For Greece to accept the bail out terms is rather like a company calling in the receivers. But this is a country, an independent one at that, being asked to submit to foreign rule, and by the Germans, at that. Increasingly it is beginning to look as though the least cost option for Greece will be to leave the euro zone and default. The problem have been greatly exacerbated by the euro zone leaders dithering: how often have we heard of "only x days/weeks to save the euro. The mistake of eurozone leaders has been to play for time under the mistaken belief that they could put off the evil day and that things would get better. Of course, as everyone but they knew, matters would only get worse. Germany is simply taking preparations for the Götterdämmerung.We want them off our back-it is simple as that.Finland,the Netherlands,Austria & Co. are not going to pay a single penny anymore and Merkel knows this.France already lost its AAA after it poured 220 bill€ in the ClubMed for the last 2 years.Since this condition is unacceptable and I hope the Greeks don't accept it-they will have to leave the euro.As Roubini and the markets already show-Greece is out and Portugal probably as well. Italy and Spain are to big and the ECB will come in and will carpet-bomb the market if there is a run on Spain or Italy. Their yields came down as did the yields of Ireland. The ECB buys bonds of all 5 countries and the market shows that in the case of Greece and Portugal the euro is history as the Central bank intervention did not help at all. In Ireland,Spain and Italy the market points that they will stay in the euro and the ECB intervention in their bond prices was successful. All those calling for Greece to call the bluff of the Troika forget that the latter have already installed their placeman at the head of the Greek Government precisely in order to prevent such ungrateful and inconvenient behaviour. In an articulate interview this morning the Greek Minister of Culture declared tht he would sooner resign than see his country's budget dtermined by an outsider. For his government, he opined, this would be the 'thin red line', which could not be crossed. He is right, and every member of the European Community should applaud him.
Access Investments-Building Awareness - European Union-ROMANIA
Monday, January 30, 2012
For Greece to accept the bail out terms is rather like a company calling in the receivers. But this is a country, an independent one at that, being asked to submit to foreign rule, and by the Germans, at that. Increasingly it is beginning to look as though the least cost option for Greece will be to leave the euro zone and default. The problem have been greatly exacerbated by the euro zone leaders dithering: how often have we heard of "only x days/weeks to save the euro. The mistake of eurozone leaders has been to play for time under the mistaken belief that they could put off the evil day and that things would get better. Of course, as everyone but they knew, matters would only get worse. Germany is simply taking preparations for the Götterdämmerung.We want them off our back-it is simple as that.Finland,the Netherlands,Austria & Co. are not going to pay a single penny anymore and Merkel knows this.France already lost its AAA after it poured 220 bill€ in the ClubMed for the last 2 years.Since this condition is unacceptable and I hope the Greeks don't accept it-they will have to leave the euro.As Roubini and the markets already show-Greece is out and Portugal probably as well. Italy and Spain are to big and the ECB will come in and will carpet-bomb the market if there is a run on Spain or Italy. Their yields came down as did the yields of Ireland. The ECB buys bonds of all 5 countries and the market shows that in the case of Greece and Portugal the euro is history as the Central bank intervention did not help at all. In Ireland,Spain and Italy the market points that they will stay in the euro and the ECB intervention in their bond prices was successful. All those calling for Greece to call the bluff of the Troika forget that the latter have already installed their placeman at the head of the Greek Government precisely in order to prevent such ungrateful and inconvenient behaviour. In an articulate interview this morning the Greek Minister of Culture declared tht he would sooner resign than see his country's budget dtermined by an outsider. For his government, he opined, this would be the 'thin red line', which could not be crossed. He is right, and every member of the European Community should applaud him.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
It's official - Spain's economy is shrinking.
Data released in the last few minutes showed that Spanish GDP fell by 0.3% in the last three months of 2011, compared with the pervious quarter. That's the first contraction in eight years.
On an annual basis, Spanish GDP increased by just 0.3% over the year. That's one of the weakest performances in Europe, underlining the challenge faced by its new government.
It's the second blow to hit Spain in recent days -- last Friday, unemployment smashed through the five-million mark, putting the jobless rate at 22.8%. More than half of 16-24 year-old Spaniards are out of work.
Confirmation that Spain is shrinking could give prime minister Mariano Rajoy more ammunition in his negotiations with the EU. Our Madrid correspondent Giles Tremlett reported on Friday that Rajoy is urging Europe to relax Spain's deficit reduction targets.
Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith insisted yesterday that Britain would block eurozone countries from using institutions paid for by EU nations.
In December the Prime Minister vetoed a new European treaty which would see greater financial unity between eurozone countries as the answer to the single currency’s debt crisis.
The countries which voted in favour of the closer fiscal integration, led by France and Germany, want to use the European Court of Justice to enforce the new budget rules - a move that Mr Cameron said he would resist at the time.
They are set to vote on the new treaty today.
On Saturday The Telegraph reported that Mr Cameron has now dropped plans to block eurozone countries using European Union institutions to enforce deeper fiscal union
But today Mr Hague told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that Britain was still prepared to stop it if it became damaging to Britain.
"If the use of EU institutions threatens Britain's fundamental rights then we would have to take action including legal action," he said.
"We will reserve out position on that question. we are not signing a treaty which permit that or cuts across the single market. "If it is against fundamental interests of UK we would have to take action." Mr Hague also said there is unlikely to be a referendum on Europe any time soon
A BAD DECIZION : Britain has officially dropped its opposition to the use of the European Union courts to enforce a eurozone fiskalpakt - a potential red rag for Eurosceptic Tories.
William Hague, the Foreign Minister, admitted that Britain had dropped its threat to formally block use of the EU institutions by the nations using the new treaty. He said
This group cannot cut across the EU treaties. If the use of the EU treaties at any point threatens Britain's fundamental rights under the EU treaties, or damages our vital interests such as the single market, then we would have to take action about that, including legal action.
So we will reserve our position on the specific question about the use of the court.
Bruno puts his comments into context .
Government lawyers have advised that is is technically illegal to allow the European Court of Justice (ECJ) to police the fiscal compact's debt brake rule, something which is not in the curent EU treaty.
But during talks in Brussels on Friday night, senior British officials reassured other EU countries that David Cameron would not pick a fight over the issue during the summit today.
Without its own institutions at a 'federal' or EU level, the main enforcing role the new pact has is the ECJ role and the Prime Minister is not prepared to be accused of sabotaging the eurozone by blocking it.
“The British have made it clear that they would not challenge the treaty before it is signed or before it enters into force,” said a EU negotiator in the talks. "Britain is going to give the eurozone the benefit of the doubt so it can put its house in order."
The latest and fourth draft of a "Stability, Coordination and Governance (SCG) Treaty" will be given political agreement today, probably with some amendments before being signed in March.
The SCG treaty “empowers the Court of Justice to verify the transposition of the balanced budget rule at national level”.
“The current draft gives the court the authority to impose financial sanctions in case a contracting party was found by the court not to have taken the necessary measures to comply with its judgement,” says an EU paper on the text.
The main debate is between Poland, an other non-euro members over who can attend fiscal compact summits
Post a Comment