US-France competition in Algeria

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Nicolas Sarkozy, the French minister for Economy, Finance and Industry, is visiting Algeria. One of the main energy suppliers to the European market, Algeria is the first non-OECD economic partner of France — before China and Brasil!
* This visit comes just after European finance ministers, vowing collectivelly not to repeat clashes over tax cuts when oil surged in 2000, pledged a coordinated response to the jump in oil prices:
Finance ministers said they have learned from mistakes made in 2000, when France and Italy, bowing to protests by truck drivers, broke with an EU consensus against cutting fuel taxes. Ministers didn’t disclose what this year’s policy will be. “There’s a common opinion that unilateral actions of countries are not helpful,” Dutch Finance Minister Gerrit Zalm said after ministers from the 12 euro countries met late yesterday in Luxembourg. Higher oil prices may shave 0.2 percentage point off European growth and […]

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June 4, 2004 | Filed Under Uncategorized

 

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