French President Calling for the Creation of Eurozone Government

• 07.20.2015, 17:51
•  Europe,  World

The President of France Francois Hollande has called for the formation of a eurozone government the other day as he attempts to counter growing euroscepticism in both European countries and in France in particular, caused mainly by the Greek crisis and all its dramatic consequences.

According to Euronews, in order to revive an idea originally put forward by former European Commission chief Jacques Delors, Hollande proposed "a government of the eurozone with a specific budget as well as a parliament to ensure its democratic control".  

Delors, who used to be French Economics and Finance Minister, was also the President of the European Commission from 1985 to 1995, and is considered to be one of the architects of the euro or just ''the father of the euro''. Jacques Delors, who turned 90 yesterday, is believed to be one of Mr Hollande’s political mentors, and to mark the 90th birthday of the latter, Hollande made this very suggestion.

''It is vital for the EU to recapture the ''vision'', the ''momentum'' and the balance of the original concept for a European single currency put forward by Mr Delors in 1989. The present structure is too technical and too dryly financial. The eurozone must return to the original Delors concept of a single currency based on ''solidarity'' as well as ''responsibility,'' Hollande told to French newspaper Journal du Dimanche.

However, French commentators immediately expressed skepticism about its chances being accepted by the other eurozone countries, currently united in an informal body known as the Eurogroup, which includes each country’s finance minister.

Hollande's view on a eurozone government drew immediate criticism from his predecessor Nicolas Sarkozy, head of France's main center-right opposition party and a possible candidate in the 2017 presidential election, Reuters reports.

"I do not think we need one more parliament. All we need is to coordinate economic policies to be much stronger,'' Sarkozy said, ''We need a French economic policy that is not in contradiction with the economic policy of all the other eurozone countries."

British Ukip leader Nigel Farage in his turn critisized Hollande, saying: ''He is completely out of touch with public opinion.This is an utterly desperate suggestion,'' he told the British Daily Mail.

Anyway, Hollande seems quite enthusiastic about his suggestion and motivated to turn it into reality. But most experts and journalists consider this new architecture of eurozone unlikely to receive the agreement of all the Member States in the near future, if ever. The creation of eurozone government will most likely add to the EU bureaucracy, but will not solve the main problems that the EU faces.