BRUSSELS, Dec 1 (Reuters) - The following are comments by euro zone finance ministers and other officials in connection with their meeting on Tuesday in Brussels.
EUROGROUP CHAIRMAN JEAN-CLAUDE JUNCKER
Asked whether the ministers had discussed a successor to European Central Bank Vice President Lucas Papademos:
'We have discussed that issue. I have indicated to my colleagues that the delay for presenting candidates will come to and end by mid-December, that we will as the Eurogroup try to take a decision in January allowing us to enable the European Council to decide upon this matter during its March session.'
On views of Marek Belka, director of the International Monetary Fund's European Department:
'We all agreed that in 2011, that would be the year to start consolidating our public finances and we agreed with him when he said that the euro was overvalued and that some adjustment in that area would be desirable.'
EU MONETARY AFFAIRS COMMISSIONER JOAQUIN ALMUNIA
On Greek budgetary problems:
'The (Greek) minister does not exclude a supplementary budget if needed.
'The problems of Greece are the problems of the euro area.
'Success ... will be a success for the whole euro area.'
EUROGROUP'S JUNCKER
'There is no hint of bankruptcy as far as Greece is concerned.'
EU'S ALMUNIA
On Greek budget deficit:
'In the case of Greece, (we) have considered no effective (action) was taken. This will mean in February the Eurogroup and Ecofin will have to consider the next measures.'
EUROGROUP'S JUNCKER
On Eurogroup leadership:
'We all agreed that in January the Eurogroup president will be elected for two and a half years.'
He said he had put his name forward and added: 'I think there was broad agreement on the proposal that I have made.'
On Greece:
'The situation in Greece is rather worrying.
'We stressed the need ... for other measures to be taken in 2010 to correct the excessively high deficit they have and to take other measures to bring the deficit back into balance.
'We recognise that further measures are still required.
'We will come back to the situation with a recommendation in February.'
On Dubai:
'We said the events in Dubai showed quite clearly there is still a lot of fragility. The problems facing Dubai only affect the euro zone to a minor degree because the exposures of banking institutions are very limited ... the events in Dubai are not going to stop the euro zone returning to growth.
'The fallout ... will be very minor indeed and there is no cause for concern there.'
On China:
'We do not want to see any abrupt about-turn in Chinese monetary policy, but we would like to see a gradual and orderly appreciation of the yuan against the euro.
'We don't think it is right that an economy which is growing strongly .... we don't see it makes any sense for such a country's currency to be devalued compared to a currency like the euro where growth trends are far less rosy than what we have seen in China.
'We said that we thought an appreciation of the renminbi against the euro was something that we thought was desirable.
'The global imbalances are not down to the euro, we thought that the appreciation of the renminbi was in the interest not only of us in Europe but also of the Chinese people.
'Our Chinese friends do not see things in quite the same way, no surprises there but we did want to put forward our point of view.'
On budgets:
'2010 is not the year when we should start withdrawing budget and fiscal stimulus.'
GERMAN FINANCE MINISTER WOLFGANG SCHAEUBLE
On whether the ministers would re-elect Jean-Claude Juncker for another term as Eurogroup chairman:
'I expect that we will agree that we are speaking about the next two and a half years and that we will then vote for him together in January. There is absolutely no doubt that he will be elected president of the Eurogroup for the next two and a half years. But it won't be today. We don't have to. It can be dealt with in an organised process. There is no doubt that he will be elected.'
Asked about Dubai:
'It shows the financial crisis is not over.'
DUTCH FINANCE MINISTER WOUTER BOS
On Dubai:
'Most stock exchanges reacted in a mature way, an initial shock and recovery afterwards. There will be some impact but I have no reasons to be overly pessimistic right now.'
On whether Eurogroup Chairman Jean-Claude Juncker would be re-elected on Tuesday:
'I don't know, but I always supported him as the chairman of the Eurogroup. He has done a good job.'
Would the euro zone ministers discuss a successor to European Central Bank Vice President Lucas Papademos? 'We may.'
SWEDISH FINANCE MINISTER ANDERS BORG
On financial supervision:
'It's now time to come to agreement and start negotiations with the European Parliament. My assessment is that we are close on all the relevant paragraphs. The prerequisites for a general approach are there.'
On Dubai:
'We should be careful with assessments. Exposure (of) the European banks seems to be so far on a reasonable level.'
FINNISH FINANCE MINISTER JYRKI KATAINEN
On deadlines for correcting budget deficits:
'The deadlines are realistic, they will be equally difficult for everybody. We cannot avoid the truth that we have to consolidate the budgets after the crisis is over. It means tax rises in some countries.'
On Dubai:
'So far I have not seen a serious risk coming from Dubai (for the euro zone) but of course it is very worrying that there are still areas or countries like Dubai ... which can shape our economies. The atmosphere is still weak, and growth is not yet on a strong enough path.' Keywords: EUROGROUP ECONOMY/ (Brussels newsroom +32 2 287 6841, fax +32 2 230 5573) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
EUROGROUP CHAIRMAN JEAN-CLAUDE JUNCKER
Asked whether the ministers had discussed a successor to European Central Bank Vice President Lucas Papademos:
'We have discussed that issue. I have indicated to my colleagues that the delay for presenting candidates will come to and end by mid-December, that we will as the Eurogroup try to take a decision in January allowing us to enable the European Council to decide upon this matter during its March session.'
On views of Marek Belka, director of the International Monetary Fund's European Department:
'We all agreed that in 2011, that would be the year to start consolidating our public finances and we agreed with him when he said that the euro was overvalued and that some adjustment in that area would be desirable.'
EU MONETARY AFFAIRS COMMISSIONER JOAQUIN ALMUNIA
On Greek budgetary problems:
'The (Greek) minister does not exclude a supplementary budget if needed.
'The problems of Greece are the problems of the euro area.
'Success ... will be a success for the whole euro area.'
EUROGROUP'S JUNCKER
'There is no hint of bankruptcy as far as Greece is concerned.'
EU'S ALMUNIA
On Greek budget deficit:
'In the case of Greece, (we) have considered no effective (action) was taken. This will mean in February the Eurogroup and Ecofin will have to consider the next measures.'
EUROGROUP'S JUNCKER
On Eurogroup leadership:
'We all agreed that in January the Eurogroup president will be elected for two and a half years.'
He said he had put his name forward and added: 'I think there was broad agreement on the proposal that I have made.'
On Greece:
'The situation in Greece is rather worrying.
'We stressed the need ... for other measures to be taken in 2010 to correct the excessively high deficit they have and to take other measures to bring the deficit back into balance.
'We recognise that further measures are still required.
'We will come back to the situation with a recommendation in February.'
On Dubai:
'We said the events in Dubai showed quite clearly there is still a lot of fragility. The problems facing Dubai only affect the euro zone to a minor degree because the exposures of banking institutions are very limited ... the events in Dubai are not going to stop the euro zone returning to growth.
'The fallout ... will be very minor indeed and there is no cause for concern there.'
On China:
'We do not want to see any abrupt about-turn in Chinese monetary policy, but we would like to see a gradual and orderly appreciation of the yuan against the euro.
'We don't think it is right that an economy which is growing strongly .... we don't see it makes any sense for such a country's currency to be devalued compared to a currency like the euro where growth trends are far less rosy than what we have seen in China.
'We said that we thought an appreciation of the renminbi against the euro was something that we thought was desirable.
'The global imbalances are not down to the euro, we thought that the appreciation of the renminbi was in the interest not only of us in Europe but also of the Chinese people.
'Our Chinese friends do not see things in quite the same way, no surprises there but we did want to put forward our point of view.'
On budgets:
'2010 is not the year when we should start withdrawing budget and fiscal stimulus.'
GERMAN FINANCE MINISTER WOLFGANG SCHAEUBLE
On whether the ministers would re-elect Jean-Claude Juncker for another term as Eurogroup chairman:
'I expect that we will agree that we are speaking about the next two and a half years and that we will then vote for him together in January. There is absolutely no doubt that he will be elected president of the Eurogroup for the next two and a half years. But it won't be today. We don't have to. It can be dealt with in an organised process. There is no doubt that he will be elected.'
Asked about Dubai:
'It shows the financial crisis is not over.'
DUTCH FINANCE MINISTER WOUTER BOS
On Dubai:
'Most stock exchanges reacted in a mature way, an initial shock and recovery afterwards. There will be some impact but I have no reasons to be overly pessimistic right now.'
On whether Eurogroup Chairman Jean-Claude Juncker would be re-elected on Tuesday:
'I don't know, but I always supported him as the chairman of the Eurogroup. He has done a good job.'
Would the euro zone ministers discuss a successor to European Central Bank Vice President Lucas Papademos? 'We may.'
SWEDISH FINANCE MINISTER ANDERS BORG
On financial supervision:
'It's now time to come to agreement and start negotiations with the European Parliament. My assessment is that we are close on all the relevant paragraphs. The prerequisites for a general approach are there.'
On Dubai:
'We should be careful with assessments. Exposure (of) the European banks seems to be so far on a reasonable level.'
FINNISH FINANCE MINISTER JYRKI KATAINEN
On deadlines for correcting budget deficits:
'The deadlines are realistic, they will be equally difficult for everybody. We cannot avoid the truth that we have to consolidate the budgets after the crisis is over. It means tax rises in some countries.'
On Dubai:
'So far I have not seen a serious risk coming from Dubai (for the euro zone) but of course it is very worrying that there are still areas or countries like Dubai ... which can shape our economies. The atmosphere is still weak, and growth is not yet on a strong enough path.' Keywords: EUROGROUP ECONOMY/ (Brussels newsroom +32 2 287 6841, fax +32 2 230 5573) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
© 2009 AFX News
