German finance minister Wolfgang Schäuble has a response to Macron’s plans for the euro system. Der Spiegel reports, citing a work paper by Schäuble, that he wants to expand the European Stability Mechanism into a powerful currency fund.
The mechanism will also be tasked with monitoring a new insolvency procedure for non-paying member countries. This “debt restructuring mechanism” is intended to ensure a “fair burden sharing between ESM and private creditors” in the event of a state slump. The ESM would be responsible for “future debt restructuring and coordination”.
In a related message for future policy, the man who dominated Europe’s response to the eurozone debt crisis, also warns of risks to stability posed by spiraling levels of global debt and liquidity.
“Economists all over the world are concerned about the increased risks arising from the accumulation of more and more liquidity and the growth of public and private debt. I myself am concerned about this, too,” he was quoted by the Financial Times as saying.
“We have to ensure that we will be resilient enough if we ever face a new economic crisis,” he added. “We won’t always have such positive economic times as we have now.”