BERLIN (Reuters) -Germany has no plans to back a joint European Union debt issuance, a government source told Reuters on Monday, denying a media report saying Chancellor Olaf Scholz supported joint debt issuances to tackle the energy crisis.
“Such plans are not known in the government,” the source said.
Germany’s Economic Council, which is affiliated with the opposition Christian Democrats (CDU), also criticized the EU plan, calling it irresponsible amid current inflation levels.
The reports about Germany’s backing alone were causing worrying movements in financial markets, said the council’s secretary general, Wolfgang Steiger, on Tuesday.
“Currently we are seeing a worrying flight of capital from the euro area, which will gain further momentum through more and more debt and the resulting weakening of future government budgets,” he warned.
Scholz had suggested at an informal EU summit last Friday using unused funds from the European recovery fund created during the coronavirus pandemic to fight the energy crisis.
($1 = 1.0305 euros)
(Reporting by Andreas Rinke; Writing by Riham Alkousaa and Miranda Murray; editing by Jonathan Oatis)
