At the same time, he ran budget deficits that were proportionately larger than those in France, where a Socialist government, supposedly intent on handing out loot unencumbered by arithmetic, was in power. Any alteration to European economic policy inevitably involves Germany. The European Union maintains rules limiting budget deficits and public debt burdens. Both are running budget deficits well above the limit — 3 percent of gross domestic product. “Stressing austerity means destroying Europe,” Mr. Renzi declared at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York.

Source: New York Times October 07, 2016 04:07 UTC