The Ministre d’Etat, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, and the Minister responsible for European Affairs welcome the decisive and ambitious agreement concluded on July 21 between the Heads of State and Government of the member countries of the Euro Area, with the support of the President of the European Central Bank.
This agreement wouldn’t have been possible without the strong impetus provided by President Sarkozy. By going to Berlin on the eve of the Summit, he was able to propose to the German chancellor a joint position which formed the essential basis for the agreement reached in Brussels yesterday.
Building on this Franco-German initiative, the leaders of the Euro Area countries were able to demonstrate a real sense of responsibility in the face of a serious and urgent situation in order to ensure the stability and continuity of the monetary union, which constitutes an essential achievement of European integration.
Exceptional measures were adopted in order to respond to the specific situation of Greece, to ensure its debt sustainability, to support the efforts that it must continue, and to help it return to a path of growth.
Beyond that, essential decisions were taken to strengthen the capacity of the Europeans to jointly face economic and financial crises. In particular, they will allow the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) to take more flexible and preventive action. As called for by President Sarkozy, this arrangement paves the way for a genuine European monetary fund.
The Ministre d’Etat, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, and the Minister responsible for European Affairs also welcome the commitment to further strengthening governance of the Euro Area, which will allow us to improve our response to the crisis, by increasing convergence within the economic and monetary union.
This set of decisions is a triumph for Europe, which demonstrated its unity. In light of the crisis, the only solution is to move towards greater European integration.
