FRANKFURT AM MAIN: European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said Wednesday a plan for reform of the 19-nation eurozone agreed by Paris and Berlin this week was "encouraging" although "vague".
"The recent document produced by France and Germany is to be welcomed, it's an encouraging step... and it's an important step," Draghi told a central banking conference in Portugal.
While "vague" on detail, "it's the first time we are having a proposal by governments" to overhaul the bloc, he added in comments livestreamed on the ECB website.
Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany and French President Emmanuel Macron met outside Berlin Tuesday, agreeing a slate of reform ideas between the two nations that form the EU's traditional "motor".
Macron said the budget plan agreed Tuesday would fund investment in the bloc, and go towards helping poorer members, allowing the eurozone to "respond to the... divergences between our economies".
Other reforms targeted by Berlin and Paris are expanding the remit of the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) -- the firefighter for eurozone countries with serious debt problems -- harmonising corporate taxes in the bloc and introducing a digital tax by the end of 2018.
Likely anticipating tough negotiations with other eurozone governments at a Brussels summit next week, the two leaders left open details including the size, sources of funding and management of the planned budget.
"When (a proposal) is too detailed, that can be counter-productive," noted Macron.
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