The World from Berlin: Germany Debates a Euro Bailout Referendum
German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble kicked a political hornets' nest when he suggested to SPIEGEL that a referendum on efforts to save the euro will have to be held sooner or later. German commentators jumped into the debate on Tuesday.
Europe, it is said, is not doing enough to solve the euro crisis. World leaders have spent weeks demanding more from euro-zone leaders and several in Germany have joined in the chorus. Just on Monday, German central bank head Jens Weidmann said during an appearance at SPIEGEL headquarters in Hamburg that the unwillingness of European politicians to make a decision has forced central banks to overstep their role.http://adserv.quality-channel.de/Rea...zial%21Middle2
It does not reflect my understanding of politics, Weidmann said, "when politicians deliberately avoid decisions and the central banks are forced to take up the slack."
Recently, though, it has become clear that doing much more is problematic in its own right, particularly in Germany. A discussion about democratic legitimacy has recently gained steam in Berlin -- triggered first and foremost by Germany's highest court -- and has led Chancellor Angela Merkel to change her approach in her pursuit of parliamentary backing for currently planned measures to counter the euro crisis. Furthermore, the country is now also arguing over whether it is time for a country-wide referendum on efforts to save the euro.
This Roy Stephens offering was posted on the German Internet site spiegel.de yesterday...and the link is here.
Snippet:
The Crippled Tandem
The main reason that the Europeans are muddling through the crisis so ineptly is that the continent remains divided on a central issue. Some countries, like Germany, the Netherlands and Finland, insist on fiscal discipline, while most of the other countries are calling for financial transfers from the wealthy north to the poorer south.
The German Chancellor is the head of the first group, while French President François Hollande is the leader of the second. As a result, the German-French tandem which used to set the tone in Europe, until former President Nicolas Sarkozy was voted out of office, has now been crippled.
At the G-20 summit in Los Cabos, Europe's leaders didn't even try to conceal this division. "We need fiscal discipline because we have a debt problem," Merkel demanded. Her adversary Hollande warned, on the other hand, that an overly rigid austerity policy would lead to recession.
At a meeting attended by Merkel, Hollande, Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti and Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy last Friday, there was also no agreement at all on the core issues. Hollande wants to collectivize debts in the euro zone as much as possible. Merkel is against the idea, because it would require Germany to make the largest contribution. She would only be willing to make concessions on the issue, she said, if the individual countries agreed to relinquish a substantial share of their sovereignty on budgetary issues to Brussels. Hollande wants precisely the opposite approach, as he emphasized in Rome. For each piece of surrendered sovereignty, Germany would have to move a step closer toward solidarity, the Socialist president demanded.
And Finally This Gem...
High Stakes ahead of Crunch Summit: Euro Crisis Threatens European Way of Life
European leaders have been muddling through instead of properly tackling the debt crisis. Now it threatens the very foundations of the European Union and could destroy a lifestyle that millions of Europeans take for granted. But the high expectations for this week's summit in Brussels can only lead to disappointment.
This eye-opening two-page essay was posted over at the spiegel.de website yesterday. I consider it a must read...and don't let the rather innocuous title fool you. I thank reader Donald Sinclair for sending it along...and the link is here.
German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble kicked a political hornets' nest when he suggested to SPIEGEL that a referendum on efforts to save the euro will have to be held sooner or later. German commentators jumped into the debate on Tuesday.
Europe, it is said, is not doing enough to solve the euro crisis. World leaders have spent weeks demanding more from euro-zone leaders and several in Germany have joined in the chorus. Just on Monday, German central bank head Jens Weidmann said during an appearance at SPIEGEL headquarters in Hamburg that the unwillingness of European politicians to make a decision has forced central banks to overstep their role.http://adserv.quality-channel.de/Rea...zial%21Middle2
It does not reflect my understanding of politics, Weidmann said, "when politicians deliberately avoid decisions and the central banks are forced to take up the slack."
Recently, though, it has become clear that doing much more is problematic in its own right, particularly in Germany. A discussion about democratic legitimacy has recently gained steam in Berlin -- triggered first and foremost by Germany's highest court -- and has led Chancellor Angela Merkel to change her approach in her pursuit of parliamentary backing for currently planned measures to counter the euro crisis. Furthermore, the country is now also arguing over whether it is time for a country-wide referendum on efforts to save the euro.
This Roy Stephens offering was posted on the German Internet site spiegel.de yesterday...and the link is here.
Snippet:
The Crippled Tandem
The main reason that the Europeans are muddling through the crisis so ineptly is that the continent remains divided on a central issue. Some countries, like Germany, the Netherlands and Finland, insist on fiscal discipline, while most of the other countries are calling for financial transfers from the wealthy north to the poorer south.
The German Chancellor is the head of the first group, while French President François Hollande is the leader of the second. As a result, the German-French tandem which used to set the tone in Europe, until former President Nicolas Sarkozy was voted out of office, has now been crippled.
At the G-20 summit in Los Cabos, Europe's leaders didn't even try to conceal this division. "We need fiscal discipline because we have a debt problem," Merkel demanded. Her adversary Hollande warned, on the other hand, that an overly rigid austerity policy would lead to recession.
At a meeting attended by Merkel, Hollande, Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti and Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy last Friday, there was also no agreement at all on the core issues. Hollande wants to collectivize debts in the euro zone as much as possible. Merkel is against the idea, because it would require Germany to make the largest contribution. She would only be willing to make concessions on the issue, she said, if the individual countries agreed to relinquish a substantial share of their sovereignty on budgetary issues to Brussels. Hollande wants precisely the opposite approach, as he emphasized in Rome. For each piece of surrendered sovereignty, Germany would have to move a step closer toward solidarity, the Socialist president demanded.
And Finally This Gem...
High Stakes ahead of Crunch Summit: Euro Crisis Threatens European Way of Life
European leaders have been muddling through instead of properly tackling the debt crisis. Now it threatens the very foundations of the European Union and could destroy a lifestyle that millions of Europeans take for granted. But the high expectations for this week's summit in Brussels can only lead to disappointment.
This eye-opening two-page essay was posted over at the spiegel.de website yesterday. I consider it a must read...and don't let the rather innocuous title fool you. I thank reader Donald Sinclair for sending it along...and the link is here.
.hey PT u may consider to put this article on ur page one
