France called on Tuesday for a strengthened role for the chairman of the Eurogroup of finance ministers as part of detailed proposals for improving "economic governance" in the 13-nation euro area.
French Europe Minister Jean-Pierre Jouyet said Paris wanted the informal Eurogroup, which meets on the eve of monthly sessions of all 27 EU finance ministers, to cover a broader range of economic and labour market issues and to speak with a single voice in international financial institutions.
The Eurogroup should go beyond mutual budget surveillance to discuss issues such as pension systems, labour market reform, financial stability in the property market, banking supervision and financial market regulation, he said.
The Eurogroup chairman, currently Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, should have greater authority inside the euro zone and speak for the whole euro area at G7 and G8 meetings of finance ministers and central bankers, with third parties and in the International Monetary Fund, Jouyet said.
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