EU Commission wants more discipline among euro members

The European Commission has called for more financial discipline among the members of the eurozone and said it will be having talks to up out with concrete proposals by the end of this year.

In a report on the first 10 years of the euro, the Commission said the 15 eurozone member states should consult each other before making major changes to fiscal policy or structural reforms.

"Better coordination and surveillance of national economic and budgetary policies is needed within the Ecofin council and the Eurogroup," the report said, especially in light of the eurozone's expansion.

The EU Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs, Joaquin Almunia said the experience of the economic and monetary union's first decade shows that economic policy decisions in one country may have important effects on others. "We need to keep improving the economic governance of the through strong and binding political commitments," he said.

Mr Almunia said the Commission aims to promote a frank and forthright debate in the second half of this year with a view to finding a consensus on all these issues and will come forward with appropriate proposals.

The EU executive's report also makes the case for a single euro voice at international fora, particularly at the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

According to the Commission, the eurozone's economic status was not matched by its political influence and so it should speak with a single voice in international fora.

"Ultimately the euro must consolidate its external representation and aim to have a single seat in international financial institutions and fora," the report said.

In addition, the report calls for deeper and broader economic surveillance, including strengthening the Stability and Growth Pact's "preventive arm" to guide fiscal policies over the cycle. The eurozone could extend the existing peer monitoring system beyond fiscal policy in order to "tackle economic imbalances and divergences among euro-area members in a timely manner".

EU leaders launched the euro on January 1, 1999, with the participation of 11 EU countries. They established the European Central Bank on June 1, 1998.

Malta and Cyprus were the last countries to join the eurozone last January 1.