Merkel, Sarkozy highlight financial reforms

German Chancellor Angela Merkel (R) and French President Nicolas Sarkozy attend a joint press conference in Berlin, capital of Germany, June 14, 2010. Merkel and Sarkozy highlighted international financial reforms and narrowed their difference on Monday. (Xinhua/Han Mo)
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy highlighted international financial reforms and narrowed their difference on Monday.

Berlin and Paris will send a joint letter to the G20 leaders to urge for more international financial regulations, including a tax on international financial transactions, said Merkel in a joint news conference with Sarkozy after their talking.

"We're not yet satisfied with what's been achieved since the first G-20 and we think that we have to forge ahead on regulation," Merkel said.

"It must work out," when she talked about the transaction tax, as "it is a precondition to ensure to protect tax payers from having to bail out banks again."

Merkel and Sarkozy further emphasized their positions on reforming EU to promote stability and narrowed their differences on the issue of establishing a European "economic government".

Before the EU summit on Thursday, the two leaders will make a series of joint proposals aiming at "bringing about changes to the culture of stability," Merkel said.

She said both she and Sarkozy agreed that measures of sanction should be added into the current EU treaties to make sure member states live up to their financial commitments.

"An example can be removing the voting rights from those states who seriously eat their words, because EU need treaties with teeth to maintain stability and growth,"Merkel said.


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