Kohl, Chirac Back Emu, Seek Aid For Farmers

The two men meeting at Kohl's bungalow next to the Bonn chancellery said there was no reason to consider wavering from the Maastricht Treaty's strict criteria despite what the German leader called some light and shadows in their economies.

They gave no hint of what the EU could do for farmers, especially in the cattle sector where sales have been hit badly by mad cow disease in Britain, but said European agriculture ministers meeting in mid-September would address the problem.

We are both determined to meet the criteria of the Maastricht treaty without delay, Kohl said before they began dinner. It is our common goal and we will reach it together.

 

Chirac, standing at his side, told reporters: The Germans and the French will be at the same rendezvous at the same time and under the same conditions.

Financial m-arkets have become increasingly worried that France, plagued by a stagnant economy and record unemployment, may be falling behind in its attempts to cut public spending.

Equally worrying for the French government are signs the autumn of discontent which last year undermined its attempts to slash the welfare budget could be repeated. Bonn faces a struggle of its own to get its budget deficit inside the limits required to qualify for monetary union

in 1999, but has so far been more effective than Paris in pushing through welfare cuts against massive union opposition.

Both Kohl and Chirac played down recent pressure on the French franc and said currency market fears were unfounded.

Both men also emphasised that the the next meeting of EU agriculture ministers on September 16 must address the growing problems that European farmers faced.

We shared the same view about the worries of the farmers, especially the cattle growers, Chirac said. We are determined to work together to confront these worries.

Chirac also said the EU must find a way to ensure that countries which did not join monetary union in 1999 did not engage in competitive devaluations against the first states to take part in the single currency the Euro.

It is unacceptable to have a devaluation by those who have not joined, he said. That would cause grave damage to the European economy.

Germany and France shared the view that there would have to be an agreement within the European Union between the so-called ins and outs to prevent this, Chirac said. Experts working on this issue were making good progress, he added.

Kohl said foreign policy issues such as the Middle East, Bosnia and Chechnya would be discussed during the dinner and there were no plans to make a statement afterward. Chirac was due to fly back to Paris late on Sunday.

We both want the shooting and the war in Chechnya to end as soon as possible so what Boris Yeltsin said before the election can come about, he said.

Asked if the Franco-German army brigade, a joint project that has never been sent abroad, could be deployed in Bosnia after the current United Nations peacekeeping mandate runs out, Kohl said: We will find a common line and I do not exclude anything.