BERLIN (Reuters) - German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz said on Wednesday that Berlin was close to agreeing with Paris on proposals for a euro zone budget, adding that he expected agreement on that this week or next.
"We are very close," Scholz said. "We had a good discussion yesterday which led to us being sure that we can get it together by the end of this week or the beginning of the next, and then we'll present it to our other friends in Europe."
Germany's Handelsblatt newspaper reported on Tuesday that Germany and France had agreed a proposal for a common euro zone budget to be used to reward countries that successfully implement economic reforms and to finance strategic investments.
(Reporting by Thomas Escritt; Editing by Michelle Martin)
