The Pew Global Attitudes Project polled 8,000 people in France, Germany, Spain,
Italy, Greece, Poland, Britain and the Czech Republic from mid-March to
mid-April and identified unprecedented levels of discontent with the EU. "The
European project, which began with the creation of a small common market in
1957, grew to a larger single market in 1992 and then created the single
currency in 2002, is a major casualty of the sovereign debt crisis," the report
concluded. "Majorities or near majorities in most nations now believe that the
economic integration of Europe has actually weakened their economies." At a time
when the EU is pushing closer to an economic and fiscal union for the eurozone,
popular opinion is pulling the other way. That contradiction has led to
electoral upsets across Europe, from Greece to the Netherlands and France in the
past three months alone. Majorities in most countries now blame EU integration
for damaging their economies, but the figures hit 70% in Greece, 63% in France
and 61pc in Italy, all countries once regarded as staunchly pro-European. Just
one third of the people – 34% – believe that economic integration, a central
plank of the EU's raison d'etre, is a benefit.
De La Rue, the money printer, failed to dampen speculation that it has been secretly awarded a contract to start printing drachmas the moment Greece is forced out of the euro. The company said that its order book had increased by 14pc, to £248m, but its policy was to never reveal which specific contracts it was working on. The chief executive Tim Cobbold said: “We have people in every region in the world. We are very close to all geopolitical conditions that develop.”
He said, however, that in most circumstances it took six months between an initial order being placed by a central bank or government, and the notes being delivered. This was the time it took when South Sudan introduced the South Sudanese pound after it gained independence last year.
To print a new currency in the space of a couple of weeks “would be impossible”.
Sergey Shvestov, the vice president of Russia’s Central Bank, said that Greece already has a plan to introduce its own currency, in parallel to to the euro. He said it with high certainty.
Making contingency plans for different options is the right thing to do for anyone, but saying it about Greece and with such a degree of certainty is new.
Shvestov didn’t want to share more details, but said that leaving the euro-zone is a necessity for Greece. He said it would be a “good example” for other countries.
The Russian Center for Strategic Studies in Moscow said that a Grexit will ignite a global crisis affecting the price of oil. They see a a chance of more than 50% that Greece will leave the euro-zone and that it will cause other countries will leave as well. El Economista brings this report. Rumors about fresh polls show that anti-bailout SYRIZA is in the lead, with 30% support. The situation in Greece is so bad that the country may leave the zone even if pro-bailout parties win.
EUR/USD is struggling between 1.25 and 1.26. Is another fall coming?