The newly designated government of Romania, formed of the Social Liberal Union (USL) alliance and led by Victor Ponta, eyes an average annual economic growth of 3% for 2013-2016 and maintaining an ESA-system budget deficit of under 3% until 2016, according to the USL governing program, published by the government on Thursday.
It eyes reaching a structural budget deficit of 0.7% of GDP in 2014 and keeping it at that level in 2015 and 2016, but also reaching a "lower VAT level for basic food products within the limits of fiscal necessities" on the average term.
On research, the government wants to group all research institutions controlled by ministers and governmental agencies under the Education, Research and Innovation ministry.
On European funds, the Government eyes an absorption rate for non-reimbursable structural and cohesion funds of 50-80% by 2015.
On fiscal policies, the government says it plans to provide transparency for public funds, to simplify the tax system, to return to a 19% VAT and introduce progressive taxation.
The program defines the principles of the USL government.

 

Among them: compliance with the rule of law and individual rights

• compliance with Romania's commitments to foreign partners - the European Commission, the IMF and th World Bank - with the goal of an inclusive economic growth with a balance distribution among the population, by applying structural reforms which would allow increasing economic competitiveness.
• a new vision for Romania - economic development and social cohesion
• improving the absorption rate of structural funds as an essential condition to provide sustainable economic growth and limit foreign debt
• support economic freedom, private initiative and fair competition
• guarantee property rights
• efficient use of public money and war on tax dodgers
• accelerated structural reforms
• the development of competitive economy, of modern agriculture and industry
• sustainable social policies to provide free and equal access to education and health systems
• political reform, meaning an improved Constitution and a credible, legitimate Parliament
• regain the country's place worldwide as a respected partner within the European Union

Another euro-pegged government defending an overvalued exchange rate bites the dust, a reminder that the underlying economic and social disaster across the Europe’s Arc of Depression is still getting worse. Bulgarian prime minister Boiko Borisov resigned this morning after days of mass protests against austerity across the country. “I will not participate in a government under which police are beating people. Every drop of blood is a shame for us,” he said. “Our power was handed to us by the people, today we are handing it back to them.” This follows the defenestration of the free-market finance minister earlier this week. Bulgaria is of course a complicated country, still grappling with the legacy of communist rule and a police state. It is a stronghold of organised crime, offspring of the old security services. It went through near hyper-inflation in the 1990s and does not want to flirt with that again. The immediate protests are as much about Mafia control and soaring electricity prices as about spending cuts. But Bulgaria is also in much the same position as Greece, Portugal, Spain, and Italy, trapped in the ante-chamber of monetary union with a misaligned currency, forced to undertake an internal devaluation....

Britain's 15 years of consecutive growth were ignited by the leaving of the ERM straight-jacket that Thatcher signed us up to.

Germany has three choices:

1. It coughs up to pay the debts of the poorer countries.

2. It allows the poorer countries to leave the Euro.

3. It deals with the consequences of a wave of civil unrest and possibly terrorism/revolution across Europe.

They, along with France, made this bed - now its time that they lay in it.

Free trade not only for growth but social security, freedom - "Free trade is a driver not only for economic development in poor countries, but is also essential for building social security and promoting access to human rights and freedoms", said Alf Svensson MEP, responsible for the European Parliament's response to the Commission's year-old statement on trade, growth and development.The Report, that got the full support from the EP's Development Committee in a vote on Tuesday, calls for the EU's Aid for Trade instruments to be focused not only on trade between the EU and developing countries, but also on support for internal and South-South trade, in order to promote growth and prepare developing countries for trade on the global market.
It further calls on the EU to actively use the many instruments at its disposal to support peace, good governance and sound public finances in developing countries and thereby help create a conducive environment for efficient trade development.

"Human rights and free trade are two pillars for sound and sustainable societal development, and the EU needs to use its development instruments to promote both pillars", concluded Alf Svensson.  The Report will be voted in the March plenary.

Massive crowds jammed St. Peter's Square Sunday morning for one of the last public appearances of Pope Benedict XVI. ... The 85-year-old pontiff blessed tens of thousands of pilgrims and Romans. They cheered as he asked for their prayers and thanks them for their "affection and spiritual closeness."... Sunday night he'll begin a Lenten retreat, leaving behind a world of speculation, rumors and conspiracy theories of why he's really resigned and who will replace him next month. ...The Vatican's vague announcements feed the fire. The latest was spokesman Rev. Frederico Lombardi comments Friday that they were examining whether they can legally speed up the election for Benedict's successor. Current church law is clear that a conclave is to be held no earlier than 15 days after the papacy is vacated.So a change would require finding a loophole in the densely woven canon laws on conclaves-- or getting a dispensation. Then it would be a frantic push to racewalk a new pontiff up the nave of St. Peter's for his installation so he'd be in place for Palm Sunday, March 24..... Bad idea, says political scientist and Vatican expert Rev. Thomas Reese. Among his reasons rushing "would be a mistake," Reese says: -- "Church law should not be changed on a whim. Only the pope can change the rules; once he resigns, no one can change the rules. -- "If the pope does change the rules before he resigns, which he can, the media will immediately be filled with conspiracy theories opining how this favors one candidate over another. The church does not need this."

Billionaire investor George Soros and French President François Hollande, a Socialist, are in agreement: The world is on the verge of a currency war, and it threatens to destroy Europe. The Europeans should finally enter the fray and do battle with all their might, says Soros, who made some of his fortune by betting against the British pound. "Europe is an outsider," the 82-year-old recently said at the Davos World Economic Forum. He blamed the European Central Bank (ECB), which he called the last representative of an outdated central bank policy. Hollande doesn't put it as clearly, but he means the same thing. "A currency zone must have an exchange rate policy, or it will end up with an exchange rate that doesn't correspond to the actual state of its economy," the Socialist told the European Parliament in Strasbourg last week. These remarks were intended for Mario Draghi, the president of the Frankfurt-based ECB. Hollande's message is that he should protect the euro's exchange rate. The central bank chief is coming under increasing pressure because he can't quite bring himself to embrace the concept of quantitative easing, the latest fashion in the world of finance. It involves central bankers engaging in the large-scale purchase of bonds issued by their governments and other securities, thereby injecting huge sums of money into the financial system. In this way, they hope to stimulate the domestic economy and keep their own currencies cheap, thereby strengthening exports. Soros believes that this is the only way countries can grow out of their large debts. But a country that artificially pushes down its exchange rate is obtaining competitive advantages at the expense of others. And if they manipulate their own currencies, all sides will end up losing out.

The Vatican announced to great fanfare on Friday that Pope Benedict XVI had signed off on one of the last major appointments of his papacy, approving Ernst von Freyberg as president of the Vatican's bank, officially known as the Institute for Religious Works (IOR).

The Vatican spokesman was caught off-guard when a journalist noted that the German shipbuilder von Freyberg chairs, Blohm + Voss, has a military component, AP reported.

The Rev Federico Lombardi demurred and defended the selection. He later issued a statement saying the company repairs and transforms cruise ships and builds yachts - and is currently part of a consortium that is building four frigates for the German navy.

Michael Brasse, spokesman for Blohm + Voss in Hamburg, said that von Freyberg is chairman of the executive board of Blohm + Voss Shipyards, a unit that concentrates on building civilian ships.

But before Blohm + Voss Shipyards and other non-military units of Blohm + Voss were sold in 2011 to Star Capital Partners, its military shipbuilding unit, Blohm + Voss Naval, had contracted with the German Defense Ministry for four new frigates. Blohm + Voss Naval subcontracted the actual construction of those vessels to Blohm + Voss Shipyards.

PAPA "RESIGNES" ...what's next ? No God ???perhaps GOD will follow ?????!!!

Dear Brothers,

I have convoked you to this Consistory, not only for the three canonisations, but also to communicate to you a decision of great importance for the life of the Church. After having repeatedly examined my conscience before God, I have come to the certainty that my strengths, due to an advanced age, are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of the Petrine ministry.

I am well aware that this ministry, due to its essential spiritual nature, must be carried out not only with words and deeds, but no less with prayer and suffering. However, in today’s world, subject to so many rapid changes and shaken by questions of deep relevance for the life of faith, in order to govern the bark of Saint Peter and proclaim the Gospel, both strength of mind and body are necessary, strength which in the last few months, has deteriorated in me to the extent that I have had to recognise my incapacity to adequately fulfil the ministry entrusted to me.

For this reason, and well aware of the seriousness of this act, with full freedom I declare that I renounce the ministry of Bishop of Rome, Successor of Saint Peter, entrusted to me by the Cardinals on 19 April 2005, in such a way, that as from 28 February 2013, at 20:00 hours, the See of Rome, the See of Saint Peter, will be vacant and a Conclave to elect the new Supreme Pontiff will have to be convoked by those whose competence it is.

Dear Brothers, I thank you most sincerely for all the love and work with which you have supported me in my ministry and I ask pardon for all my defects. And now, let us entrust the Holy Church to the care of Our Supreme Pastor, Our Lord Jesus Christ, and implore his holy Mother Mary, so that she may assist the Cardinal Fathers with her maternal solicitude, in electing a new Supreme Pontiff. With regard to myself, I wish to also devotedly serve the Holy Church of God in the future through a life dedicated to prayer.

From the Vatican, 10 February 2013

BENEDICTUS PP XVI

The deal is expected to set members’ total payments to the EU for 2014-20 at Euro 908.4 billion or £770 billion. For the last seven-year spending round, payments were set at £800 billion, and the new agreement marks the first time the EU’s multi-year budget has fallen. The agreement was sealed shortly after 4pm in Brussels, after more than 24-hours of non-stop talks, including an all-night negotiation during which Mr Cameron drank numerous espressos and chewed sugary gum sweets. The deal was announced on Twitter by Herman van Rumpoy, the EU president. He wrote: “Deal done! #euco has agreed on #MFF for the rest of the decade. Worth waiting for.” Euco is a reference to the European Council. MFF refers the Multi-annual Financial Framework.  The £30 billion of cuts include a £1.7 billion reduction in the size of the EU's administrative budget, which will cut the pay and perks of the 55,000 European civil servants.

The summit was the first since Mr Cameron committed to renegotiate Britain’s EU membership and put the result to an in/out referendum by 2017.

That promise had drawn warnings that Britain will lose influence in Europe, and some EU leaders used it to challenge Mr Cameron over the budget. “Why should we listen to a country that might not be in the EU in 2017,” asked a French source. However, Mr Cameron has, for now, won the crucial support of Angela Merkel of Germany, the biggest contributor to the EU budget. Her backing for deeper cuts in the budget secured Mr Cameron’s victory, and left Mr Hollande looking weakened and isolated.

Despite the historic reduction in the overall size of the EU budget the British government could still end up have to pay more in contributions into Brussels budgets. Officials have calculated that Britain's payments could rise by £500 million as share of the budget going to newer member countries, such as Poland and Romania that joined the EU after 2004, increases. British sources said that because the UK gets no rebate on spending in the new member states, a deal signed by Tony Blair in 2005, the UK's net contribution is expected to drift upwards. The budget deal must still be approved by the European Parliament, which has vowed to reject it. Martin Shulz, the German president of the parliament, is organising a secret ballot among MEPs in March where they could seek the veto the budget without being identified by voters or their home governments. "Those MEPs who have asked for a secret ballot have their reasons,” Mr Schulz said. “There is a lot of pressure on members to vote in a certain direction.”

European leaders have finally agreed a budget deal for the rest of the decade after a marathon 25-and-a-half hour negotiation session in Brussels, that will lead to the first cut in EU spending in its 56-year history.

Herman Van Rompuy, the president of the European council who chaired the negotiations, broke the news on Twitter. He tweeted at 4.22pm local time on Friday: "Deal done! #euco has agreed on #MFF for the rest of the decade. Worth waiting for."

David Cameron, who had demanded a cut or at least a freeze in real terms in the near €1tn (£850bn) budget, will claim victory after the European council president proposed a €34.4bn cut over the next seven years.

Van Rompuy finally clinched the deal after all-night talks, which finally took shape when he tabled budget proposals at 6am following a night of haggling at the EU summit described by one official as "like a bazaar".

Cameron sustained himself through the night with Haribos sweets and copious cups of coffee from a Nespresso machine in the UK delegation room at the EC's Justus Lipsius building.

Shortly before 6.30am, the EU's 27 leaders filed into the council chamber to debate Van Rompuy's proposal to cut the "payment ceiling", likened to a credit card limit, for the next seven-year budget from €942.8bn to €908.4bn. This represents 0.95% of EU GNI – slightly below the 1% demanded by the German chancellor, Angela Merkel.

Van Rompuy proposed cutting the higher "commitment ceiling" from €993.6bn for the last budget from 2007-13 to €960bn for 2014-20.

Dalia Grybauskaite, the Lithuanian president who was the EU's budget commissioner during the last negotiations in 2005, indicated at around 4am that the EU was on the verge of agreeing its first budget cut. The EU has agreed seven-year budgets since 1993.

"It looks quite difficult still, because for the first time really we do see the chances for real budget cut, it has never been before," Grybauskaite said. "Of course it is difficult for some member states, it is difficult for parliament to accept, and why we're probably in so, so long talks."

The moves towards a deal came after scratchy negotiations that saw France's president, François Hollande, dig in his heels against the British prime minister's drive to slash the budget. He stayed away from a meeting with Cameron and Merkel, aimed at forging a compromise.

Van Rompuy had planned to table a "negotiating box" containing his proposed numbers at around 3pm on Thursday. But he held back while he conducted negotiations with member states before and after a dinner session on Thursday night.

As Van Rompuy continued his negotiations past midnight and into the early hours with individual member states, some leaders were left to kick their heels. Cameron and Merkel were understood to have slept on sofas in their delegation rooms.

At 3.30am, Elio di Rupo, the Belgian prime minister, went into the press bar to eat a sandwich and to forecast hours of negotiations.

One EU diplomat complained that Van Rompuy had adopted crude tactics in which he bought off individual member states with "gifts" while cutting EU-wide infrastructure projects such as the Connecting Europe initiative. "Growth has been the victim of the bazaar," the source said.

Hollande had made clear he wanted to challenge Britain when he led a troika of France, Italy and Spain apparently resolved to resist Downing Street. Cameron met Merkel and the two EU presidents, José Manuel Barroso and Van Rompuy, to explore the potential for agreement on Thursday evening. Hollande was expected to attend the meeting, which went on for more than an hour. When he did not turn up, Van Rompuy, chairing the summit, repeatedly phoned the French leader to summon him to the negotiation.

"Hollande was not even answering his mobile," said a senior EU official. "The French are playing tough, very tough, more so than in November," when a previous summit foundered on Cameron's insistence on cutting €30bn from the proposed budget.

Despite the Anglo-French clash there was consensus on the need for cuts. "The question is how much," said the Latvian prime minister, Valdis Dombrovskis. Hollande said this week that €960bn was his bottom line. And going into the summit he said he would question Britain's contested budget rebate.

"It's got to be possible to find an agreement," the French president said. "If certain [countries] are unreasonable I'll try to reason with them but only up to a point … we need to have a little clarity in the rebates, cheques and refunds given to some and not to others and certainly not to France."

Cameron declared that the spending cuts taking place across the different countries had to be replicated in the EU budget. "The numbers are much too high," he said. "They need to come down – and if they don't come down there won't be a deal." To complicate the matter further, Britain is insisting on a different criterion for determining the budget.

The figures initially presented by Van Rompuy in November referred to pledges or "commitments" in the project planning for seven years from 2014. Britain uses a different yardstick: that of "payments", referring to the money actually spent, which usually comes out lower. In the seven years until now the gap between the two was €50bn. Under Van Rompuy's new proposals the gap is €51.6bn for the next budget round.

Downing Street is demanding the lower figure be taken as the cap on what may be spent. The deal looks as though it will be finessed by using both sets of figures to enable conflicting sides to claim victory from very different positions. "They will play on the difference between commitments and payments. That will allow France and Italy to claim they have defended their positions and Britain to claim they won," said an EU official.

Another official involved in drafting the proposed deal said: "There's always a gap between commitments and payments. There will be a gap. That's normal."

The overall budget has to be approved by the European parliament. Martin Schulz, the president of the parliament, made clear he was uneasy with Van Rompuy's plans when he raised concerns about a structural deficit in the EU budget. "The [budget] in the form currently being proposed, however, would turn what is already a legally highly questionable trend into a structural deficit," he told EU leaders.

Even after an agreement is reached on the headline figure, the big fight is likely to be over how to carve up a smaller cake. National and Brussels lobbying will press various claims for farm subsidies, structural funds for the poorest countries and regions, salaries, staffing and administration of the EU institutions, a new kitty aimed at getting the young back to work in areas of the highest unemployment, and infrastructure, broadband, and research investment aimed at spurring growth.

A particular target of the Cameron campaign is the cost of running and staffing the EU, which takes up a mere 4% of the overall budget. The prime minister is calling for savings of €7bn here, by shaving 10% off the salaries bill, curbing special tax rules for EU staff, reducing pensions benefits and altering the system of automatic promotions. It is understood that Van Rompuy is proposing a cut of around €2bn in the administration budget.

The summit's draft conclusions show the scale of the prime minister's success by stressing the need for restraint. The draft conclusions say the budget must act as a catalyst for growth but then add: "As fiscal discipline is reinforced in Europe, it is essential that the future multiannual financial framework [the seven-year budget] reflects the consolidation efforts being made by member states to bring deficit and debt onto a more sustainable path. The value of each euro spent must be carefully examined."

Critics of Britain will say that Cameron has not achieved a budget of €886bn set by Britain in 2011. UK officials say the government gave this figure based on EU spending in 2011 multiplied by seven years. Since 2011, spending has increased, making the comparison irrelevant.

So what are we expecting from this summit? The leaders divide into two camps - the fiscally conservative northern countries and those in the south and east that stand to benefit from more money for infrastructure and agriculture. It is believed that in the build up to the summit some consensus was reached around a budget of €950m - which would be a reduction on the last seven-year spending cycle. This will please the northern bloc. But it is also believed that in a concession to the south, the bulk of the spending, around 40%, would still go on agriculture and related farm subsidies. Indeed, two of the biggest recipients of farm spending - France and Italy - have hinted they could block the budget unless their appropriations are maintained. It is far from clear that the leaders will reach an agreement this time round, though if talks collapse its possible no resolution will be reached until late 2014.,,,Angela Merkel seems pessimistic on the prospect of resolution at this summit. I can't say whether we will be successful, the positions are still far apart. For Germany I can say that we will do everything for such an agreement to materialize because it is very important in a time of economic uncertainty and high unemployment to have a plan. We have to be careful with the way we spend but also show solidarity between net contributors and recipients. Whether we will have a joint vote or whether we will get into a situation where we will have annual tranches in the future I can't say today. It would be desirable to have a joint result but we have to wait and work hard, and that's what I will do....Well now... Why do central bankers and Treasurers from around the world invariably insult our collective intelligence with bland assurances that the euro/US dollar/sterling is in good shape/has weathered the storm/will gradually recover when it is so blindingly obvious that these statements are untrue? Not only are these statements patently false but the people who make them are almost invariably implicated in the processes that created or exacerbated these problems in the first place. If they do it to try to convince the bond and currency markets, then they are doubly stupid because markets are operated by real people putting real money on the line that generally have a low tolerance for bullshit.... Dragi thinks we are the fools that his tin pot immoral and primitive theory of the justification of unaccountable rule by selfish self enrichers defines us as. We are ignorant little people to whom he can feed any lie he likes. He thinks we shall swallow it as if thinking Tizer were little more than a tasty form of the latest exotic continental Lager. He and his kind shall soon be spat out with the same force as a proper beer drinker would Tizer if anyone were so foolish to attempt such a wildly insulting trick. With apologies to Tizer for coming anywhere close to such unpleasant people, if only, by way of metaphor.

WELL....recovery from what? How the goalposts have been shifted!

“The financial markets are calmer this morning. But there's plenty of chatter about how the eurozone crisis is back -- if indeed it ever went away...”

Or indeed, if there ever really was one!

The analysis in this blog is utterly misleading rubbish, cleaving the British public from any genuine appreciation of what’s going on in the rest of Europe. And it started out so promisingly too. A pity it has descended into some sort of parrochial branch of an Ambrose Evans-Pritchard-style ‘euro-hate’/ Ukip fundamentalist party rag.  Last week, the financial press was full of ‘scratch my head’ stories, trying to explain why the stock markets had climbed to such dizzying heights, against all the struggling fundamentals. Could it be all the fake electronic money sloshing around and having an effect? Could it have anything to do with bonus season?  The quiet but dramatic drop in Sterling since Christmas was clearly a bit of sly competitive devaluation – market traders can’t drive it down that far that fast without some seriously organized large trades.

Yesterday, this blog told us with front page, headline confidence that ‘the eurozone crisis was back’ – that political instability over Berlusconi and Rajoy had shaken the markets and caused both the FTSE and the Euro to fall.

 But today, the markets are not just ‘calm’, both the FTSE and Euro are UP again. So what’s happened now? Have the traders simply forgotten yesterday’s news? Has the “eurozone crisis” gone away again? Have the “worries” slipped from their gnat-brained memories? Or were they just taking big fat profits from recent gains and using “Eurozone worries” as an excuse? (There were plenty of negative Eurozone stories last week, which had absolutely no effect whatsoever on the rising market.)

 Could anyone please remind me again, what exactly the “Eurozone Crisis” actually is these days? I mean, what exactly is it that we are supposed to fear? I thought it was originally a fear about Greece or Portugal or Ireland not being able to service their debt and defaulting, thus toppling banks and the financial system like a series of dominos, but since everybody now has a means of printing unlimited new money, that no longer looks likely to happen. So what unspecified event is it exactly that we now have to fear that justifies the claim “the eurozone crisis is back”?

 Are France and Spain going to be swallowed by sink-holes? Are the heads of European governments going to turn into Triffids and eat their own electorate? Really, I mean what precisely is the specific nature of “the Eurozone crisis” now?

 It seems to me, that the only real threat now, is of compliant junk reporting driving up bond yields to a point at which bond buyers rub their hands with glee.

 This is a crisis of Landfill Consumerism, and we’re ALL implicated up to our necks - it's not just a localised problem for the eurozone.

Call a halt to this pro-market, pro-Tory partisan rubbish blog and open up a rolling blog on the WORLD crisis. It might actually prove to be a better way of documenting, blow-by-blow, the changes the world is currently going through. Investigate all aspects…what do the stocks of resources look like? Raw materials, energy, water, etc? Who’s lying to whom and why? How can the environment possibly cope with a ‘return to growth’, given what we now know about the destructive force of our current business models? You know… some independent analysis, which doesn't merely reflect the stories that the financial markets want to tell.

France is another PIG. In fact, France is the "F in PIG". It's just a matter of time until the Euro does to France what it has done for Italy.
Michel Sapin made the gaffe in a radio interview, which left French President Francois Hollande battling to undo the potential reputational damage.

“There is a state but it is a totally bankrupt state,” Mr Sapin said. “That is why we had to put a deficit reduction plan in place, and nothing should make us turn away from that objective.”

The comments came as President Hollande attempts to improve the image of the French economy after pledging to reduce the country’s deficit by cutting spending by €60bn (£51.5bn) over the next five years and increasing taxes by €20bn.

Data from Banque de France showed earlier this month that a flight of capital has already left the country amid concerns that France’s Socialist leader intends to soak the rich and businesses. The actor Gérard Depardieu has renounced his French citizenship and decamped to Russia in protest, while David Cameron said Britain will “roll out the red carpet” to attract wealthy individuals.

Pierre Moscovici, the finance minister, said the comments by Mr Sapin were “inappropriate”. France has declared war on business.
This country has been told for decades it could ignore globalisation, and that the Brits and Americans are more-or-less contemptible.Their businesses close and capital leaves as fast as it can.They described Sarkozy as Mr Bling because he had one expensive inauguration dinner.They have been lied to about reality and there are vast numbers of unreconstructed communists and super-socialists, with a bureaucracy that defies belief. For Germany, France now is THE problem - not Britain, which is similar to Germany in many ways.Hollande is loathed by many in France and now feared by most for the insanity and naivety of what he is doing.There is no budget correction here, just rapid decline, illusion and mounting irrelevance.This place is becoming very frightening...

Well ....There is a common theme here...Someone has nicked all the money, from virtually every country in the world. And we are all sat here twiddling our thumbs worrying about all the debt.   ...  Now think about debt.... How can nearly all the countries in the world, legitimately be in debt?..Who is the debt owed to?...  Whoever these people are, must live in some of these countries, and I am almost certain, that they have - or they think they have - complete power and control over what is going on in these countries...

They are not as some people try and make out - the likes of pensions and insurance companies - otherwise pensioners wouldn't themselves be in the process of being totally screwed. All these problems should be resolvable. Money, no matter what it is based on, does not simply evaporate into thin air and completely disappear.

So the people of all the countries in the world must take this one step at a time, and identify whose hands are actually on the levers of power.  What are the fat controllers planning to do with all their power, if we do not take back control from them?..They are going to try and kill us all. That is what always happens with such enormous power. Ask any old German or Russian who actually survived and witnessed it...We helped come to their rescue. No one's going to come to ours except ourselves.

As for the EU - well I am "out" - the "performance" since 1973 has been pathetic, and we could do a whole lot better economically ourselves as we proved for over two centuries - although I would not wish for one moment to return to the colonial times. As India and China have shown, it is possible to grow GDP in this environment (check out the EU countries' low comparison base in terms of GDP growth - should be easy to improve upon, one might think...). Comparisons with Norway and Switzerland are not fit for purpose - how about the UK "before" and "after" the EU - in the years when the country's economy was actually being run properly - as opposed to the Wilson/Heath panic mode era..?

A lot of people in mainland Europe are extremely unhappy with the way the EU is run - they could not even get a majority on EU Constitution, for goodness sake - which is why the Lisbon Treaty had to be hastily cooked together. Political over-ambition in Brussels got us to this point, and Europe-wide political incompetence is dragging us back. Time for the populus to speak, and for this cretinous, continued practice of hiring people with no economic background, no qualifications or experience of handling multi-billion pound budgets to run the country to stop immediately. It would be regarded as downright negligent in most listed companies to have such people in charge, and it is utterly unjustifiable when the country's economic welfare is at stake.

A rethink on sovereign governance principles is required, and it needs to start now. Without any pointless bickering about socialiam vs capitalism. We exist in a capitalist society, and not to have our best exponents and experts fully engaged in making the best of this type of environment is a complete nonsense. Removing political parties' right to appoint idiotic, incompetent fools to have a direct say and influence in running the country would be a good start. Let the people elect them based on their cvs and background - i.e. competence and experience - just as the rest of us are judged and evaluated. And that does not mean Chancellors with 3rd Class Honours degrees in Economics, or, as we discovered with the allegedly "bright" Gordon Brown, ex-Economics History graduates, with more awareness about Adam Smith and 18th century economics, (valid though many of those theories may be), than the price of gold on the commodities markets at around the turn of the 21st Century, when Brown sold off all our gold for a song. He would have been fired on the spot for such incompetence in any half-decent business for wilful asset destruction. Or am I being too harsh here...??

David Cameron has outlined the scale of his ambition to transform the terms of Britain's membership of the EU by calling for the UK to be exempted from its founding principle: the creation of an ever-closer union. In his long-awaited speech on the EU, the prime minister cast himself as a modern-day heretic as he pledged to challenge established thinking. Speaking at the London headquarters of Bloomberg, Cameron confirmed plans to hold an in-out referendum after the next election but warned: "The biggest danger to the European Union comes not from those who advocate change, but from those who denounce new thinking as heresy. In its long history Europe has experience of heretics who turned out to have a point." The prime minister said that nothing would be off the table when he puts forward demands for the repatriation of a series of powers to Britain if he wins the 2015 general election. A new settlement would then be put to voters in a referendum by the end of 2017.

"I believe in confronting this issue – shaping it, leading the debate. Not simply hoping a difficult situation will go away," he said. The prime minister concluded by saying that he would campaign with all his "heart and soul" for Britain to remain in the EU if he succeeds in renegotiating its membership terms. "When the referendum comes, let me say now that if we can negotiate such an arrangement, I will campaign for it with all my heart and soul," he said.

But Cameron declined to be drawn on whether he would campaign for a no vote if he failed to secure changes in the negotiations. Downing Street had indicated in recent weeks, as the speech was repeatedly delayed, that the prime minister would not set out a shopping list of demands. But he made clear that he wants to challenge the central tenet of the EU: the pledge in the founding treaty of Rome in 1957 to create an "ever-closer union". The prime minister said: "We understand and respect the right of others to maintain their commitment to this goal. But for Britain – and perhaps for others – it is not the objective. And we would be much more comfortable if the treaty specifically said so, freeing those who want to go further, faster, to do so, without being held back by the others."

Cameron made clear that this could be achieved, in part at least, by fully implementing the Laeken declaration of 2001 which said power should be passed back to member states if that is their desire. "It was put in the treaty," he said of the 2001 agreement. "But the promise has never really been fulfilled. We need to implement this principle properly." The prime minister also made clear that Britain wanted to extend its opt-out from aspects of the working time directive. "It is neither right nor necessary to claim that the integrity of the single market, or full membership of the European Union requires the working hours of British hospital doctors to be set in Brussels irrespective of the views of British parliamentarians and practitioners."

Fresh data from the Bundesbank show that Anglo-German trade in goods and services soared to €153bn in the first nine months of 2012, with both exports and imports booming at double-digit rates.

It is one of the fastest growing trade relationships in the developed world. France lagged behind at €150bn as trade stagnated, with the US at €149bn and China at €115bn.

David Marsh from the financial group OMFIF said the trade swing underlines a “sobering truth” that Germany’s fundamental interests are shifting away from the eurozone core as Berlin embraces the wider world. The EMU share of German trade has fallen from 46pc to 37pc since the launch of the euro, displaced by Asia, as well as Eastern Europe and the Anglo-sphere.

British goods exports to Germany rose 20pc over the first three quarters compared to a year earlier, despite the economic downturn. The surge was led by medical equipment, drugs, car components, and petroleum goods. The deficit with Germany narrowed slighty to €17bn, a sign that trade is becoming better-balanced.  Although rarely acclaimed, British suppliers and manufacturers are deeply integrated into the German industrial machine and enjoy the follow-through benefits of German exports to the rest of the world....Now...Does anyone believe British conmpanies have won this business based on EU membership or on the timely and safe delivery of quality products at a competitive price?  The UK and Germany are the two major players and net contributors in the EU. France talks it large and is extremely well represented in positions, but without the massive EU funding it receives it would struggle.  The real danger here is not the UK leaving the EU and sinking, it is that we will leave and surge ahead. Weakening the EU and strengthening our own position. Add to this the repeated polls in Germany where the majority do not want to be run by the EU and also wish to leave the Euro, and the real danger is clear. The UK leaving the doomed EU project will hasten its demise and open Europe up to trade and competition with the World. The very last thing Socialist leaders want.

A thriving UK outside of the EU would prove an irrisistable pull to other net contributors to leave. This is what keeps the EU commission up at night, not wondering what Pro-EU Cameron will mumble in his speech this week.

And the dollar falllsss, and the markets rrrriseee...?? abslute madness...?

LONDON—Euro-zone industrial output declined the most in three years in November, pulled lower by countries in the region's south facing recession as they attempt to cut debt and deficits through austerity policies. The decline is a further indication that the wider economy could contract for a third consecutive quarter in the final three months of 2012 as fiscally frail countries struggle with still-high borrowing costs and demand for goods suffers amid continuing job cuts. Output dropped 3.7% from a year earlier, the biggest decrease since November 2009, when output slumped 7%, Eurostat, the official European statistical office said Monday. Industrial output fell 0.3% in November compared with October, the third consecutive slide on a month-to-month basis. The yearly decline was due to weakness across the board with production of intermediate and capital goods falling at the steepest pace since 2009. In October, industrial output retreated 3.3% on the year and 1.0% on the month, Eurostat said. The October data were revised after previously being reported as falling 1.4% on the month and 3.6% on the year. The November figures were weaker than expected. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires last week projected the data to show industrial output rose 0.2% on the month and fell 3.2% on the year. The data provide further evidence that the economy of the 17-nation currency bloc contracted for a third straight quarter in the final three months of 2012. "November's euro-zone industrial production data provided further strong signs that the recession in the region as a whole intensified in the final quarter of last year," said Ben May, European economist for Capital Economics. Ireland, Greece, Spain, Italy and Portugal all saw production decline in November compared with October. Italy also published its full industrial production release Monday. Output fell 1.0% on the month and by 7.6% on the year in November last year, a bigger fall than expected. Output has declined for six straight months in monthly terms, and 15 consecutive months on an annual basis. Italy's national statistics agency Istat said the decline was mainly due to a fall in investment and energy output. Eurostat also reported that Germany saw a meager 0.1% monthly increase in November, while in France, output grew 0.5% over the same period.

Ex-Premier Milos Zeman and Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg ....

A former leftist prime minister and the Czech Republic’s conservative foreign minister will face each other in a presidential runoff later this month after finishing Saturday as the top two candidates in the ballot’s first round. Ex-Premier Milos Zeman and Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg will compete in the second round of voting for the largely ceremonial post on Jan. 25-26. Czechs are electing the country’s president in a direct popular vote for the first time, to replace euroskeptic President Vaclav Klaus, whose second and final term ends March 7.  Since Czechoslovakia officially split into Slovakia and the Czech Republic in 1993, the republic has had two presidents elected by Parliament: Vaclav Havel and Klaus. But bickering during those votes led the legislature to give that decision to the general public.  With the votes from almost all of the 15,000 polling stations counted on Saturday, Zeman was leading with 24.24 percent of the vote, followed by Schwarzenberg with 23.34 percent. Another former premier, Jan Fischer, was a distant third with 16.37 percent.  Zeman and Schwarzenberg will advance to the runoff, since no candidate achieved a majority. They were among nine candidates in the race. “It will be a presidential race between a candidate for the left and a candidate for the right,” Zeman said. “We’ll start from scratch for the second round.” Zeman and Fischer were considered favorites, but Schwarzenberg finished his campaign in style, attracting an unusually big crowd of about 10,000 in a rally in the capital this week. Schwarzenberg said he would do all he can for the Czech Republic to be “a successful country.” Zeman, 68, is attempting to stage a return to power after he retired following a failure in the 2003 presidential election.  A chain smoker with a soft spot for alcohol, Zeman made international headlines as prime minister with outspoken comments. For example, he compared late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to Adolf Hitler, drawing condemnations from the EU and the Arab League, and called the Austrians who opposed a Czech nuclear plant “idiots.”  After the Sept. 11 attacks in the U.S., Zeman and his interior minister said they believed that hijacker Mohamed Atta met with a senior Iraqi intelligence official in Prague in April 2001. That purported meeting was cited as evidence of a possible al-Qaida connection to Iraq. The 9/11 commission later said such a meeting never happened. Schwarzenberg, 75, is chairman of the conservative TOP 09 party, a member of the center-right ruling coalition. He is a member of a European noble family, and lived in exile on his family’s estates in Austria and Germany during communist rule. After the Velvet Revolution, he became chancellor to Vaclav Havel. He served as foreign minister from 2007-09 and again took the post after the 2010 general elections. Zeman and Schwarzenberg were already looking ahead to the upcoming runoff, trading political barbs Saturday. Schwarzenberg said Zeman belongs to the past, and the ex-premier replied by saying Schwarzenberg should be held responsible for the austerity cuts pushed through by the current government that his opponent is a member.

Americans, or at least a good number of Americans, seem to have a great problem in keeping their noses out of other peoples affairs. This time it is the turn of us, "the Brits", to come under the spotlight and to receive the guidance, advice, or perhaps more accurately the "warning" instructions, from the great American busybody to dismiss any thoughts or suggestions of having a referendum on the question of European membership, and to remain within the European Union. Now personally, I believe that continued membership of Europe would be more and more disastrous over time and that we should determine our continued relationship with those across the Channel by the means of a referendum. I would argue that point of view with anyone in this country be they politician, public, press or in fact anyone else that may have a point of view different to mine. However, the thought of "outsiders", particularly Americans, (who's record of offering "advice" to all and sundry outside their own shores is, at best, unfortunate) offering the instruction that not only should we remain in the European Union, but we should also forget expressing a view on membership, is particularly galling. The American people have recently had an election to choose the person who they want to be their President for the next four years. During that time of electioneering, right up to the date of polling, I nor many others in this country, have had the temerity to instruct the American people who they should or should not, vote for as their President. Apart perhaps from a few private comments to friends or others about the candidates public remarks or attitudes , it would be quite wrong of those outside to try to influence the outcome. Many American politicians and State department sycophants, evidently do not share this attitude and consider it their duty as the self appointed "guardians of the world" to throw in their opinions and platitudes on any matter. History is littered with the results of American "advice" and the consequences of their interventionist policies. It may be a vain hope, but the State department, the President for the time being and the countless other interfering American meddlers, really should keep their grubby little fingers out of other peoples pies and their noses out of others people business.

Protests on the streets of Madrid on Monday highlighted the tensions inside the euro area after banner-waving protesters blamed Brussels, Berlin and the right of centre PP government of Mariano Rajoy for privatisations and cuts in healthcare spending.

Elga Bartsch, an analyst at Morgan Stanley, said she was anxious that Barroso and his colleagues in Brussels would fail to resolve long-running disputes over the EU's new institutions.

"The euro crisis seems contained for now. But we think it is not resolved for good. In addressing the fundamental flaws in the euro's institutional set-up, progress on banking union will be key. Assuming no crisis escalation, the euro area should re-emerge from recession and return to sub-par growth. Politics is the main risk," she said. Political deadlock, which has also characterised the reform agenda in Washington and Tokyo, could allow social unrest to grow and wreck any coherent reform plans, she said.

"An extended recession, diverging political positions and several elections create a difficult backdrop for in-depth reforms. We therefore expect only limited progress on an effective resolution of the crisis this year. We believe that progress on banking union, where preparations are under way for a Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM) and where discussions continue on harmonising, and possibly pooling, bank resolution and deposit guarantee schemes, will be key."  Merkel faces a general election in the autumn against a resurgent Social Democratic party (SPD) while the Italians are expected to go to the polls next month in an election that could see a revived Silvio Berlusconi with enough votes to block reform measures.  Global stock markets, which have warmed to the message that the euro crisis is abating, drifted lower as some investors sought to cash in on last week's strong gains and worries grew of more political brinkmanship in Washington. Major indices surged last week after the US Congress passed a bill to avoid a "fiscal cliff" combination of government spending cuts and tax increases.

The deal, however, remains incomplete. Politicians will face another deadline in two months to agree on more spending cuts while a debate over the country's $16 trillion (£9.9tn) debt ceiling is also looming.  Concerns that the eurozone will suffer another year of economic downturn after entering recession last year were heightened by comments from OECD boss Angel Gurría who said the 17 member zone could continue contracting into 2014.

Britain's FTSE 100 fell 0.4% to 6064 while Germany's Dax was down over 0.7% to 7719.78. France's Cac-40 lost 0.8% to 3701.06.

Wall Street opened lower as well, with the Dow shedding 0.4% to 13,377.13 and the broader S&P 500 falling 0.4% to 1460.14.

The one bright spot for the markets was the banking sector, where stocks were up after global regulators eased new rules obliging lenders to set capital aside. The so-called Basel III rules are a set of new international standards to make sure banks protect themselves from the same trouble that caused the 2008 financial crash. On Sunday, the officials setting those rules delayed the date by which banks needed to have certain amounts of cash readily available.

The British are solely concerned about their economic interests, nothing else...OOOOKKK !!!!

The former European Commission president, who is credited as the architect of the modern EU and the euro, has broken ranks with other European leaders to offer Britain an exit from the Union.

"The British are solely concerned about their economic interests, nothing else. They could be offered a different form of partnership," he told Handelsblatt, a German financial newspaper. "If the British cannot support the trend towards more integration in Europe, we can nevertheless remain friends, but on a different basis. I could imagine a form such as a European economic area or a free-trade agreement." The comments will add weight to growing demands from Conservative backbench MPs and Euro-sceptics for David Cameron to renegotiate Britain's relationship with Europe and to bring back powers from the EU to Westminster. The Prime Minister has said that he supports continued EU membership but wants a "new settlement" which will involve Britain opting-out of justice measures and seeking exemptions to any further centralisation of power in Brussels...at last an honest acknowledgement that the goal is a federal europe. if there was any doubt about it monsieur delors has settled it once and for all. So now the way forward is clear. the choice is between being part of this federation and losing our independence and sovereignty, or coming out and retaining our sovereignty. and it is for the british people to decide, not the politicians.  There can no longer be any attempts to bamboozle the electorate with hypocritical talk of renegotiation. it is time for a referendum without further delay. The future is not further 'integration' and the assembly of a colossal superstate - the future is independence and individuality. Nowhere in the world do people think the same way as politicians and bureaucrats. Everywhere you see that when left to themselves, people want their own unique identity, control over their own environment and their own destiny. Bureaucrats believe 'bigger is best' while people know that small is beautiful. That's why the Berlin wall fell, why Slovakia split from the Czech republic, why the Baltic states went their own way; why Belgium had no government for over a year; why Scotland wants independence and why even California and Texas talk about seceding from the Union. Then one and only treason why bureaucrats want bigger and bigger is because it means more money for them. Like lawyers, they'll happily sell you down the river in return for 30 pieces of silver, or in the case of the EU, 300,000 pieces of silver. They're nothing if not greedy.  Britain should find its own way in the world. As a nation we are more than capable. We don't need thousands of regulations, tens of thousands of bureaucrats, mollycoddling or being told what to do all the time. We want freedom - freedom to invent, to explore, to create, and determine our own future. The EU project is at an end - it is time for us to create a nation fit for the future, fit for all our people to live and thrive in - a nation where we alone hold the reins and guide our own destiny. Just leave, it is only the corrupt who want us to stay in this corrupt organisation. The EUSSR must be with out any doubt the most corrupt organisation in the world. Why was my father and millions of others killed for our freedom, as I was told as as child. Was this just a lie, if not was was it? Did our government say this so control of us could be done in different way? Our government only has a white flag to wave at the EUSSR. I would now take up arms against this invasion of England, but the young of this country are brainwashed in believing in a none existent country. Europe is not a country it is a continent. People should Think, Think, Think, but no, that is not allowed.

If Delors thinks ' the British are solely concerned about their economic interests, nothing else' he is deluded. The British are concerned about their increasing inability to make and uphold their own laws, control their own borders , have an elected Parliament accountable to the electorate not a foreign governing body, and all other issues resulting from having the jackboot of the EU on its neck. There is also the little matter, not often in the news, of the plan to abolish England! Prezza was merrily engaged in working on EU plans to split England up into EU departments when he wasn't chasing his secretary round his desk. Kept that one quiet, haven't you Jacques?,,,The UK shall not exist as a nation state if it remains in the EU. Instead, we shall be a northern province of centrally ruled state run by unaccountable people who consider themselves a special priestly caste with unique access to the truth and what is good for everyone. Little people will be expected to genuflect to these Platonic Kings who know the real world beyond the dark cave of ignorance which is our lot. Those who shout for democracy will be seen as trouble makers and silenced accordingly because they will be attacking the dear leaders who, by definition, know the truth and do not need or want to be pestered by shouts from the ignorant. We ditched this sort of disgusting ignorance when we kicked out King James 1 in the Glorious Revolution. And, now, Cameron, Clegg and Milliband seem to want to junk several hundred years of political evolution to return to a primitive, unstable and very dangerous form of government lacking, even, the checks and balances extant in the late 17th century...Delors is right.... but it seems the ignorant, selfish and small minded politicians in Westminster are still trying to tell the rest of us that the UK system is substandard and should be junked in favour of the political disaster that is the EU....Simple response to any EU apologist like Delors. Do not believe them, these are the people who have destroyed currencies, installed puppet governments, created poverty for millions and replaced national sovereignty with EU sovereignty through an authoritarian EU.

These politicians loathe normal people and have absolutely no regard for our right to vote them in and out and have persistently lied and covered up the systematic selling out of UK sovreignty over the last 45 years.  They have betrayed us and think our rights can be disposed of as quickly and with as little compunction as a knifeman slits the throat of a calf in an abbatoir.

Britain is expected to lose its AAA credit rating this year, dealing a blow to George Osborne's defence of deep spending cuts as the key to retaining Britain's status with global investors.
Many economists predict at least one of the three main credit ratings agencies – Moody's, Fitch or Standard & Poor's – will declare the UK a bigger lending risk in response to the chancellor's admission in the autumn statement that austerity will run for at least eight years, until 2018, rather than the original five.
Those same economists largely agree that in a world where most developed countries have found life tough going, there will be little impact on the UK's creditworthiness. Like the US and France, which have already seen their pride dented by a demotion to AA, the UK will still be a safe haven for foreign cash, and thereby enjoy relatively low interest rates.
But lower growth and bigger borrowing add up to a greater risk that the UK will find 2013 tougher than expected.
All the major forecasters have downgraded growth for the coming year, including the Treasury's own Office for Budget Responsibility. The OBR's most recent outlook put growth in 2013 at 1.2% – down from the previous prediction of 2%. Not until 2017 does the trend return to a point where unemployment comes down in any significant way.
Part of the downgrade in growth stems from expectations of lacklustre investment spending by business. Without investment in new equipment, the economy is likely to suffer over the longer term. Osborne has promised a rise in public investment this year, partly to make up the difference, but only enough to make up a quarter of the total he cut in 2010.
In budget terms 2013 will be characterised by social security cuts, which are due to take effect in earnest after an initial focus on tax rises (the increase in VAT to 20%) and job losses in the public sector (more than 700,000 so far).