Fiscal Union Quotes

Economic necessity will override patriotism and cause the nations of Western Europe to band together--if not under a single government, then certainly in a close politico-economic alliance

When Texans suffered from the collapse of the oil market in the 1980s, they could rely on the fiscal union to help them. When Texas boomed with rising oil prices in the 2000s, it contributed to the union to help harder hit regions.

Europe must dissipate any doubts over the euro, affirm that the euro is an irreversible project and act in consequence.

It's political glue inside Europe to keep it together - the euro is the best thing going for it since the creation of the common market.

What we should be doing in the EU as a whole is more economic integration in the single market, rather than less.

There are so many problems in the E.U. that several countries are warming up to the idea that after the single currency, a deeper integration could also be created.

Berlin has traditionally backed a rules-based eurozone in which every member state is responsible for its own finances, including bank bailouts, with political union limited to a fiscal overlord's possessing veto power over national budgets that violate the rules.

I think that France has not made it clear enough recently to our German friends how important it is to introduce euro bonds as a tool against speculation. And how the necessary budget discipline needs to be accompanied by growth.

Germany is the biggest economy of Europe and we need Germany on board for the economic reforms of Europe, including, of course, the deepening of the internal market, resisting protectionism, and supporting further economic policy coordination.

In order to consolidate the euro we need to harmonise our economic, fiscal and social policies, hence we are going toward greater integration.

The U.S. fiscal union has worked, in no small part, by enabling subsidies to the Mississippis without requiring the approval of the Minnesotas. It creates an important form of insurance.

Nations with a common currency never went to war against each other. A common currency is more than the money you pay with.

A common currency imposes on us a duty to cooperate more on policy.

Eurobonds are absolutely wrong. In order to bring about common interest rates, you need similar competitiveness levels, similar budget situations. You don't get them by collectivizing debts.

The idea seems to be to use the next treaty talks to strike a grand bargain: Britain will be helpful to those states wishing to establish a fiscal union among themselves if, in exchange, we can amicably derogate from the aspects of the EU which we dislike.

Massive progress has been made in the last five years. More progress has to be made in terms of fiscal union and banking union.

In order for the E.U. area to stay together, they needed to form a banking union, which meant they needed to have a common credible deposit insurance guarantee for everybody in the E.U. area.

At this time - we're in a dramatic crisis - euro bonds are precisely the wrong answer. They lead us into a debt union, not a stability union. Each country has to take its own steps to reduce its debt.

It will not be possible to solve the current crisis with euro bonds.

The euro zone must strike for a better governance structure, and there is no alternative to that. Euro zone countries must either develop an exit mechanism for troubled members, or it should embrace a closer political union: an effective governance structure that is capable of enforcing rules.

The euro is not a currency. It is a political weapon to force countries to implement the policies decided by the E.U. and keep them on a leash.

If people do not believe in Europe and in the euro area, it must be dismantled.

This much is true: When we created the euro, it wasn't possible to create a political union along with it. People weren't ready for that. But since then, they've grown more willing to go in that direction. It's a process, one that is sometimes laborious and sometimes slow. But it's important to keep the populations involved.

You can't have euro bonds without more interconnection among the national budget policies.

But I would bet that the euro continues to exist and that its importance as a global currency will likely increase.