Europe's Day - Europe's Choice

[seabhcan]

The treaty will solve nothing - but its also not correct to blame Germany's breach of the 3% rule.

Except in Greece's case, public borrowing was not the cause of this crisis. It is a problem now - but only because so much private debt has fallen onto the shoulders of tax payers. The original problem was too much private borrowing - caused by bad banking regulation. And the treaty doesn't mention that at all.

[moralhazard77]

Ask me again when it happens.

Yeah Germans don't do embarrassed especially when it comes to their own national interest.

[moralhazard77]

not sure I'd be gullible enough to believe that tbh

i'd hope too many people arent gullible enough to swallow that

I think you can safely say no one believes that.

[Doodah]

You are going out on a limb there Doodah!

Looks like the proposal's been shelved.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2...?newsfeed=true

While the rest of Europe reluctantly bowed to the German agenda, Berlin, however, found itself increasingly alone on how to fix Greece.
Anger in Athens over leaked German proposals that Greece should surrender power over its budget to the EU since it was incapable of delivering on its bailout pledges mushroomed into strong criticism from some of Berlin's habitual allies.

Helle Thorning-Schmidt, the Danish prime minister who has taken over the EU presidency, said that Brussels would defend Greece against any assault on its democracy, a reference to the German demand for Athens to forfeit control over budget policy. The Austrian chancellor, Werner Faymann, who has been on the German side of the creditor-debtor argument for the past 18 months, was also critical of Berlin.

"You mustn't insult anyone in politics," he said. "That always leads in the wrong direction."

Jean Asselborn, Luxembourg's foreign minister, went further. "It's not in order that German politicians say that we need commissars and that Greece be put under supervision … The biggest country in the EU, Germany, should be more careful."

[MrFunkyBoogaloo]

Summit stage management underway - it's not about the two treaties they sign this afternoon, it's about something called JobsnGrowth.

EUobserver.com / Economic Affairs / EU leaders trying to shift focus from deficits to jobs

Will they recycle the photos from the first time the ESM Treaty was signed last July?

ESM Treaty signing ceremony

Read that euobserver article over the weekend. I noticed the author pulled no punches...

In order to stimulate employment, particularly for young people, member states should "reform their labour markets" and "address the cost of labour in relation to productivity" - another way of saying wage cuts and making it easier for employers to hire and fire people.

[asknoquestions]

What exactly are those averages, now that you bring them up? Remember, Germany was the "sick man of Europe" before the euro came along; they climbed out of their "sickness" quite rapidly once the interest rates of the euro (the trigger of the financial crisis) went up. Germany has not cut their welfare or their state pensions to the bone, certainly.

Please tell us, in addition, what raising Ireland's corporate tax rate (something Germany wants Ireland to do) will do to make Ireland more competitive? It will make Ireland less competitive, rather, and remove a competitor to Germany. Also, please cite a single industrialised or equally-modern nation on the planet that has been able to restrict its spending to three percent of gross domestic product.

Germany cut the basic social welfare rate to about 350 per month, less than half Ireland's, whereas it was previously a percentage of last income.

Germany doesn't really want Ireland to raise corporate rates that badly. Germany doesn't rely on inward investment that much and there isn't a huge amount of German companies going there. Google have their biggest development centre outside of the US in Germany. Similarly ebay has a large operation near Berlin. Germany prefers to rely on availability of engineering skills rather than financial engineering to attract and keep capital.

[He3]

More here.

BBC World Service documentary: Europe's Choice

[Al.]

Germany cut the basic social welfare rate to about 350 per month, less than half Ireland's, whereas it was previously a percentage of last income

IINM, Hartz IV went up back in 2010. Not by much, but it still increased. They got rid of a lot of the crazy benefits. With more people at work, they don't need to dole out so much, obviously.

Germany doesn't really want Ireland to raise corporate rates that badly

Of course they do. They don't want anyone with a competitive edge inside the EU that can get above them.

Germany doesn't rely on inward investment that much and there isn't a huge amount of German companies going there. Google have their biggest development centre outside of the US in Germany. Similarly ebay has a large operation near Berlin. Germany prefers to rely on availability of engineering skills rather than financial engineering to attract and keep capital

...so why do they keep playing "beggar thy neighbour" with the rest of the eurozone, as well as the EU at large? And why do they keep insisting on exercising greater and greater political power over those neighbours?

[Al.]

More here.

BBC World Service documentary: Europe's Choice

The BBC still parroting Germany's propaganda:

Germany too wanted to send a message that it continued to see its future anchored at the heart of the EU: it would give up its cherished Deutsche mark and embrace the euro

More like "see its future anchored as the heart of the EU". Through some back-room dealing whose details are still unrevealed, they made sure that the euro materialised as a clone of the aforementioned Deutsche mark and the ECB as a clone of the Bundesbank, and managed to get the ECB planted within its borders, in Frankfurt.

[shiel]

The BBC still parroting Germany's propaganda:More like "see its future anchored as the heart of the EU". Through some back-room dealing whose details are still unrevealed, they made sure that the euro materialised as a clone of the aforementioned Deutsche mark and the ECB as a clone of the Bundesbank, and managed to get the ECB planted within its borders, in Frankfurt.

I know. Ireland's bankruptcy is all about those nasty nazis in Germany.
Our problems have nothing to do with our very efficient people at the head of government and banks during the Celtic tiger.

If you believe that you believe anything.