Weinig steun bij ministers van financiën voor procedure bij Hof (en)

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - Finance Ministers from the 12 countries that share the euro have shown "little support" for the Commission's decision last week to take them to court over their effective suspension of the euro rules.

Speaking after chairing his first euro group meeting, Irish Finance Minister Charlie McCreevy said, "ministers are of the view that more time might be valuable before undertaking an assessment of the pact and there was little support among ministers for the Commission's decision to seek a ruling from the European Court of Justice".

But the two sides were at pains to heal the damaging rifts of the past week.

Both Mr McCreevy and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Pedro Solbes stressed the co-operation between ministers and the Commission.

Mr McCreevy emphasised, "I think every member state respects the right of the Commission to make its own decision".

For his part, Mr Solbes said, "I wouldn't describe it as a situation of confrontation between the Commission and member states or between member states".

Mr McCreevy denied that any pressure was being placed on Mr Solbes while the commissioner himself added, "I do not feel attacked".

"Concern" over euro volatility

But if the ministers were calm in the face of the Commission's legal challenge, they expressed, for the first time, "concern" over the recent volatility of the euro.

In a written statement that will be heavily scrutinised by the currency markets, the 12 ministers said, "in the present circumstances, we particularly stress stability and we are concerned about excessive exchange rate moves".

"We will continue to monitor the situation closely", concludes the statement.

The euro has been trading at record highs against the dollar in recent weeks but has slipped back dramatically in the past few days.

Positive note

There was one chink of light amidst the gloom of volatility and disagreement. Mr Solbes said there were "good reasons to be confident" on growth prospects. According to the commissioner, data show that "recovery has taken hold and that ... growth will be solid this year".

The 12 ministers will be joined today (20 January) by the Finance Ministers of EU countries that have not joined the single currency - Britain, Sweden and Denmark.

The agenda will also be widened as ministers are expected to discuss a seminal report on job creation drawn up by former Dutch prime minister Wim Kok, along with reduced rates of VAT and the Irish Presidency's plans for the next six months in the area of economic affairs.