Main focus of Friday, December 9, 2011

Cameron opposes fiscal union

Cameron wanted a veto right on financial market regulation. (©AP)

The 17 euro states and six other EU countries have agreed at the EU summit in Brussels to adopt a separate pact on greater fiscal discipline. With its resistance to amending the EU treaties the UK is forcing the Union to split up, commentators write, and call for more political integration in Europe.

Libération - France

In view of the resolutions passed at the EU summit in Brussels, the left-liberal daily Libération calls for stronger political integration in Europe: "The debt crisis shows that the markets have no confidence in the survival of a currency without a state, that is without a federal political and economic power able to impose a common fiscal discipline on the federated states and to help them if need be. Some of Europe's politicians, notably in Germany, have understood this perfectly well and are calling for the creation of a 'United States of Europe'. This would be the sole means of conferring democratic legitimacy on the Eurozone. Now that the countries are losing sovereignty over their budgets it is time to team up the national parliaments with the European Parliament." (09/12/2011)

» full article (external link, French)
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NRC Handelsblad - Netherlands

The 17 euro states and six further countries have resolved to sign a treaty of their own while the UK and other countries have refused to follow suit. This will leave Europe divided, writes the liberal daily NRC Handelsblad: "This division seems logical. Because why should non-members of the Eurozone have something to say about the rules that the core group has imposed on itself? But politically the point is, who's against the move? The answer: British Prime Minister David Cameron. Although the country is not part of the Eurozone, the British government has a clear stance on the euro. Cameron agrees with Merkel on budget discipline. But like his predecessors he is dead against any further European centralisation at the expense of the nation states. ... The UK can go along with the treaty if it chooses, but admittedly the chances are slim. We must get used to the idea that there will soon be two Europes." (09/12/2011)

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Handelsblatt - Germany

The resolutions adopted in Brussels will unavoidably lead to a two-speed Europe, writes the liberal business paper Handelsblatt: "Europe has still not understood just how serious the situation now is. This is all the more disastrous because even German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the French President Nicolas Sarkozy set the bar for success at the two-day Brussels summit particularly high. ... But even more serious is that the path adopted by Merkel and Sarkozy will de facto lead to a two-speed Europe and division among the member states. Until now a way had always been found to hold the show together and find a common solution for all the EU states. But that's a thing of the past. The sober - and bitter - reality is that the 17 euro countries want to introduce stricter rules on budget control with a treaty of their own, accompanied by those EU countries that share this goal. There could be no surer way to drive a wedge through Europe." (09/12/2011)

» full article (external link, German)
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Il Sole 24 Ore - Italy

Private creditors are no longer to be involved in debt restructuring measures for struggling euro countries. But this initiative comes too late, writes the liberal business paper Il Sole 24 Ore. "The most surprising proposal is that of excluding private creditors from any future bailouts undertaken by the euro rescue mechanism still in gestation. This is a striking change of course on Merkel's part, for up to now involving the private sector in the rescue of debtor countries had been a mainstay of her crisis management. ... There are indeed many indications that insisting on involving the private sector in debt restructuring would not result in lower risk premiums on the government bonds of the peripheral states despite their tough austerity measures. This also means that we wouldn't be faced with the collapse of the European financial system now if this change in direction had been considered earlier. ... We must now fear that the proposal comes at a point when the damage has already been done." (09/12/2011)

» more information (external link, Italian)
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