Commission to sideline finance ministers?

The Greek crisis may have drastic consequences for the autonomy of Eurozone countries. European Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs Olli Rehn wants to intervene in national budgetary policy in member states to prevent a repeat of the Athens debacle, reports Financial Times Deutschland. On 14 April, the Commission will consider a proposal for "control of the amount and development of public spending," which will effectively transform the meeting of European finance ministers, Euro Group, "into a supervisory council." The Hamburg daily warns that the plan, which aims to profit from the lessons of "economic imbalances that contributed to the Greek crisis," will not be welcomed with open arms by member states who will be anxious to safeguard full control of their budgets in line with the terms of the Maastricht Treaty.