With the headline, "Blackmailed", the German newspaper Die Welt writes:
More money, less reform: Angela Merkel sacrificed more red lines at the EU Summit. The night of the long knives in Brussels will go down in history as the night Germany largely stopped its efforts to force reforms on the problem countries of the euro zone.Der Spiegel magazine reaction went his way:
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has given one last red line was: no money without verifiable consideration. Italy and Spain are can retrieve resources from the Stability Fund in the future, without having to promise reforms in turn.
In the best case, the long night of Brussels can help keep Italy and Spain in their debt spiral. At the same time, the likelihood declined that this would help these countries in the long run. And that means only postponing the crisis rather than solving it.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel rarely sees these kinds of negative headlines when returning from European Union summits. During her over six years as the head of Germany's government, she has usually been able to put a positive spin on even unpopular compromises.UPDATE Despite the fury amongst the common people, the German parliament has voted in favor of the EZ's latest bailout fund. WSJ reports:
But at the most recent emergency gathering of European heads of state and government, which was held in Brussels and lasted until the wee hours of Friday morning, she had a hard time doing exactly that...
In fact, the vehemence of the attacks seems to have taken even Merkel's advisers by surprise.
This is not the first time that Merkel has surrendered what had been repeatedly heralded as Germany's final line in the sand. Every step of the campaign to rescue the euro over the last two years has gone from being a taboo to a done-deal that triggers massive public outrage. Indeed, one could even go further and say that the entire history of European integration has been a series of broken taboos.
On the whole, the summit was a victory for the southern European countries. The summit's decisions will reduce the IMF's influence in Europe and give the European Commission a leading role in supervising reform efforts. One thing is clear: IMF officials will not seize control in Rome or Madrid.
Germany's parliament ratified the euro zone's permanent bailout fund late Friday, as well as rules that enshrine German-style budget discipline in euro-zone countries and most other European Union members, despite widespread criticism of Chancellor Angela Merkel upon her return from a European summit where she made major concessions on support for Spain and Italy....Ratifying the proposals required a two-thirds majority in the Bundestag because of its impact on German states' rights, making Ms. Merkel dependent on opposition votes. The Social Democrats supported the fiscal pact only in return for Ms. Merkel agreeing to a "growth pact" at this week's EU summit. The opposition also made Ms. Merkel promise to push for a tax on financial transactions such as stock and bond purchases in at least parts of the EU...
Dissidents within her center-right coalition criticized her concessions to Spain and Italy, saying they would add to risks for German taxpayers. Some opponents of the ESM had already vowed to challenge the bailout fund's legality in Germany's constitutional court. The court is expected to rule on any challenge within weeks.
will be interesting to see if the court fancies itself as 'European' or remembers that fellow Germans pay its salaries.
ReplyDeleteThose who put their faith in the German politicians are doomed to disappointment. Again. "EU Uber Alles", even your own people. Do you think they will rise up against their leaders? These are Germans we're talking about.
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