19 Nov 2010

GERMANY / EUROPEAN GROWTH

Speaking at a European Central Bank conference in Frankfurt, managing director of the International Monetary Fund Dominique Strauss-Kahn says the global economy’s recovery is under threat from uneven performances around the world. IMF

Posted at: November 19, 2010 5:02 pm

Duration: 02:30

Available in: SD

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Full script

STORY: GERMANY / EUROPEAN GROWTH
TRT: 2:30
SOURCE: IMF
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGES: ENGLISH / NATS

DATELINE: 19 NOVEMBER 2010, FRANKFURT, GERMANY

SHOTLIST:

1. Wide shot, Old Opera House
2. Wide shot, IMF's Strauss-Kahn walks on stage
3. Cutaway, audience
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Dominique Strauss-Kahn, Managing Director, International Monetary Fund:
"Really I believe that Europe must break with the shackles of slow growth and stop settling for second best. The union has to have a goal which is first best and not always accept second best solutions. That's the only way to save the social model and fulfill the common European destiny. It has been done before. Let's do it again. For this, we need movement on a different front."
5. Wide shot, stage
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Dominique Strauss-Kahn, Managing Director, International Monetary Fund:
"When I look at the lesson of the recent history of Europe, I think it goes in this direction. When the agenda was driven by the center, things happen: the single market, the monetary union. When the agenda is left to the nations, frankly, things stall."
7. Cutaway, audience
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Dominique Strauss-Kahn, Managing Director, International Monetary Fund:
"The only answer for me is more cooperation and greater integration. I think it's time now to fortify the economic foundation of the union, without which the Euro is still incomplete."
9. Cutaway, photographer
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Dominique Strauss-Kahn, Managing Director, International Monetary Fund:
"I'm very confident of the possibility of Greece to go back on track, and the government is very bold and has put in place what has to be done. Surprisingly enough, but that's a very good signal: they didn't lose the election, which is something important to keep in mind (for politicians at least). The fact that we had this problem and everybody knows that we have some other problems we're dealing with is something that cannot come back again. Finally, we share a currency that has huge advantages, but at the same time, if we share a currency, we share a constraint."
11. Wide shot, applause at end of speech

STORYLINE:

The International Monetary Fund's (IMF) Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn today (19 November) called on Europe to implement far-reaching reforms in a collaborative effort to restore dynamic and long-lasting economic growth as well as safeguard the European social model.

"Really I believe that Europe must break with the shackles of slow growth and stop settling for second best. The union has to have a goal which is first best and not always accept second best solutions. That's the only way to save the social model and fulfill the common European destiny. It has been done before. Let's do it again. For this, we need movement on a different front," Strauss-Kahn said.

Strauss-Kahn outlined a number of areas for action ranging from fixing the financial sector, which he said "must surely come first" to a "single labor market initiative" and rebalancing growth within Europe. More fundamentally, only a collaborative approach driven by the center can forge the reforms that are needed to secure stability, create jobs, and ensure long-term growth, Strauss-Kahn said.

"When I look at the lesson of the recent history of Europe, I think it goes in this direction. When the agenda was driven by the center, things happen: the single market, the monetary union. When the agenda is left to the nations, frankly, things stall," Strauss-Kahn said.

Strauss-Kahn told the audience at the Old Opera House in Frankfurt that there is only one way forward.

"The only answer for me is more cooperation and greater integration. I think it's time now to fortify the economic foundation of the union, without which the Euro is still incomplete," Strauss-Kahn said.

Turning to Greece, which entered into a program with the IMF in May, Strauss-Kahn said the country has taken some positive steps.

"I'm very confident of the possibility of Greece to go back on track, and the government is very bold and has put in place what has to be done. Surprisingly enough, but that's a very good signal: they didn't lose the election, which is something important to keep in mind (for politicians at least). The fact that we had this problem and everybody knows that we have some other problems we're dealing with is something that cannot come back again. Finally, we share a currency that has huge advantages, but at the same time, if we share a currency, we share a constraint," said Strauss-Kahn.