French Fin Min Talks Up New Fiscal Rule Agreement Ahead Of ECOFIN

French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire stated ahead of today's Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) meeting in Luxembourg that “The EU needs new budget rules quickly — it’s a question of credibility,”. Laying out the crucial issue in getting any deal - agreement with Berlin - Le Maire added, “We will continue to work with Christian Lindner in the coming weeks to try to reach a Franco-German accord that could serve as a basis for a wider deal.”

• On 13 Oct, MNI's Policy team highlighted the difficulty in reaching agreement on new fiscal rules, in part due to higher yields according to EU officials.
• Bloomberg reports, "Spain’s Nadia Calvino, who holds the rotating presidency of the gatherings of EU finance chiefs, said the aim is to table legal proposal in next the Ecofin so there can be a new deal by year end.
  “Good progress has been made at the technical level,” Calvino said."