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Berlin - Chancellor Angela Merkel called on Wednesday for a radical overhaul of Europe's fiscal rules along German lines, warning of "incalculable consequences" for the European Union if the euro were to fail.
Defending Germany's slice of a near trillion-dollar package to prevent the troubles of debt-ridden Greece spreading to the rest of Europe, she said the single currency was facing an "existential test" as it plunges on the markets.
"The current crisis facing the euro is the biggest test Europe has faced in decades, even since the Treaty of Rome was signed in 1957," she said in a speech in parliament, referring to the treaty that created the European Union.
"This test is existential and it must be overcome ... if the euro fails, then Europe fails," she said, to loud heckling and jeers from opposition parties.
"The euro is in danger. If we do not avert this danger, then the consequences are incalculable and the consequences for the whole of Europe are also incalculable," she cautioned.
To overcome the turmoil that has battered the euro on the foreign exchange markets, the German chancellor proposed a "new stability culture" in Europe.
She added: "We need a comprehensive overhaul of the Stability and Growth Pact," the regulations stating that EU countries should keep deficits below 3% of gross domestic product (GDP) and debt below 60% of GDP.
"Long-term stability is impossible without healthy public finances," she stressed.
"The rules must be geared to the strongest, not to the weakest ... our (German) stability culture is tried and tested."
Merkel also confirmed a decision made Tuesday by Germany's securities market regulator to slap a ban on so-called naked short-selling in the shares of 10 financial institutions and eurozone government bonds.
Naked short-selling occurs when investors sell securities they do not own and have not even borrowed, hoping to be able to buy them back later at a lower price, thereby earning a profit.
She said the ban would be in place until Europe-wide regulations were agreed.
Germany's parliament is expected to vote Friday on the country's share of the €750bn eurozone bailout package, which could be as much as €150bn.
- AFP
