France, Germany agree on joint proposal for eurozone budget

France and Germany have agreed a detailed proposal for a eurozone budget to boost growth, strengthen competitiveness and lower the development gap between individual member states, a German government document showed on Friday.

The Franco-German accord is likely to pave the way for an agreement in the wider group of eurozone finance ministers who will discuss the set-up of the new but disputed tool next month.

"The purpose of the eurozone budgetary instrument would be to foster competitiveness and convergence in the eurozone...," the joint Franco-German proposal read, according to the government document seen by Reuters.

The new tool should also be open for countries that are locked into the Exchange Rate Mechanism II - the two-year waiting room for joining the euro, the proposal said.

"As agreed by the summit, the instrument should be part of the EU...

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