TakingArms wrote:QUOTE (TakingArms @ May 19 2012, 04:01 AM) I think this antipathy toward germany is hilarious. You realize if germany left the eurozone the whole thing would collapse, right? They are by far the strongest economy in Europe.
Another school of thought says otherwise
• Surely, the logical conclusion to Simon Jenkins's article, which was reinforced by the arguments in Austin Mitchell's letter (Letters, 16 May), is that Germany should be the one to leave the euro, not Greece or the other "southern European economies". When is someone going to argue that Germany's current financial strength is not simply a result of its industrial model, but also arises from the competitive advantage it obtains by being in the eurozone. If Germany was to leave the euro and readopt the deutschmark, the deutschmark would go through the roof and the German economy would become less competitive at a stroke, not only against the other members of the euro, but also against most other currencies, including the pound and the dollar. It would appear Mrs Merkel wants to have it both ways, austerity for everyone else, resting on Germany's export success as a result of a weak euro, not an inherently superior productivity.
Fred Pickering
High Peak, Derbyshire
TakingArms wrote:QUOTE (TakingArms @ May 19 2012, 04:01 AM) Hey I have an idea! How about you guys listen to the one country in your zone that has its @#(! together?
They did!
Maastricht 'gravely undermined'
"The credibility of the Commission and the readiness of the members states to accept the authority of the Commission as the independent enforcer of the Maastricht criteria was obviously gravely undermined," he says. It was also a signal to everyone else in Europe.
"The view was that, ok, if the big boys won't adhere and impose discipline on themselves, they're going to be more relaxed in enforcing the treaty [on us]," recalls the former Deputy Finance Minister for Greece, Peter Doukas. "I mean, no-one can impose sanctions on Germany and France. They are the European superpowers. So they won't adhere. "The pressure was simply not there," Mr Doukas adds.
Europe is wise after the event.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-16761087
Once the Euro was launched, many countries had difficulty meeting the SGP rules. In 2003, the largest economies in the eurozone, France and Germany, broke the rules. However, because these countries promised to reach the SGP targets as soon as possible, the Commission did not take strong action against them. This made the SGP look weak and the Council of the European Union decided to suspend it. In March 2005, the European Council agreed a reformed SGP with much more flexible rules. Even these were challenged in August 2007, when the French President, Nicholas Sarkozy, looked to revitalise the French economy outside the SGP framework.
http://www.civitas.org.uk/eufacts/FSECON/EC10.htm
The fact is the South and many countries in Central Europe can't meet the industrial might of Germany,... not everyone can become such "good" germans... we're not blonde and blue eyed all of us...not part of the master race... and the euro one size fits all approach and obsession with inflation has a severe detrimental effect on the south... it's not just about debt and austerity but living standards...
It's not acceptable that even countries like Spain who had budget surpluses has 20%+ unemployment and youth unemployment...
The ECB needs to function as the US Fed does and be a lender of last resort and EIB needs to be able to use structural funds to invest in capital works that create jobs and make Europe stronger.