DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan. 25 -- A group of European leaders on Thursday evening showed their both common and divided views on the future of the European Union (EU) at a panel discussion focused on "Europe momentum" during the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte noted that the EU makes possible much that cannot be accomplished by individual member states, from negotiating trade deals to ensuring security and controlling migration, but drew the line at "transfer unions", in which richer member states are asked to bankroll poorer peers.
"People are talking about risk-sharing, and transfer unions. I don't like that. We should each do what we should, as nations," the prime minister said.
Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa echoed and added to Rutte's comments, but did not rule out the possibility of transfer unions.
"To have stability, we need to have rules and discipline, but also the means for other countries to catch up, this is a pillar of stability of the Eurozone," Costa noted.
Irish Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Leo Varadkar noted that his country has benefited significantly from "something of a transfer union around structural funds," and that after having used it to build up infrastructure, Ireland is now a net contributor.
He stressed the need to extend this approach to help the countries of Central Eastern Europe develop their own infrastructure.
On the implications of an emerging Franco-German axis, Varadkar said, "We can only welcome France and Germany coming together, but do we want to see just the big countries deciding the fate for all of Europe?"
【国际英语资讯:European Leaders debate over EU future in WEF annual meeting in Davos】相关文章:
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