Meeting of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs on the Economic Dialogue and exchange of views with Michel SAPIN, Minister of Finance and Public Accounts of France, in the EP in Brussels. Statements by Burkhard BALZ (EPP, DE),&nbsp; Michel SAPIN, Minister of Finance and Public Accounts of France Elisa FERREIRA (S&amp;D, PT), Bernd LUCKE (ECR, DE) and Dimitrios PAPADIMOULIS (GUE/NGL, EL)

Brussels

exchange of views

meeting

EU - France (T)

Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs

LUCKE, Bernd (ECR, DE)

economic dialogue (T)

economic growth (T)

PAPADIMOULIS, Dimitrios (The Left, EL)

BALZ, Burkhard (EPP, DE)

SAPIN, Michel (FR)

FERREIRA, Elisa (S&D, PT, EC)

Economic Dialogue and exchange of views with Michel SAPIN, Minister of Finance and Public Accounts of France: extracts from the meeting of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs

External shot: flags of the European Parliament building in Brussels. (1shot)

Michel SAPIN arrives at the ECON Committee. (5 shots)

SOUNDBITE (French), Michel SAPIN, Minister of Finance and Public Accounts of France, "France is now ready to meet its agreed budgetary objectives, which are legitimate. After 2012 France is following, and so it will follow until the last day - and that's the responsability of our government today - a reform policy that's a deep, progresive and negotiated one."

SOUNDBITE (French), Michel SAPIN, Minister of Finance and Public Accounts of France, "We have made efforts, in the second part of the year, to cap public expenditure, almost 6 BN euros of savings, and that's what makes the difference between what was foreseen and the final result. And we will follow that path, in the framework of a budgetary austerity programme that is wide but that is also very accurate to avoid having (negative)consecuences on growth."

SOUNDBITE (French), Michel SAPIN, Minister of Finance and Public Accounts of France, "France will deliver on all fronts, also when it comes to reforms. But they will be progresive and negotiated reforms, for them in order to also be durable."

SOUNDBITE (French), Michel SAPIN, Minister of Finance and Public Accounts of France, "Without going as far as a fiscal harmonization, we have to stop now certain profoundly abnormal situations of a fiscal competition that harms everyone. I think that is something widely shared, that France defends, that it defends with a very recent initiative toghether with Germany and Italy. The European Commission is preparing a proposal for more transparency, in particular for the so-called tax rulings. "

SOUNDBITE (German), Burkhard BALZ (EPP, DE), "France has been, as far as I have read, over the last years at a constant level of minus three or four percent, when it comes to the deficit, and so its total amount of debt keeps growing and soon will reach a 100% of GDP. So, I would like to ask you, how do you plan to come under the 60% hurdle to meet the Stability and Growth Pact?"

SOUNDBITE (French), Michel SAPIN, Finance Minister of France, "France comes form a difficult situation from a budget deficit point of view. Germany was in a similar situation at some point and they achieved a much quicker consolidation. We were already in an unfavourable situation even before the 2008-2009 crisis and before every country decided to boost the economy by increasing public expenditure, which was necessary. But, in our country, there has been a cumulation of previous liabilities plus the ones from that period."

SOUNDBITE (Portuguese), Elisa FERREIRA (S&amp;D, PT), "To what extent can the Council, and France from within the Council, help create to have a more fiscally balanced situation in Europe?"

SOUNDBITE (French), Michel SAPIN, Finance Minister of France, "There's something unbearable about being taxed as a citizen or as a company, while watching others avoid being taxed and doing it within the law."

SOUNDBITE (German), Bernd LUCKE (ECR, DE), "There's a quote of the president of the (Fench) Socialist Party, where he says that Mr. Sch&auml;uble shows an: 'unbearable, unacceptable and counter producing aversion to France'. These are tones one wouldn't expect from good friends, from good friends for decades."

SOUNDBITE (French), Michel SAPIN, Minister of Finance and Public Accounts of France, "But that's Europe. We should do in all our countries what is best for each country, respecting national solidarity."

SOUNDBITE (Greek), Dimitrios PAPADIMOULIS (GUE/NGL, EL), "I'm sure that flexibility applies not only to big countries but to all countries."

SOUNDBITE (Greek), Dimitrios PAPADIMOULIS (GUE/NGL, EL), "We need to have a clear message: what's going to happen at the 11 May Eurogroup meeting?"

SOUNDBITE (French), Michel SAPIN, Minister of Finance and Public Accounts of France, "I hope, and that's a widely shared feeling, that the next 11 May will be a positive day, a day when we can show good progress and when we can clear the road towards an agreement, a solution, not the risk of an accident or - even worse - the risk of a negative evolution for Greece and Europe."