Germany and France push ahead toward fiscal union

GERMANY and France stepped up a drive yesterday for coercive powers to reject eurozone members’ budgets that breach EU rules, as a market rout of European debt eased temporarily on hopes of outside help for Italy and Spain.

German finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble brushed off a question about the possibility of easing the conditions of Ireland’s bailout in Berlin yesterday.

The Government hopes to get help in dealing with the €32 billion of IOUs on the now defunct Anglo Irish Bank but has been finding it difficult to get any concessions in talks with the troika.