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WORLD NEWS Wednesday 20 June 2018

German, French leaders propose Eurozone budget

By DAVID RISING origin while at the same
BERLIN (AP) — The leaders time increasing security at
of Germany and France Europe's outer borders and
agreed Tuesday to cre- cracking down on smug-
ate a Eurozone budget glers.
they hope will boost invest- "Our goal remains a Euro-
ment and provide a safety pean answer to these chal-
mechanism for the 19 na- lenges," she said.
tions using the euro curren- Macron agreed to the
cy, and also to seek a Euro- need for "a European re-
pean solution to migration sponse to the challenge of
issues.The announcement migration," saying Europe
from German Chancellor must have "more capacity"
Angela Merkel and French to monitor its external bor-
President Emmanuel Ma- ders but also more "solidar-
cron came after a meeting ity mechanisms both out-
in Berlin to coordinate the side and inside our borders"
two major powers' positions faced with migrant arrivals.
on the future of the Euro- Both leaders said they
pean Union ahead of next wanted to increase person-
week's EU summit. nel at Frontex, Europe's bor-
Though Merkel had been der security agency.
lukewarm on Macron's idea "We want more sovereignty
of a European budget, in France's President Emmanuel Macron listens to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, right, at a and unity," Macron said.
a declaration adopted by press conference in Berlin, Germany, Tuesday, June 19, 2018. "We're at a moment of truth
both leaders following the Associated Press in Europe."q
meeting they said they had
agreed upon a proposal fectiveness of the Europe- terior minister who has in-
to establish one aimed at an Stability Mechanism, or sisted some categories of
"competitiveness and con- ESM, which was established migrants should be turned
vergence." in 2012 to provide eurozone away at Germany's bor-
"It could finance new in- nations access to financial ders.
vestments and come in assistance in the event of On Monday, a potential cri-
substitution of national crisis. sis was averted after Interior
spending," they said. "We are opening a new Minister Horst Seehofer and
Merkel said the two also chapter," she said. his Bavaria-only Christian
agreed to enhance the ef- Macron said details were Social Union agreed to give
intentionally being kept Merkel two weeks to make
general on the budget deals with other European
idea at the moment, so countries on migrants —
that other member nations specifically after the up-
would be able to have coming EU summit.
their voices heard. He said In their joint declaration,
the idea is for the budget the leaders cautioned that
to be in place by 2021 as a "if member states started to
"backstop to ensure finan- act unilaterally, this would
cial stability." end up in an overall in-
On migration, Merkel's in- crease of migration into Eu-
sistence on finding com- rope."
mon European solutions to Merkel told reporters she
reducing migrant numbers was still convinced that
and other issues has met Europe needed to work
stiff resistance in her own together to combat the
conservative bloc, lead- causes of the refugee flow
ing to a showdown over by helping improve con-
the last week with her in- ditions in the countries of