France, Italy Take Austerity Fight to Brussels

[mbig]

The EU economy is dead in the water.. even Germany.
And the whole socioeconomic edifice depends on growth to pay for benefits.
Germans (maybe Netherlands too) would be willing to tighten/slash benefits a bit, but few others can afford to.
France and Italy cannot.
"It's Deja vu all over again" (Yogi Berra)

France, Italy Take Austerity Fight to Brussels
Confrontation Becoming Test of New EU Budget Rules
By MATTHEW DALTON, GIADA ZAMPANO and NOÉMIE BISSERBE
Updated Oct. 23, 2014 5:05 p.m. ET
France, Italy Take Austerity Fight to Brussels - WSJ - WSJ

BRUSSELS—European Union leaders staked out opposing positions on austerity ahead of a summit here, where France and Italy will attempt to fend off pressure from the bloc’s budget hawks to cut their deficits faster.

The confrontation is shaping up as the most important test yet of the bloc’s new system for overseeing the national budgets of its member states, as worries mount that renewed political gridlock will undermine investor confidence in the eurozone again.

A group led by Germany argues the bloc shouldn’t undermine its new rules—intended to help avert another crisis like the one that nearly sank the euro a couple of years ago—simply because two of the biggest members are seeking a break.

But with the eurozone at risk of slipping back into recession, and anti-EU political parties on the rise, Paris and Rome say it would be foolish to deepen the region’s economic woes by insisting on sharper budget cuts.

They face possible fines if they are found to be violating budget rules, with Brussels facing a legal deadline next week to make an initial ruling.

French President François Hollande on Thursday sought to head off that political embarrassment by arguing that the EU’s budget rules allow for leniency in the face of grim economic conditions.
[........]

I have a feeling France, "the EU's #2 economy", is just another of the PIGS.. with fashionable lipstick.