Euro Crisis : History repeats
the Portuguese prime minister José Sócrates insists Portugal is under no pressue from EU states to accept a euro bailout.
Meanwhile
After Financial Times Deutschland reported eurozone nations and the European Central Bank were urging Portugal to follow Ireland and capitulate to financial aid, the office of the Portuguese prime minister José Sócrates said it was “totally false” that the country was under such pressure.
So the politicians deny any contact while financial journalists say that the ECB are urging action. I don’t know, it all sounds very familiar.
Where did we hear that before? Oh, now I remember. Last week :
The Guardian reported that the Irish Prime minister Brian Cowen insists Ireland is under no pressure from EU states to accept a euro bailout.
Slow train wreck in progress.
I continue to be amazed at how badly the EU and national governments are managing this process.
What’s your answer to the problem of (globally) accelerated credit growth using property as an outlet for returns, but now clearly released without the proper economic growth to pay it off fairly over the long term?
Much tighter restrictions on bank lending in future. For a start…
If one was a cynic, one might be inclined to say that the EU appear to be forcing smaller countries into a United States of Europe by holding a Sword of Damocles over their heads. Greece and Ireland have already given up financial sovreignty (and arguably, all ideas of national sovreignty) through being forced to accept bailouts. They could have just crashed out of the euro and defaulted as mooted by another commentator, but this is beginning to look like death by a thousand cuts.
As Mr Weldon points out above, the handling of this is staggering. Or as I say, a cynic might….
If one was a real cynic, one might suggest export heavy Germany is rather pleased with the weaker Euro the confusion is creating.
I think it may very well be that descent into the two tier Europe is under way.
………………………….the BIFFO bug spreads
………..worse that SARS ……………………
SARS only kills you, it doesn’t beggar your children as well
memo to ireland: http://url.ie/8a0p
“So the politicians deny any contact while financial journalists say that the ECB are urging action. I don’t know, it all sounds very familiar.”
It sounds like a self-fulfilling prophecy from a less than objective observer. Not for the first time:
http://bruxelles.blogs.liberation.fr/coulisses/2010/11/comment-les-m%C3%A9dias-accroissent-la-panique-des-march%C3%A9s.html