EU – Page 82 – Slugger O'Toole

What next for Belgium?

Pete Baker on June 13, 2010, 11:17 pm

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While The Observer questions the apparent consensus on the need for austerity in the EU, the next country due to take the EU presidency, Belgium, has been holding parliamentary elections. Belgium’s Flemish separatist party, the New Flemish Alliance (NVA), has won more than 20% of the vote in parliamentary elections, according to early unofficial results. If confirmed, the NVA would have the largest share of the vote, bringing the country closer to a split. But, as RTÉ reports, others are less convinced that a split …

Euro crisis: a “strong convergence of views”

Pete Baker on June 8, 2010, 1:20 pm

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The Irish Times’ Arthur Beesley reports that EU Finance Ministers “have resolved to submit draft budgets for the approval of their counterparts and the EU Commission before unveiling them in national parliaments.” European Council president Herman Van Rompuy, who chaired the meeting on economic governance, said there was a “strong convergence of views” on the measures required to strengthen how the EU polices and enforces budgetary rules. The meeting followed a separate gathering here of ministers whose countries share the …

NI’s £60million farming subsidy mal-administration fines – Redux

Pete Baker on June 7, 2010, 6:17 pm

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The Northern Ireland Agriculture Minister, Sinn Féin’s Michelle Gildernew, and the Chairman of the Assembly Agriculture Committee, the DUP’s Ian Paisley Jnr, teamed up today on the Stormont Live sofa to defend farmers – an aging and confused group, apparently – and to criticise media coverage of the £60 million fines imposed by the EU Commission for the department’s mal-administration of EU farming subsidies. Although, they weren’t entirely on the same page… What they did agree on was that the £60 million …

“I don’t know what to say..”

Blank on June 2, 2010, 11:18 pm

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Yesterday a meeting of the European Parliament Committee on International Trade (INTA) had an exchange of views with US Ambassador William Kennard on EU-US Trade relations. Joe Higgins, Irish Socialist Party MEP, confronted the American Ambassador over his country’s trading relationship with Israel: Is trade still a value-free activity that must not involve human rights and other rights? Or what has significantly changed in the new administration? And if something has significantly changed, why does your administration still continue to …

NI Agriculture Minister: “I’m not sure anybody’s really to blame…”

Pete Baker on June 1, 2010, 10:39 pm

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BBC NI’s rural affairs correspondent, Martin Cassidy, reports on the £60 million repayment sought from the Northern Ireland Executive by the EU Commission for the maladministration, by the NI Department of Agriculture, of the annual individual subsidy claims made by farmers here. In total Europe provides 300m euros to farmers here annually while the individual subsidy claims are administered locally by the Department of Agriculture. But when the European Commission sent in its team of auditors, they discovered many of …

Four arrested in Laois in counterfeit cash investigation

Pete Baker on May 31, 2010, 2:59 pm

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Not much detail on this one yet, but the iol report notes that four men, in their 40s and 50s, were arrested in County Laois this morning “after an extensive operation, which has been ongoing for several months”. RTÉ adds What is believed to be a sophisticated counterfeit operation and underground bunker has been uncovered by gardaí in Co Laois. Four men in their 40s and 50s have been arrested; two are being detained in Tullamore and two in Portlaoise Garda …

ECB : There are no alternatives

Mack on May 29, 2010, 11:21 pm

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European Central Bank executive member Lorenzo Bini Smaghi outlined the fiscal and monetary constraints facing EU states at the Group of 30 conference in Rabat. In it he warns of a US of future crisis, and perhaps controversially denounces Keynesianism as inappropriate. European states can’t rely on inflation to reduce their debts, fiscal austerity is the only course available to them, but Americans may be deluding themselves that they will be able to impose an ‘inflation tax’ on investors in …

Eurovision 2010: “We’ll keep on doing what we’ve been doing…”

Pete Baker on May 28, 2010, 3:46 pm

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The Irish Times rejoices in the fact that Ireland’s RTÉ’s entry in this year’s Eurovision, former winner Niamh Kavanagh, made it through to tomorrow’s final for the first time in four years. John Waters was unavailable for comment… They seem to be taking it seriously this year at the Irish Times, with a lengthy analysis by Adrian Kavanagh, a lecturer in the geography department at NUI Maynooth, on voting patterns in the competition. And in case you still thought it was …

Euro debts: “Purge the rottenness out of the system” – Hugh Hendry channels Andrew Mellon

Mack on May 28, 2010, 12:18 pm

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An interesting discussion on the problem of, and solutions to, sovereign debt default on Newsnight. Everyone’s favourite, um, “clinker-bag” is back, this time being rude to Columbia University’s Professor Jeffrey Sachs, Gillian Tett a journalist at the Financial Times also in attendance. Kent Brockman, from the Simpsons said it best in Homer the Vigilante. Kent Brockman reports on the situation. Kent: Hordes of panicky people seem to be evacuating the town for some unknown reason. Professor, without knowing precisely what …

Euro breakup : Why Morgan Stanley is wrong

Mack on May 28, 2010, 10:36 am

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A few months back Morgan Stanley analyst Joachim Fels produced a set of warning signs that would indicate the Eurozone was at increased risk of breakup. He’s back today with a new research note – To be clear, we neither advocate a EUR break-up nor is this our main scenario. However, the risk that it happens is far from negligible and the consequences for financial markets would be severe. Given recent developments, a break-up scenario has clearly become more likely, …

Naked Capitalism: The Great Depression and the Revolution of 2017

Mack on May 27, 2010, 2:10 pm

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Entertaining, and sobering futuring at Naked Capitalism. President Kucinich also announced a new “Marshall Plan” for war-ravaged Europe, which has descended into near anarchy since the EU collapsed in late 2010. He called on the Italian Red Brigade army to end its siege of Berlin. He promised to begin an airlift of food for Europe’s starving millions, to be followed by industrial products to help European nations to begin to produce for domestic consumption. He called for an end to …

Euro crisis : Timelines

Mack on May 26, 2010, 10:07 pm

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October 2009 New Greek government elected. 5th November 2009 New Greek government ‘fess up. The budget deficit is 12.7% not 6%, as claimed by their predecessors! 20th November 2009 The European Central Bank tightened the rules for the collateral it accepts against loans, the new rules will come into force on March 1st 2010 December 2009 ECB says plans will not be delayed to help Greeks And Ratings agencies downgrade Greek debt And Greek Government begins undertaking first round of …

“everyone in Ireland is an economist now”

Pete Baker on May 26, 2010, 3:32 pm

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Mack referred in passing to the Guardian’s G2 feature on Ireland at the start of the crisis in the Eurozone, but it deserves a bigger mention. Here’s a key extract “There were very few of us in the boom who suggested what was going on was nonsense. If you’re against consensus in Ireland, the first phase is ridicule, then it’s violent opposition, and the third phase is universal truth – where everyone pretends they agreed with you all along,” [David] …

Euro crisis: Where are they getting the money to do that?

Mack on May 25, 2010, 11:11 pm

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Hat tip to The Big Picture for this entertaining, Australian, look at the Euro crisis. From the transcript – BRYAN DAWE: How much does Greece owe, Roger? JOHN CLARKE: $367 billion. BRYAN DAWE: Correct. And who do they owe it to? JOHN CLARKE: Mostly to the other European economies. BRYAN DAWE: Correct. How much does Ireland owe? JOHN CLARKE: $865 billion. BRYAN DAWE: Correct. Who do they owe it to? JOHN CLARKE: Other European economies mostly. BRYAN DAWE: Correct. How …

Irish budget cuts: Not speculation, or existentialism but hard-nosed finance

Mick Fealty on May 23, 2010, 3:42 pm

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Lot’s of really interesting snippets in the Sunday Business Post. Two struck me as worth noting. The first notes that after a narrowing of the interest rates on the bond market, Ireland’s rate of borrowing is getting more expensive again. By Friday evening, ten year Irish bond interest rates were trading at about 4.7%, about 2% above that of German debt and above that of Portugal. The second (and I suspect it’s not entirely unrelated) is the news that the …

Euro crisis: “there is no unity at present in the euro zone about what needs to be done”

Pete Baker on May 22, 2010, 6:01 pm

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A couple of reports in the Irish Times to emphasise a point made recently by Tim Garton Ash. First up a quote from the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel. “We are at the start of this work and there is no unity at present in the euro zone about what needs to be done,” she said. “We have to stabilise things first, exchange views and at a later point say what needs to be done and how, and where we have …

Euro crisis: “Here endeth the lesson from the voice of calm.”

Pete Baker on May 21, 2010, 5:29 pm

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Even though the EU Finance Ministers meeting in Brussels didn’t have the details of that special vehicle for bailing out eurozone governments to sign off on, the BBC’s Stephanie Flanders still believes in “the voice of calm”. Me? I’m still sceptical. As Stephanomics admits In the end, these imbalances always come home to roost – the private-sector bubble that was causing them bursts, and one way or another the borrowing is shifted onto the public sector. And governments have to do …

Euro crisis : Euro as we know it is dead – plus – Stiglitz and Hendry head to head.

Mack on May 21, 2010, 12:50 pm

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Jeff Randall in the Telegraph proclaims the Euro as we know it to be dead, despite the valiant rearguard action currently being fought by Angela Merkel In one respect, Mrs Merkel is right: “The euro is in danger… if the euro fails, then Europe fails.” What she has not yet admitted publicly is that the main cause of the single currency’s peril appears beyond her control and therefore her impetuous response to its crisis of confidence is doomed to fail. …

Euro crisis: A Straight-Jacket to Impose Austerity on European Peoples

Blank on May 20, 2010, 3:39 pm

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Olli Rehn, European Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Policy, recently held a joint press conference with President José Manuel Durão Barroso on Reinforced economic policy cooperation in Europe where he again flagged their desire to have more input into National budgets: The Lisbon Treaty provides plenty of room for progress through a better and full use of the existing economic policy instruments, and through revised and new secondary legislation, where needed. In particular, article 136 on economic policy coordination enables …

Euro crisis: “The crisis of the eurozone has only just begun.”

Pete Baker on May 20, 2010, 3:28 pm

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I hope it wasn’t something I said… At the Guardian’s Comment is Free, Timothy Garton Ash feels “more depressed about the state of the European project than [he has] for decades.” The crisis of the eurozone has only just begun. The bond markets have not been convinced even by last week’s giant “shock and awe” bailout of Greece. The one thing that moved them was the European Central Bank’s readiness to start buying eurozone government bonds, but it still costs …