Joschka Fischer calls for a European economic government

In view of the global financial crisis former German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer calls in his column in the weekly Die Zeit for an economic government for the EU. "Europe and its national governments are enjoying their new ability to act, and not without reason either. For who would have dared to predict that in the end it would be the quarrelsome Europeans and not the world power the United States that would determine the direction of policy in stemming the global financial crisis? ... So far - thanks to the euro, the ECB, Gordon Brown and Nicolas Sarkozy - Europe has shown itself to be capable of action. However, the global financial crisis and the global economic crisis will together pose far greater challenges for Europe. Yet at the same time this is a major opportunity for the EU. For a crisis of this scale the nation states are simply too small. Only the EU as a unity of states with the ability to act can protect the interests of all Europeans - including those outside the Eurozone and even those outside the EU. The Europeans have created strong institutions in the euro and ECB, yet they lack a strong political superstructure for the approaching economic crisis . ... If the crisis in the financial markets continues and ushers in a dramatic slump in the real economy, even the EU may fall into danger very rapidly if it is unable to respond politically. There is therefore an urgent need for macroeconomic and fiscal co-ordination at the European level, particularly since the EU Commission is currently proving to be almost a complete flop. ... In the lengthy and profound crisis that lies ahead the EU needs an economic government, and Germany, Europe's largest and most important national economy, should resolutely lead the way."

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