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French PM says UK ‘must help save euro’
Europe needs to move towards greater integration in order to save the common currency, French Prime Minister Francois Fillon said in a newspaper interview this morning, urging the government to back its efforts.
In an interview with the Times ahead of his visit to London later today, the French premier said it would be "a catastrophe" for Britain if the euro failed because it is so closely tied to the European Union's internal market.
"In order to consolidate the euro we will need gradually to harmonise our economic, fiscal and social policies, hence we are going to go towards greater integration," Fillon said.
"Great Britain is not part of the euro zone; at the same time the decision we will take will have great importance to Britain," he said.
"It would be a catastrophe and a disaster for Great Britain itself if the euro failed. It would simply mean that the internal market, which is one of the engines of the UK as well as France and Germany, becomes much weaker."
Fillon was also quoted as saying that abandoning the euro "would mark the end of Europe as a process for a very long time."
