Main focus of Thursday, June 28, 2012

Final round for the euro

Merkel and Hollande called for "more Europe" on Wednesday in Paris but disagree on how to get there. (© AP/dapd)

A day before the EU crisis summit that began this Thursday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel once again rejected proposals for debt mutualisation without central control over national budgets. Only if the nation states are willing to give up sovereignty can the euro be saved, commentators write, fearing that the summit will fail above all owing to the differences of opinion between Berlin and Paris.

Euro failing due to lack of economic union

Europe has reached a crossroads with the Brussels summit, Wolfgang Münchau writes in the liberal business paper Financial Times Deutschland, fearing that the the lack of an economic union worth the name will be the euro's downfall: "I don't believe that Europe's political leadership really understands the crisis, not even Merkel. If she did she'd use other words to describe it. The bottom line is that this is not a crisis of bad budgeting, not even in Greece. Nor is it a crisis of poor economic policy decisions, as the Chancellor said recently in the Bundestag about Spain. ... The cause of this crisis is a monetary union without transfers or a common economic policy. ... If the euro fails, it will be solely because it was not embedded in a true economic union: its banks are supervised and recapitalised nationally and each country issues its own bonds. The clauses included in the Treaty of Maastricht and later in the Stability and Growth Pact are a fair weather construction that can never withstand a dangerous hurricane." (27/06/2012)

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More from the press review on the subject » EU treaties, » Fiscal Policy, » Europe
All available articles from » Wolfgang Münchau
Who's saying what » Ways out of the debt crisis

No solidarity without a loss of sovereignty

The unbridgeable gap between Paris and Berlin could cause the EU summit to run aground, fears the liberal-conservative business paper Il Sole 24 Ore: "Those who want more solidarity from Berlin the day after tomorrow must be willing to transfer sovereignty in the areas of budget, taxation and bond policy to Brussels today. Too bad that Hollande has affirmed just the contrary: first solidarity, and the day after tomorrow we'll see about surrendering sovereignty. This antithesis is founded in the DNA of each country. Germany has always had a federal orientation, France has always been the defender of national sovereignty. Precisely the lack of clarity about what one will receive in exchange for such a major transfer of sovereignty feeds doubt in the other countries - including the northern ones. A profession of faith in an increasingly stringent discipline is being demanded today to secure Germany's goodwill tomorrow: is it really possible in our thoroughly secularised Europe to demand that countries convert to German beliefs without knowing what they will receive in return?" (28/06/2012)

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More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Germany, » France
All available articles from » Adriana Cerretelli
Who's saying what » Ways out of the debt crisis

Merkel is a German first, then a European

The EU heads of state and government meet to discuss a reform of the Monetary Union in Brussels today. Merkel's unambiguous rejection of euro bonds in advance of the meeting is only logical, writes the liberal daily Sme: "Merkel is first and foremost a German, and then a European. She formulated her refusal in drastic terms: As long as she lives, there will be no euro bonds; Germany won't be harmed for the sake of rescuing Europe. … For Merkel, euro bonds are unconstitutional both in Germany and in Europe. This makes any discussion redundant. If the euro bonds do eventually come it would only be if Brussels has the national budgets under its control. Only then would the chancellor be happy." (28/06/2012)

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More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Fiscal Policy, » Germany, » Europe
All available articles from » Miriam Zsilleová
Who's saying what » Ways out of the debt crisis

Get banking union underway

The single currency threatens to collapse unless the EU summit sends a clear message that fiscal union is on the way, the conservative daily ABC warns: "Now there is no getting around the truth. The EU is facing an unavoidable decision. The governments must realise that they must sacrifice a part to save the whole. Otherwise a catastrophe could result. This is what is at stake at the EU summit in Brussels today. The euro is not just a currency. All over the world it has become a symbol for Europe. If the euro goes down, Europe will go down with it. … The politicians have all the instruments in their hands to set up a banking union that would be a first step towards a fiscal union, as demanded by Germany and other countries. It would be inexcusable if this two-day summit failed to give a clear signal to this effect." (28/06/2012)

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More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Fiscal Policy, » Europe
Who's saying what » Ways out of the debt crisis

Europe heading for a two-speed Union

Europe's governments lack the will to find a long-term solution to the crisis, the liberal-conservative daily Jyllands-Posten complains, fearing that a two-speed Europe will be the result: "In essence the goal has always been to solve the crisis only in the moment. No EU summit to date has sought a long-term solution to the debt crisis. … Regardless of what is decided now in Brussels, it's clear that Europe will advance at different speeds in the coming year. Germany will define the agenda in the euro countries. And it no longer fears the consequences if one or several countries exit the Eurozone. The UK is growing more and more distanced from the EU, and here in Denmark the government and the pro-European parties in parliament have serious doubts about Denmark's future role within the EU." (28/06/2012)

» full article (external link, Danish)
More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Fiscal Policy, » Europe
Who's saying what » Ways out of the debt crisis, » Europe's speed

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