German Chancellor Angela Merkel is ready to make concessions on the fiscal pact struck by European leaders earlier this month, in order to win the opposition support she needs to have it approved in parliament, a German newspaper reported on Saturday.
The Sueddeutsche Zeitung said Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) were prepared to talk about how financial markets could help shoulder the cost of the euro zone crisis, although they ruled out the introduction of a financial transaction tax in just a limited number of European Union countries. Stimulus programmes for ailing southern European states or projects to tackle youth unemployment would be considered though, the paper said.
It added that the head of the conservative parliamentary group Volker Kauder wanted to invite other parties to a meeting next week to see where they could find agreement. The treaty on new euro zone budget discipline rules requires a two-thirds majority in both houses of parliament in Germany. Although the Social Democrats (SPD), the largest opposition party, have backed Merkel in the past on euro zone policy, they want concessions in exchange for their support on growth stimulus measures.
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