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At a finance minister summit Oct. 9, the 27 EU states agreed to elevate the issue of Chinese currency manipulation to the top of their agenda at the Oct. 19 G-7 summit. Germany will host the summit, and EU states France, Italy and the United Kingdom are also G-7 members.
Unlike many EU-level decisions, this one is not a compromise. All of the EU power players agree on the crux of the issue.
The state most incensed with China’s policy is France. French President Nicolas Sarkozy has been lobbying the European Central Bank (ECB) to slice rates for some time, seeking a weaker euro in order to benefit French exporters. But the ECB enjoys independence as a result of the Maastricht Treaty on Monetary Union and Germany’s staunch defense of that independence. If anything, Sarkozy’s insistence has made the ECB less likely to heed his desires.
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