EU countries should not hide behind national interests, German Finance Minister says

By Maria Martinez

BERLIN, Feb 16 (Reuters) – The European Union is at a turning point in which countries should not hide behind national interests, German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil said in Brussels.

“We want to cut through knots, we want to find solutions,” Klingbeil said. “This is a very European moment.”

He added that Germany is ready to make compromises, speaking ahead of the meeting of EU finance ministers.

“I believe what happened at the beginning of the year with Greenland woke up everyone who cares about Europe, and it is leading to the fact that we are not getting bogged down in national interests or hiding behind them, but ready to make compromises,” Klingbeil said.

One of the key topics in the meeting on Monday will be the capital markets union, which would allow some 10 trillion euros ($11.86 trillion) idling in bank deposits across the 27-nation bloc to be invested in promising sectors of the economy that lack capital, such as green energy, digital, defence and security, aerospace, semiconductors or biotechnology.

“This would be a game changer if we make progress this year,” Klingbeil said.

($1 = 0.8432 euros)

(Reporting by Maria MartinezEditing by Ludwig Burger and Matthias Williams)