BERLIN, July 13 (Xinhua) -- French President Emmanuel Macron has urged Germany to show more economic solidarity towards its EU partners, German newspaper Funke Mediengruppe reported on Thursday.
"There is an economic and commercial imbalance between Germany and its neighbors," Macron told the newspaper.
"The countries which were already indebted before [introducing the euro] are piling up more and more debt. The countries which were already competitive before are becoming more and more competitive."
According to Macron, the 19-member eurozone would have to see more convergence, rather than a widening of differences, in order to ensure the success of the Single Currency.
In an attempt to ally German fears of a "transfer union", he emphasized that it was not about "mutualizing pre-existing debt". By mutualizing, it could imply that a eurozone member economy might overcome its debt either by introducing eurobonds or by allowing the European Central Bank to act as a lender.
What was needed instead, Macron said, were stronger "solidarity mechanisms" for the future to reduce the adverse effects of structural imbalances and improve growth across the entire bloc.
According to Eurostat figures, German GDP growth accelerated to 0.6 percent in the first quarter of 2017, well ahead of Britain, France and the United States.
Macron also urged German policymakers to work towards revitalizing German public and private investment in Europe.
"Germany must take action, just like France must take action," he warned.
The French president's comments came a day before a scheduled meeting between German and French cabinet ministers.
According to information the Handelsblatt has obtained from persons close to the matter, the Franco-German ministerial summit in Paris on Friday will see the presentation of a plan to harmonize corporate taxation.
Berlin and Paris aim to spell out a first set of related measures until September, focused on creating common ground in the assessment of taxable income for corporations. Concrete legislation is to be drafted by December. It would then be implemented in 2018, ideally together with other EU partners.
The ministerial summit in Paris between German and French policymakers is the first of its kind for the newly elected Macron.
European defense cooperation will be another subject of debate.
"We are now creating the framework for a European Defense Union and will propose the first projects," German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen (CDU) told the Rheinische Post.
"We have established a shared armed forces command center this spring. The next task we face is determining the conditions of our cooperation and the financing thereof," she said.
