Measures put eurozone on more solid footing

French finance minister says cooperation with China, other emerging markets to help European economy

On his first visit to China since taking office, Pierre Moscovici, French minister of economy and finance, expressed confidence in the European and French economies and vowed to promote reforms that will make France a stronger competitor.

"The crisis is not yet over, but you should feel confident in Europe's stability," said the 55-year-old member of the French Socialist Party. "Its ability to recover has been consolidated with the full commitment of European leaders."

Moscovici was appointed French finance minister following Francois Hollande's election as French president in May.

He said recent measures taken by European leaders have put the eurozone on a more solid footing in the past few months. Among those have been the European Stability Mechanism, which provides assistance to eurozone members that are having financial difficulties; steps to make Greece less likely to leave the zone; and an agreement to establish a euro-area bank supervisor.

He also gave high marks to the European Central Bank's pledge in September to use unlimited purchases of sovereign bonds to intervene in the bond markets.

"Last summer, EU governments faced a tough situation in the markets," Moscovici said. "This year, the market has been well oriented by the decisions of (Mario) Draghi, chief governor of the ECB."

He cited a recent auction of French bonds as evidence of confidence being strong in the French economy. The long-term bond yields fell to 2.07 percent in the Treasury's first debt sale of the year, which took place on Thursday.

He predicted Europe's economy will grow slowly or not at all in 2013, the US economy will fare slightly better and emerging economies will show strong growth.

He also said fiscal consolidation and structural reforms will aid in the country's recovery.

 

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