EU leaders reject protectionism - by Ilona Wissenbach and Marcin Grajewski
European Union leaders rejected protectionism on Sunday to prevent a new "iron curtain" dividing the 27-nation bloc into rich and poor halves during the global economic crisis. At a summit called to bridge differences over how to handle the crisis, leaders made a new commitment to the EU's single market -- a response to concerns that any protectionist moves to prop up national industries would undermine EU unity. They did not agree on any regional aid package to the whole of central and eastern Europe after opposition from German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Hungary called last week for rules on entering the 16-nation euro zone should be relaxed to help others to enjoy the exchange rate stability it offers. But Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, who chairs the group of euro zone countries, ruled this out. "I don't think we can change the accession criteria to the euro overnight. This is not feasible," Juncker told reporters.
No comments:
Post a Comment