On Friday, Merkel slammed Hollande for blocking EU supervision of national spending and supporting the idea of euro bonds and denounced his approach as “quick fixes.”
The French president has spoken out in favor of euro bonds and called on Europe to take more strides to shift away from the existing German-inspired focus on tackling budget deficits and public debt.
The German chancellor warned that Hollande’s approach will “mask” the divergences between Germany and “mediocre” eurozone economies such as that of France.
The center-right chancellor made the remarks a few days ahead of G20 summit in Mexico’s Los Cabos on Monday, which is expected to be dominated by the eurozone debt crisis.
Many observers believe that Paris-Berlin ties undergo transformations following the victory of the socialists in France’s presidential elections.
The French media have highlighted Hollande’s Thursday visit to Italy as Paris’s new efforts to forge new allies to be replaced with the traditional German-French alliance.
Last Thursday, in response to Hollande’s recent meeting with German center-left opposition leaders on eurozone policy, Merkel delivered a speech at the German parliament and argued that tackling Europe’s crises in the absence of Germany is impossible.
ASH/IS
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