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25 February 2014

Reuters: France not negotiating new EU deficit target - Moscovici


France is sticking to its current deficit reduction plans and is not seeking extra time to bring its finances in line with EU rules, Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici said.

In forecasts published on Wednesday, the European Commission estimated France was on course to miss its deficit-reduction targets this year and next year. "France has a path that it has presented to the European Commission and it's sticking to it", Moscovici told journalists in Paris.

He added that definitive 2013 deficit figures due end-March were needed for a clear picture of French finances before Paris updates deficit-reduction plans in April for the Commission, which polices members' efforts to meet EU deficit rules. "I want France to be able to reduce its debt burden in 2015", he said. "It's in that frame of mind that I've begun talks with (EU Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner) Olli Rehn without mentioning anything that would look like a delay".

Under its current plans, President François Hollande's government is hoping a gradual recovery will help it cut the public deficit to 3.6 per cent of output this year and bring it in line with EU limits in 2015 with a deficit of 2.8 percent. However, the EU's executive arm forecast that the French deficit would stand at 4.0 per cent of gross domestic product this year and fall only marginally to 3.9 per cent in 2015.

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© Reuters


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