac said France had more foreign investment than Germany, Italy and others, adding: "France is one of the most liberal countries in Europe from this point of view."
    When asked to comment on speculation of a possible merger between Deutsche Boerse and Paris rival Euronext Merkel said that a Franco-German stock market merger could be "an interesting project".
    "It could be an interesting project, if it came to that," Merkel said, while noting that there were no official negotiations between the bourses at present. Chirac, in similar vein, said: "If this project comes to fruition, it would be interesting."
    In December, Deutsche Boerse and Euronext abandoned talks on a merger amid disagreements on several key issues, including where the headquarters of a combined group would be.
    But last month, Deutsche Boerse head Reto Francioni invited Euronext publicly back into talks, insisting the headquarters of a merged company would not have to be in Frankfurt. Euronext has said that differences remain.
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