- Title: France will respect EU budget rules, Finance Minister Le Maire says
- Date: 10th July 2017
- Summary: BRUSSELS, BELGIUM (FILE) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF THE EUROPEAN COUNCIL JUSTUS LIPSIUS BUILDING SIGN READING (French & Dutch): "European Council"
- Embargoed: 24th July 2017 15:21
- Keywords: President labour law Finance Minister EU economic reforms Emmanuel Macron Ecofin Bruno Le Maire budget rules
- Location: BRUSSELS, BELGIUM
- City: BRUSSELS, BELGIUM
- Country: Belgium
- Topics: Budget/Taxation/Revenue,Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA0016P4Y3WN
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Monday (July 10) France will respect European Union budget rules and will also push for economic reforms, starting with labour laws.
Le Maire told reporters on his arrival to a regular meeting of euro zone finance ministers in Brussels that the French government will push for the country's "economic transformation," including the reform of labour laws. The structural changes will help meet budget targets, he said.
The comments came as the French government is expected to push ahead with tax cuts promised by President Emmanuel Macron.
The cuts are a key plank of Macron's economy-boosting reforms, but their timing was thrown into doubt last week when Prime Minister Edouard Philippe suggested the government could not afford to launch them as soon as next year.
A delay was raised after the public audit office said a budget shortfall left by former president Francois Hollande's government would result in a deficit of 3.2 percent of national output this year compared with the Hollande government's forecast of 2.8 percent.
Macron has promised to meet the EU's three percent target in 2017, in what would be the first time in a decade France falls in line with the European deficit ceiling. - Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
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