The Dutch cabinet supports a far tougher approach to ensuring eurozone countries do not break the rules on monetary union and believes they should leave the euro if they are not prepared to enforce stronger sanctions, prime minister Mark Rutte told MPs in a briefing on Wednesday.

‘This briefing sketches a structural approach which gets to the heart of the problem, strengthening budgetary discipline and ensuring strict adherence to the rules, under independent monitoring,’ Rutte said.
These rules would be accompanied by ‘severe sanctions which countries will have to agree to if they want to remain part of the eurozone,’ the prime minister said in the nine-page document.
Until now, the cabinet has had the view that all 17 countries should remain in the eurozone and resisted calls, for example, that Greece be expelled.

Subsidies
Countries which fail to get their economies in order could lose their rights to EU subsidies and their vote in EU matters, the prime minister suggested.
As a final resort, they could be put under the supervision of a special European commissioner. Those which do not agree, ‘can take the opportunity to leave the eurozone’, the prime minister said.
According to the Volkskrant, the rest of Europe is not ready for this form of ‘euro-federalism’. Both France and Germany believe European leaders should continue to dictate economic policy.
Ministers themselves accept there will be ‘considerable resistance’ to their plan but consider discussion to be vital ‘given the importance of long-term stability in the eurozone.’