Main focus of Thursday, August 18, 2011

Debate over Franco-German proposals

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy have passed on their proposals for stabilising the Eurozone to EU Council President Herman Van Rompuy. Commentators say an economic government cannot be implemented without amending the Treaty of Lisbon and call the proposed financial transaction tax a populist measure.

The Daily Telegraph - United Kingdom

The results of the Franco-German summit will do nothing nothing to solve the crisis, the conservative newspaper The Daily Telegraph writes in dismay: "Watching Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy at their press conference on Tuesday, it was clear that the two are still a million miles away from recognising the enormity of the choices their nations face - and that the crisis will need to escalate at least another couple of notches before they will even consider the solutions that are required. The idea that Europe might solve its problems simply by putting Herman Van Rompuy in charge of budgetary co-ordination and slapping a tax on financial transactions was little short of laughable. The truth is that a project meant to tame Germany and integrate her into the heart of Europe has backfired spectacularly." (18/08/2011)

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Tiroler Tageszeitung - Austria

The proposals agreed on at the Franco-German summit in Paris are right, but they will overtax many euro countries, writes the liberal-conservative daily Tiroler Tageszeitung: "The direction the two biggest economies in the EU are taking is clear: as the vanguard of the entire EU, the monetary union should push forward the integration of the member states. This step is absolutely necessary to bring Europe out of the bitter debt crisis. ... Merkel and Sarkozy have thought far ahead. That's a good thing, because a new Europe needs strong visions. But just because the alpha wolves agree it doesn't mean all the euro countries are ready for more integration. Now is the time for deliberation. With the Treaty of Lisbon and mutual liability for public debts through the rescue package, the EU has developed by leaps and bounds in recent times. But in the fight against the debt crisis Europe must not strain itself and stumble over its own fast pace." (18/08/2011)

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Handelsblatt - Germany

Barring a reform of the Treaty of Lisbon the economic government proposed by Merkel and Sarkozy will have no legal basis, writes the liberal daily Handelsblatt: "National parliamentarians are supposed to voluntarily commit themselves to promptly working additional cost-cutting measures into their national budgets. From a financial policy perspective such a move is no doubt sensible. ... But this go-ahead has been achieved at the expense of democratic legitimacy. The sovereign right of parliament to pass the budget cannot simply be overruled. If national parliaments are no longer able to exercise this right, the European Parliament must step into the breach. But there's no legal basis for that. The Treaty of Lisbon continues to guarantee national sovereignty in matters of financial and economic policy. Cunning ways to get around the Treaty cannot be the solution. The Eurozone must anchor a common economic and financial policy in the Treaty of Lisbon - the sooner the better." (18/08/2011)

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Expansión - Spain

Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy also spoke out in favour of introducing a tax on financial transactions at their summit meeting on Tuesday. The proposal was however so imprecisely formulated that it is probably nothing more than a populist gesture, the business paper Expansión suspects: "There is no consensus among Europe's politicians for levying such a tax. It would also distort competition if it applied only to the Eurozone and not worldwide. So you get the feeling that Merkel and Sarkozy's proposal is just a populist gesture aimed at those who want to get their own back on the banks, which have become the scapegoats for all the present problems. Indeed, ever since the crisis began the idea of introducing such a tax has been brought up repeatedly, as if it were a remedy for all the problems. But the complications of putting it into practice have always ended up reducing it to just a piece of worthless paper." (18/08/2011)

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