French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday backed Germany’s idea of a European Monetary Fund (EMF) to counter economic shocks in eurozone member states but stressed the ultimate goal of deeper integration should remain a eurozone budget.

Mr. Macron wants a giant leap forward in European cooperation, pushing for the creation of a eurozone Finance Minister and Parliament, as well as a standalone budget for the currency bloc to cushion economic shocks and head off crises.

“We should head towards a European Monetary Fund but this should in no way be mixed up with a (eurozone) budget,” Mr. Macron said during a visit to Athens.