Barroso welcomes Merkel-Sarkozy proposals on economic governance

European Commission President, Jos{ Manuel Barroso, and EU Commissioner for economic and monetary affairs Olli Rehn, have welcomed the proposals made on Tuesday by French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel as "a welcome step forward in our common efforts to strengthen the governance of the euro area." "They represent an important political contribution by the leaders of the two largest euro area economies to this debate and the on-going work," said Barroso and Rehn in a joint statement issued Tuesday night. The French and German leaders have called for much closer economic and fiscal policy in the eurozone to deal with the debt crisis. "The challenges we are facing have made even clearer that a shared currency implies shared responsibility and demands closer coordination of economic policies. A regular format and frequency for the euro area summits, with a permanent chair, contributes to a more stable and stronger political leadership," noted the EU statement. Merkel and Sarkozy proposed biannual meetings of leaders of the 17-member Eurozone and a tax on financial transactions. "A financial transaction tax will be a key instrument to ensure that the financial sector makes a fairer contribution to public accounts. The Commission intends to make a proposal in this sense soon, as previously announced," said the statement.