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Monti: Germany's Greek plan "far fetched and unpleasant"
Jan 30, 2012, 22:56 GMT
Brussels - German proposals to place Greece's budget under European Union control are 'far fetched and unpleasant' but were not taken up by Chancellor Angela Merkel during Monday's EU summit, Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti said.
'I personally found the suggestion ... far fetched and unpleasant, but it certainly was not mentioned to heads of state and government,' Monti said after a summit in Brussels.
He said that with the approval of a new budget discipline pact, the so-called fiscal compact, northern countries like Germany have secured guarantees that southern peers will not deviate from the path of fiscal rectitude.
'They are very ready, and almost relieved, as soon as they can report to their citizens positive news about progress in Mediterranean countries,' Monti said. Northern Europeans 'want to be able to hug us, not strangle us,' he quipped.
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