Overview

• Bruno Le Maire proposed pooling national debts above 50% of GDP into a unified European debt instrument to strengthen the euro as a global reference currency.
• He suggested merging European Investment Bank bonds with the €750 billion pandemic recovery bonds into a single financial instrument to create a more attractive debt market.
• Le Maire emphasized the need to fast-track the digital euro to reduce reliance on U.S.-based payment systems like Visa, Mastercard, and PayPal.
• The proposals aim to capitalize on the dollar's decline, which has seen a 5% drop against the euro since early April following U.S. tariff policies.
• The European Commission has been called to assess the feasibility of these measures, which face political and legal challenges under EU treaties.