Main focus of Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Crisis requires EU to take drastic measures

As the euro crisis threatens to engulf Italy as well, the Eurozone finance ministers are discussing new rescue measures, so far without success. The press calls on them to finally solve Greece's debt problem and to rein in the financial markets.

Kurier - Austria

After causing the euro crisis the international banks and rating agencies must be kept on a tight rein, writes the left-liberal daily Kurier: "For days now there has been massive speculation against Italy without the economic data having taken a turn for the worse. So the finance ministers meet up - to do what? They speculate about whether letting Greece go bust wouldn't be an option after all. Meanwhile some trading centres have already forbidden so-called forward sales for certain shares. So it can be done. The financial industry must also abide by the politicians' rules. But the Commission and the EU governments must finally give clear instructions. The citizens need to experience Europe as a governing power that can stop speculators. The will is finally there: now we want to see results." (13/07/2011)

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Financial Times Deutschland - Germany

The longer the Eurozone's finance ministers in Brussels struggle to find a solution to the crisis, the more the business newspaper Financial Times Deutschland is reminded of the fairytale The Emperor's New Clothes: "Everyone can see that Greece is bankrupt, yet no-one says so, although unlike in Andersen's fairytale they at least admit that the emperor has a serious problem: We recognise that his clothes are torn. We sew patches onto the places where his naked legs show. ... The fact that the crisis has spread so quickly to Italy weakens the argument that we must avoid letting Greece default on its debt at all costs. ... But if a debt restructuring is being considered, it must be tied to the major rescue package - which some EU states are still not prepared to do: banks must be propped up if necessary and recovery programmes worth billions approved. The taxpayer would then de facto be the guarantor for the debt. It is good that we are at last saying out loud that the emperor is naked. But then we should also be prepared to make new clothes for him." (13/07/2011)

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De Morgen - Belgium

Indecisive European politicians and nationalist trends are aggravating the euro crisis and represent a threat to Belgium too, warns the left-liberal daily De Morgen: "Yesterday Greece, today Italy and Spain, tomorrow Belgium. For no one stands between us and Berlusconi any more. The euro is one of the greatest achievements of the member states and has generated economic growth and prosperity. But now it is becoming clear that the monetary union cannot survive without rules and solid foundations. ... In addition to a series of European measures that force the member states to exercise discipline, it is also necessary to restore European solidarity. ... But in many countries nationalism is on the rise, countering any sense of solidarity. Citizens are being promised that they will be better off if we return to being little nation states and seek a 19th-century style solution. The Eurozone is in flames, and the state of the European banks and the sovereign debt crisis are closely bound up with each other. This is not the time for indecisiveness." (13/07/2011)

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To Ethnos - Greece

By delaying the Greek bailout the EU has put many countries in danger, writes the left-liberal daily To Ethnos: "With the alleged goal of making private creditors participate in a solution to the crisis in Greece, Germany and the other northern European countries have found themselves in a vicious circle. It delayed the crisis for a couple of months and has put not just Greece but also other countries in southern Europe at the mercy of the rating agencies. Time is running out. The Greek government's warning to the Europeans that there must be no more delays sounds dramatic, like the very last call for help. ... The EU must now prove that it has a leadership that is listening to that call."   (12/07/2011)

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