The new Chancellor of Austria Karl Nechamer called on Germany to establish a strategic partnership in economic and fiscal policy within the European Union, writes Die Welt. According to Nehamer, Vienna and Berlin must clearly demonstrate to Brussels their position against the Community's joint debt obligations. As the newspaper notes, this step shows that Austria is actively looking for allies against Italy and France in favor of debt consolidation.
"I believe that the strategic partnership between Germany and Austria within the EU is very important. We need to develop it. I am thinking, for example, about economic and budgetary policy. "Berlin and Vienna must make it clear to Brussels that we are against a permanent debt union," he said.
According to Nehamer, Austria and Germany must act in coordination to ensure that the European Commission's joint debt response to the urgent crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic is a "one-off action and will not be the basis for further joint commitments". Nehamer emphasized that otherwise taxpayers in Germany and Austria would face a "heavy burden". "Strong partners" are needed to avoid this.
The recovery plan for the EU economy following the coronavirus pandemic calls for € 750 billion to be disbursed through the issuance of pan-European debt. by lending to the financial markets. In the event that one or more countries are unable to pay their debts, the other EU members will have to cover them at their own expense.
Nehamer said there were close ties between the two countries: "During the pandemic, we saw how important it is for Germany and Austria to communicate with each other and find solutions together. We are two neighboring countries that are very closely linked. " The regions in the German-Austrian border area, he added, "are completely fused."
Karl Nehamer took over as Austria's federal chancellor in early December, succeeding acting Alexander Schalenberg and longtime chancellor Sebastian Kurz, who left politics after allegations of corruption.
Under Kurz, relations between Vienna and Berlin were quite tense. As the newspaper notes, the former chancellor "irritated" Angela Merkel with her firm migration policy. In the first place, he relied on the strict protection of the EU's external borders, rather than on the distribution of migrants among all member states on the basis of solidarity. He also called for austerity and the rejection of joint debt obligations in the eurozone.
Nehamer's position differs slightly from Kurtz's, the author points out. However, he "clearly hopes to find an ally in Europe", especially in the person of Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner, chairman of the Free Democratic Party. Along with Denmark, Finland, Sweden and the Netherlands, Austria is one of the so-called "weak countries" in the EU, which relies on austerity and financial independence of the member states.
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