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G Sudhakar Nair
Bonn, Jan 1: Germany today took over the six-month rotating presidency of the European Union (EU) from Austria with a goal of reducing unemployment through a continental inititative and finalising crucial reforms of the 15-nation group's budget.
Germany, which also assumed the chairmanship of the Group of Seven industralised countries (G-7) for 1999 from today, will push proposals for greater tax harmonisation in the EU despite resistance from other countries, notably the UK.
A heavy responsibility is over 54-year old Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, who will be at the helm of international affairs within 10 weeks of assuming office, in moulding the political and economic agenda of the EU for the start of the new millenium.
Germany's EU presidency and G-7 chairmanship coincided with the historic launch of Europe's single currency monetarily uniting all but four countries in the EU.
"Germany wants to pullout all the stops to get a compromise on reforming EU's finances by late march," according to theGerman Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer.
Bonn has been given the task of completing a series of complex negotiations called "Agenda 2000" before wrapping up a agreement at a special EU summit in Brussels sometime in March.
Copyright © 1999 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
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