German minister attends French cabinet meeting

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble joined French ministers for their weekly Cabinet meeting in a first for the French-German relationship.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy used the meeting to call for a side-by-side comparison of the French and German tax systems as a step toward the "necessary fiscal convergence" between the two countries, according to a copy of his speech.

"The convergence of our tax systems is an essential part of our economic integration and the deepening of Europe's internal market," Sarkozy said.

Schaeuble and French counterpart Christine Lagarde presented joint French-German proposals for an EU working group on improving Europe's economic governance. Among the measures they're seeking are stronger sanctions against euro zone members who "repeatedly and seriously" breech the currency's stability pact. This pact puts limits on countries debts and deficits, but it did little to prevent the Greek financial crisis.

Following Wednesday's Cabinet meeting, Schaeuble and Lagarde were holding talks on economic and financial matters with representatives of the two countries' central banks.

It was the first time a minister from another country has taken part in a French Cabinet meeting. Lagarde attended a German government Cabinet meeting last March.