MAIN FOCUS: Resignation at ECB unsettles markets | 12/09/2011
from euro|topics
Share prices fell around the world after German economist Jürgen Stark announced on Friday that he would give up his post as chief economist of the European Central Bank at the start of the new year. According to commentators, the resignation of the guarantor of stability undermines trust in the ECB and even endangers the euro.
Europe: It’s so hot right now
by Open Europe blog team
There was a time when “Europe” was an issue that drew the occasional news story. And although EU issues still don’t get nearly enough attention in British and European media, it has now reached a stage where it is literally impossible not to give this issue (which in fact, is a whole range of different issues) some serious attention.
Portugal: Citizens Ask Icelanders About Democracy
by Sara Moreira
This page is part of our special coverage Europe in Crisis.
In the same week in April that former Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Socrates announced the need for an international financial bailout to pay for its public debt of 80 billion Euros, Icelanders went to the polls to reject tax payers participation in the ?Icesave? bank bailout deal.
Merkel’s Germany in Europe
by Grahnlaw
Update: I have posted a readable version of this article on Grahnlaw Suomi Finland, because my first experience with the new Blogger interface resulted in the text “sausage” below, and I was unable to create separate paragraphs to make the text readable. On 28 May 2009 I posted the text of chancellor Angela Merkel’s speech at the Humboldt University on Europe in the blog post Merkel’s Germany: The European mainstream? The following day I wrote an entry with my impressions: And Quiet Flows the Spree ? Merkel’s Germany in the EU. The tenor of the address, as I saw it:
Far-right rallies held in UK and Germany
from Hurriyet Dailynews by LONDON / BERLIN – The Associated Press
Ignoring a government ban on marches in London, hundreds of far-right activists held a protest in the capital on Saturday and some clashed with police.
Euro Crisis: A critical assessment of where we stand
from Blogactiv by Protesilaos Stavrou
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The longer European leaders cling to their failing policies and their vaunted beliefs that have so far utterly failed to contain the crisis, the more suffering they will cause to European citizens.Image Source: Spiegel Online |
The systemic crisis of the euro continues to spread. Contrary to the calm situation European officials wish to project, a number of threats exist in numerous fronts, ranging from the deep and downwardly spiraling recession in Greece, to the worsening of the crisis in Italy and Spain, to the increasing possibilities that the credit rating of France will be downgraded, to the increase in the banking risk of the quasi-bankrupt European banking system, to the fact that the ECB might have to put an end to its bond-purchasing programme, to the possibility that the German Constitutional Court will decide that European bailouts are not in line with existing legislation. The situation is very volatile and things can only get worse if European leaders fail to calm down the markets by finally producing a rational plan to save the euro and put an end to the crisis (such a plan has been proposed by Yanis Varoufakis and Stuart Holland in the Modest Proposal for Overcoming the Euro Crisis).
An assessment of the jointly-guaranteed Eurobond
from Blogactiv by Protesilaos Stavrou
The idea of introducing eurobonds to help dealing with the systemic crisis of the euro has existed for some time now but has always met staunch resistance from politicians and intellectuals in the Eurozone?s surplus countries. In recent weeks this resistance has been weakened due to the worsening of the crisis and the gradual silent acceptance that all half-measures that have been implemented so far have utterly failed to first realize the structure of the crisis and second address it in a rational and effective manner. Now even in surplus countries many consider the option of the eurobond as the only way to contain the crisis and prevent the collapse of the euro (which is what will certainly happen if things stay as they are). Though it is encouraging that the eurobond concept is finally discussed in the countries were it met the greatest resistance, it is nonetheless worrying that people switched from one side of the argument, that of complete rejection, to the other, that of mutualization of the system?s debt and the necessary connection between the introduction of eurobonds and the creation of a fiscal union.
What will the German Constitutional Court ruling mean for the eurozone crisis?
by Open Europe blog team
We’ve put out a briefing today, looking at the upcoming German Constitutional Court ruling on the eurozone bailouts. The ruling is due on 7 September and whichever way it goes, it’s likely to have an interesting impact on the future of the eurozone crisis. (See here for the full briefing).
An assessment of the jointly-guaranteed Eurobond
from Ideas on Europe by Protesilaos Stavrou
The idea of introducing eurobonds to help dealing with the systemic crisis of the euro has existed for some time now but has always met staunch resistance from politicians and intellectuals in the Eurozone?s surplus countries. In recent weeks this resistance has been weakened due to the worsening of the crisis and the gradual silent acceptance that all half-measures that have been implemented so far have utterly failed to first realize the structure of the crisis and second address it in a rational and effective manner. Now even in surplus countries many consider the option of the eurobond as the only way to contain the crisis and prevent the collapse of the euro (which is what will certainly happen if things stay as they are). Though it is encouraging that the eurobond concept is finally discussed in the countries were it met the greatest resistance, it is nonetheless worrying that people switched from one side of the argument, that of complete rejection, to the other, that of mutualization of the system?s debt and the necessary connection between the introduction of eurobonds and the creation of a fiscal union.
Is Jean Monnet to blame for the euro crisis and the EU?s financial black-hole?
from Blogactiv by David
Is Jean Monnet responsible for the euro debacle? Did a flaw in the ?Monnet Method? bring about today?s financial crisis and the black hole into which billions of taxpayers? money are being poured? That?s what one Eurocrat implied, as quoted in the Economist newsmagazine: ?The European Union was not designed to deal with a crisis?. Blame Jean Monnet, says the Economist?s columnist, Charlemagne.
MAIN FOCUS: German court approves euro bailout | 08/09/2011
from euro|topics
Germany’s loan guarantees for the first Greece package and the euro bailout fund, which amount to hundreds of billions of euros, are legally justified, the Federal Constitutional Court ruled on Wednesday, adding that all financial policy decisions of this order must continue to receive the approval of the Bundestag. Commentators say the ruling will help stabilise the euro but warn of the perils of excessive codetermination on the part of national parliaments.
The Karlsruhe factor II
by Open Europe blog team
In case you missed it, here’s our reponse to yesterday’s ruling by the German Consitutional Court (for those of you up for the challenge, the full ruling can be found in German here):
High Noon Approaching for Greece?
from A Fistful Of Euros » A Fistful Of Euros by Edward Hugh
The Greek tragedy in several acts would appear to be approaching a climactic moment. The warnings coming out of Berlin all week have been hard to ignore: ?Greece either puts up or shoves off? would seem to be the blunt message being offered.
Common European defence: some questions
by Grahnlaw
In the blog post EU common defence: Military HQ first choice we continued to look at the main groups of European Union members with regard to military cooperation.
Few political developments are as self-evident as a common European defence, until European politicians get involved.
The racist populism of European Commissioner Oetinger is unacceptable
from Ideas on Europe by Protesilaos Stavrou
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Commissioner Oettinger just like any other person on this planet knows well the calamities this arrogance brought on Europe and the whole planet. Image Source: Kosmopolito |
According to news sources the European Commissioner for Energy, Guenther Oettinger offered an interview in the German mass-circulation newspaper Bild where he said, among others, that the flags of countries that fail to comply to budget rules (the ?fiscal sinners?) should be put at half mast outside EU buildings.
Crying All The Way To The Bank
from A Fistful Of Euros » A Fistful Of Euros by Edward Hugh
Ireland?s Minister for Finance Michael Noonan is an optimistic man. He is also a persistent one. He is optimistic, since he clearly feels that his country?s 85 billion euro IMF/EU programme is going to work as planned, and he is persistent as he patently refuses to let sleeping dogs lie. The dogs in question here would be the bondholders of Anglo Irish Bank and Irish Nationwide Building Society senior debt. The heir to these banks owes them some 3.8 billion euros, and the first repayment of 719 million euros of Anglo debt falls due on November 2.
EU military headquarters ? CSDP permanent structured cooperation
by Grahnlaw
The euroblogger Jon Worth – @jonworth on Twitter ? made me notice the Telegraph article by Bruno Waterfield: ‘Big Five’ tell Baroness Ashton to bypass Britain over EU military HQ.
Jon also had the kindness to point out that my old blog post about the legal base for deeper military cooperation between willing member states turned up first on Google search: EU Treaty of Lisbon: Permanent structured cooperation (1 February 2008).
The self-defeating austerity obsession that plagues Europe
from Ideas on Europe by Protesilaos Stavrou
Yesterday, it was reported in the EuropeanVoice.com that Dutch Prime Minister, Mark Rutte, called for a budgetary discipline commissioner. This proposal is not the only one heard on the matter as many politicians in surplus countries are making suggestions along the same lines. Such ideas are founded upon the theory which advocates that the cause of the current crisis in Europe is excessive public spending. This is utterly false and misleading. It conceals the malignancies of the European banking system and the structural flaws of the euro, denies that the EFSF policies are catastrophic and fuels the populist and racist rhetoric of the ?lazy PIIGS?.
Germany: the beleaguered European island, Ulrike Guerot
from open Democracy News Analysis – by Ulrike Guerot
Many outward economic indicators still tell a story of German success. Inside, there are many signs of a troubled country lacking a strategic vision for itself and for Europe. The eurozone financial crisis highlights this vacuum – but the heart of the problem is political, says Ulrike Guérot.
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