Blogs : EU in Financial Turmoil 6th October

Seventy percent of the crisis. Richard, The EUReferendum (en)
Blood on the floor. Richard, The EUReferendum (en)

Tension In The Eurozone. Eurosoc 2, EuroSoc (en)

The Euro and the ECB have done for us all? Irony Too (en)

"... As the unflappable Warren Buffett puts it, the credit freeze is “sucking blood” out of the economy. “In my adult lifetime, I don’t think I’ve ever seen people as fearful,” he said ...

... The lesson of the 1930s is that any country trying to reflate in isolation will be punished. The crisis will ricochet from one economy to another until every one is crippled. We are seeing it play again in this drama as our leaders fail to rise above their narrow, parochial agendas.

Oh Angela! Certain Ideas of Europe (en)

" ...careful reading of the words of Angela Merkel, Germany's chancellor, gave a clue about what was really going on. "Each country must take its responsibilities at the national level," ... That doesn't sound like a politician who is ready to share much decision-making with her neighbours ...

...Just how unprepared the rest of Europe was for Germany's move was underscored this morning, when a senior British official told Radio Four that London still needed further "clarification" about the German decision. Ouch. So much for coordination ...

... If four European countries failed to agree on real cooperation at the weekend, what hope do 27 EU states have of agreeing in the coming days? Whether Mrs Merkel will ultimately be judged a realist or a traitor by her European peers remains to be seen."

L'Union pragmatique face à la crise financière. Jean Quatremer, Les Coulisses de Bruxelles (fr)

"... Mais nul leadership ne s’est manifesté au cours de cette folle semaine. Nicolas Sarkozy, qui préside l’UE jusqu’à la fin de l’année, a conscience que la réaction commune des Européens est largement conjoncturelle. Il veut donc surfer sur la crise pour renforcer la gouvernance économique des Vingt-Sept ... Paris risque de trouver sur son chemin Londres mais aussi Berlin, où l’on craint par-dessus tout qu’un gouvernement économique couvre l’inconséquence de mauvais gestionnaire des autres pays ..."

La politique de concurrence européenne s'adapte à la crise financière.

" ...Neelie Kroes, la commissaire chargée du dossier ... a d’ailleurs été étroitement associée aux différents plans de sauvetage des banques européennes. Face aux risques d’effondrement du système financier, elle a immédiatement décidé d’appliquer l’article 87-3-b du traité de Rome qui valide les aides d’État visant « à remédier à une perturbation grave de l’économie d’un État membre » ..."

Oh shit! Richard, The EUReferendum (en)

" ... Meanwhile, we get from The Guardian a further taste of the ensuing chaos as British officials react furiously to Angela Merkel's announcement that Germany will guarantee all bank deposits. They are pointing out that she had given no indication of the move over the weekend during the Paris summit ..."

Is the Euro Doomed, too? Jerome a Paris, Eurotrib (en)

" ... This has led to renewed speculation about the future of the euro, some coming from usual suspects (euroskeptic Ambrose Evans-Pritchard in the Torygraph), some from usually more optimistic pundits (like Wolfgang Munchau in the FT), and some here in ...

... I must admit I am still not convinced this can happen: moving back to one's old currency in normal times would already be a complex task, but doing so in the middle of a banking meltown about ensures that the newly introduced currency would be a failed one - people would stick to their euros, and avoid the new currency at all costs. Holders of public debt would be the biggest losers, and the country would turn into a pariah ..."

Let's solve multilateral problems unilaterally. Julien Frisch, Watching Europe (en)
"... For me its sounds rather like a "sole vow" than a "solemn vow". But at least they could have a nice meeting in Paris. Many people do that on Sundays, so why not our political and financial leaders?!Number of solutions produced: ZERO ..."