European Union officials urged a crackdown on widespread government overspending, calling Wednesday for much closer economic coordination between EU nations to curb the acute debt crisis that has threatened to sink their shared currency. The plan by the EU's executive commission advocated unprecedented scrutiny of countries' spending plans even before they go to their national parliaments - and new financial penalties for rule breakers. That would deepen the ties that bind 16 nations in Europe's currency union and would curtail some nations' power over their own economies in an attempt to keep more reckless spenders like recently bailed-out Greece from dumping their debts on all euro zone members. The EU is effectively extending its powers to monitor budgets by seeking oversight for the entire economy, saying this is crucial to prevent the debt mountains that have caused the euro to slide in value against the dollar and forced Greece to seek financial help from EU nations. EU Economy Commissioner Olli Rehn said the EU's moves would ensure that national governments' spending plans were “consistent with European objectives.” They will also “lead to a substantial deepening and prudent widening of the economic and monetary union,” he said. German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle, who heads the smaller party in Germany's coalition government, rejected the idea, saying the EU should not interfere with the “core of national sovereignty,” the DAPD news agency reported. German Chancellor Angela Merkel was less concerned, saying budget programs “were not secret” and it would not be a problem for parliaments to know the European Commission's views on national budgets at an earlier stage. But Merkel said she didn't believe the EU plans went far enough.
