France believes it can in coming days reach an agreement with Germany to break a deadlock between the two countries on reforms to Europe’s energy market, Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Thursday.
“We strongly believe that there is a need to define a new framework that will be more efficient, and that will lead the possibility to all member states to develop their own energy production,” he told a press conference at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank annual meetings in Marrakech,
Le Maire also said France backed a 35-50% increase in the IMF’s quota lending resources, and urged all Fund members to likewise support an increase.
His comment on IMF resources comes a day after he issued a statement to the IMF’s steering committee backing the US proposal for an “equiproportional” increase in quota funds without changing the existing shareholding to increase the weight of large emerging markets like China.
Le Maire also said France was ready to support a capital increase for the World Bank.
He said Europe needed more innovation and investments in new technologies such as those for green energy, to help boost lagging investment that is holding back growth on the continent to around 1% a year, well behind the US and China.
“There is a lack of productivity and lack of growth in Europe. And we cannot be satisfied by the level of growth in Europe,” Le Maire said.
He said France supported the European Commission’s trade investigation into Chinese electric vehicles that could lead to tariffs because it was important to have a “level playing field” and to protect European industry.
“We cannot accept, of course, to have Chinese EVs benefiting from very significant public support,” Le Maire said. “So we have to assess the situation to assess whether there is really a level playing field and then to draw the consequences for the sake of protecting our industry.”
Regarding the $60-a-barrel, G7-led price cap on Russian oil exports, Le Maire said it had been successful, but some loopholes needed to be closed and enforcement tightened.
