In a letter addressed earlier this week to French finance minister Michel Sapin and to which Mediapart has gained access, the European Commission’s vice-president Jyrki Katainen, responsible for economic and monetary affairs, demands to know “why France plans to deviate from the budgetary targets” set by the European Council and “how France could ensure full compliance with its budgetary policy obligations”. President François Hollande has refused to make public the letter, which he described as “of no great significance”, and which Mediapart exclusively publishes in full in this report by our Brussels correspondent Ludovic Lamant.
France’s Pierre Moscovici has been named as the new European Union commissioner for economic and monetary affairs in Brussels. At first glance it appears a clear-cut triumph for President François Hollande who has installed his former finance minister in a key economic post at the heart of the EU despite German opposition. It is also a sign that the new European Commission president Claude Juncker wants to display his independence from German chancellor Angela Merkel. But as Ludovic Lamant reports, Juncker has also shaken up the Commission's structure and placed two economic hawks alongside the French commissioner. Some observers believe their main role is to stop the French “social democrat” being too soft on member countries struggling to cut their deficits – and in particular France.
