MERKEL, SARKOZY AIM TO RAISE EU COMPETITIVENESS

Brussels, February 4 (Reuters)- Germany and France were setting out proposals for tighter European economic and fiscal coordination at a summit of EU leaders on Friday.

Following are comments by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President at a news conference.

"We are working hand in glove, France and Germany, with a clear, total determination to support the euro, to defend the euro”.

"We want to ensure the convergence of different European economies and we have further strengthened our discussions on this matter in the past few weeks. We therefore agree on a structural plan that is designed to respond to the challenges that Europe faces”.

"This response means more integration of our economic policies, with the aim of strengthening the competitiveness of our economies”.

"We want to strengthen the competitiveness of Europe and its economy.

"We want to show the world that Europe's economies are converging, so as to show our competitiveness”.

"Germany and France will make it very obvious that we intend to defend the euro as a currency -that is only what is to be expected- but we also want to defend it as a political project”.

"What we want is to ensure is to safeguard prosperity and wealth for the people in our countries. But we must increase our competitiveness, and the yardstick or benchmark should be the member state that shows the best practices.

"That means we want to commit ourselves to a pact for competitiveness”.

"What we want to establish is a pact for competitiveness and in so doing we want to make it very clear that we intend to grow together more closely at a political level, which is not to say that there should not be a competition for the best solution among the member states”.

"Our deadline would be to aim for the March European Council meeting to take the definitive proposals, which is to say that before that council meeting we would have to agree amongst the euro area members and the Eurogroup members on the details of that pact.

"...Before the end of the year we will be able to in very concrete terms furnish proof that we are serious about such a pact”.

"We want to send out a clear message, that as the European Union, we intend to grow together. What we want to establish is a pact for competitiveness. Before the end of the year, we will show proof that we are serious about the pact”.

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