Juncker unlikely to remain

(CS) Jean-Claude Juncker has announced it unlikely he will remain in the post of head of the euro group beyond 2012, as part of measures to strengthen the EU economy.

The proposed changes will see the post changed to a full-time position led from Brussels. Juncker announced that he will not be seeking to stay in office beyond June 2012 should this change take place. It would mark the end of Juncker's third tenure as head of the euro group.

The announcement was made at a conference in Strasbourg on Wednesday by European Council president Herman Van Rompuy, European Commission president José Manuel Barroso and Juncker. At a summit in October the representatives had been charged by the eurozone countries to deliberate on measures to strengthen EU economy and currency mechanisms.

It remains to be negotiated whether the new euro group president will belong to the EU Commission, a move favoured by Van Rompuy and Barroso, but seen critically by other EU delegates.

Juncker critical of Germany

Luxembourg prime minister Juncker is also making headlines with a recent interview given with the German press.

In a statement issued to the German media by Bonn newspaper Der General-Anzeiger, Juncker criticised the German attitude to its debt, pointing out that German debt was in fact higher than that of Spain, but that “no one wants to know this here.”

He also said that it was too easy to assume that the people in the south were lazy while the Germans were working hard.

Juncker's statements have since been picked up by several German news outlets.