Hi John. Mark me down as an Edwards 5......................
France, Germany agree on financial market reforms
Schroeder says Franco-German alliance alive and well
<Picture: Schroeder and Chirac>Schroeder, left, and Chirac meet Wednesday September 30, 1998
Web posted at: 2:37 p.m. EDT (1837 GMT)
PARIS (CNN) -- Germany's Chancellor-elect Gerhard Schroeder said Wednesday that he supported French proposals to create better control of international financial markets and assured Paris that French-German relations were alive and well.
"I think a lot of that (proposal) because we must control financial markets better," Schroeder said at a news conference with French Prime Minister Lionel Jospin.
Schroeder's visit to France marked his first trip abroad after he and his Social Democratic Party ousted Chancellor Helmut Kohl and ended 16 years of conservative rule in Sunday's landmark election.
Schroeder said it was too early to discuss details of the financial market reforms but added: "I consider this suggestion to be highly important ... it must be put on the international political agenda."
Schroeder said he supported more control over world markets because "they can bring whole national economies into difficulty, and not just the economies in the developing world."
Last week, French President Jacques Chirac sent a letter to leaders of the world's economic powers. In that letter Chirac had called for a radical overhaul of the way the global economy was policed and proposed the creation of a world surveillance agency with real teeth.
The fact that Schroeder chose Paris as his first international engagement was no coincidence.
The French-German axis, honed by the late French President Francois Mitterrand and Chancellor Kohl, was critical to building a stronger European Union, including the creation of a new single currency that will take effect in most European Union nations in January.
The two countries are also each other's largest trading partners but the weekend election victory had nevertheless raised some concerns in Paris that Schroeder might be putting more emphasis on stepping up relations with London.
"Our relationship is going to be long and no doubt fruitful. As far as our views on the France-German relationship and the demands of European construction are concerned, we were in complete agreement," Chirac said after his two-hour lunch with Schroeder.
"I felt the same way," Schroeder said. "Paris is near in every aspect."
Paris and Bonn also agreed to set up working groups on the reform of European Union institutions and financing, Schroeder said.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
cnn.com |
