Awwal 05, 1432 H/Feb 08, 2011, SPA -- Plans to impose greater budget discipline and economic coordination within the eurozone are not being dictated by France and Germany, European Union President Herman Van Rompuy said on Tuesday, insisting that discussions "start from zero." Ahead of an EU summit on Friday, a leaked document attributed by media to the French and German governments called for a series of radical reforms - including raising retirement ages, abolishing inflation-linked wages and constitutional limits on deficits, dpa reported. Speaking as he reported to the European Parliament about the outcome of the summit, Van Rompuy said he "saw" the text, but added that it "does not exist as far as the European Council (summit) is concerned." Van Rompuy was replying to Socialist group leader Martin Schulz, who questioned him about the document - whilst waving a a copy of it. "As far as I know, it is not a Franco-German document ... it was not presented to the council, it was not discussed there," the EU president told him. Schulz was not not convinced - to the point that he walked out of the meeting.
