EU finance chiefs rule out stimulus plan to avert recession
Finance ministers from the 15 euro countries on Friday ruled out a sweeping European stimulus plan to ward off a recession but gave themselves some wiggle room on extra spending.
The ministers agreed at a two-day meeting in the French Riviera city of Nice that Europe would not follow in the footsteps of the United States and Japan with an ambitious stimulus package.
"We have excluded the possibility of a European stimulus plan, and that since a couple of months," Luxembourg Finance Minister Jean-Claude Juncker told reporters after chairing a meeting here with his eurozone counterparts.
Although economic activity was much weaker than thought only a few months ago, Juncker said Europe was not in the same situation as the United States and that past stimulus plans had had unwanted consequences.
"I think there is no need for a European stimulus package. Every country is responsible for itself," German Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck said, adding: "It makes no sense to burn money."
While countries with strong public accounts could loosen the finances, the ministers agreed that "there is no question of letting budget deficits swell," Juncker said.
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