4 replies to this topic

[Guthlac]

http://synonblog.dai...your-peril.html


What David Cameron actually accomplished at the summit was pretty small stuff, but he did accomplish this: if the British had gone into the Merkozy eurozone deal, the resistance growing to the fiscal pact this week in all the other 26 EU member states wouldn't have had a chance.



Now it does. And nowhere more than in triple-A rated Finland, a key member of the eurozone, and a nation with a history of courageous resistance to oppression that ought not to be forgotten by the euro-elite. Not if the euro-elite want to come out a fight in Helsinki with their skins still on.

(Since Chancellor Merkel in particular has been stirring up memories of the Second World War lately, trying to scare anyone who resists her plans, I could call her attention to the manner in which the Finnish army faced the Red Army after Stalin ordered the invasion of Finland in 1939: a real sobering encounter for the Commies.)

Which is one reason why, with resistance to the deal rising all over Europe -- just one week after the end of the summit, and the deal is falling apart before the eurocrats can even work out a text for a euro pact treaty: in Italy, in Poland, in the Netherlands, in Hungary -- I got in touch with the leader of the opposition in the Finnish parliament, Timo Soini, head of the Finns party.

Yesterday he forced the Finnish government to face a vote of confidence over the summit deal.

Today he sent me these notes on just why the eurozone deal must be resisted.

His arguments make David Cameron's arguments look as weak as a lavender-scented lace handkerchief. Indeed, I picture Soini as a kind of snow-covered Crocodile Dundee, facing Cameron and his lady-like reservations about the British financial services industry, and saying: 'That's not an argument. THAT's an argument.'

Here is Crododile Soini's argument:

On Tuesday this week the Finns Party made a strong non-confidence motion against the government. That gave me the opportunity to speak for 23 minutes live on the Finnish television about the euro crisis, the federalist agenda of the EU elite, and the government’s failure to stand up for justice and for the Finnish people.


These are the key points in popular language and our solution to the crisis.


Immoral Bailouts
The European bailout plan is unacceptable. We are not against solidarity and helping those in need. It must however be done honestly and sincerely. The current symbiosis between the bankers and the political elite is not sincere. The bailouts are illegal. They break our jointly agreed rules. They question the integrity of our fundamental institutions.

The bailouts are immoral. The money goes primarily to well-off bankers, who will not admit and accept their mistakes, which they made while enriching themselves with highly profitable business during the last 10 years.

The bailouts are economically mad. The over-indebted states are unable to get back on track this way, especially in this state of the world economy. The only certainty is that the bailouts will create huge costs to other European states.

In the worst scenario, many others will fall, as in a giant domino effect, before the dust settles.


The Summit of Failure
The European summit was a scam of massive proportions. First, it was a complete bluff. “Europe will collapse in 10 days unless…” Unless what? Why did it not collapse, then, given that the summit solved nothing?

Maybe it will collapse, but that has nothing to do with the summit.

Second, the summit is making things worse. Trying to force everyone to cut spending at the same time risks aggravating the macroeconomic situation.

Besides, the root causes of the crisis have surprisingly little to do with deficits. Until very recently, Ireland and Spain were in surplus. Even Italy still has a primary surplus. The fundamental issue is… the euro itself.

A flawed currency union that violated almost all the tenets of Optimum Currency Area theory, the euro created the structural conditions for huge imbalances, the loss of southern competitiveness, and reckless borrowing in both public and private sectors.

No one would have lent such amounts at such interests in liras, drachmas or pesetas. The crisis was no surprise. It was predicted years ago by economists both from the left (Krugman, Roubini) and the right (Friedman, Feldstein).

Even Jacques Delors knew it. He pushed ahead anyway, hoping that a crisis would provide the golden opportunity to usher in the federalist vision which the common man would never accept in ordinary times.


Loss of Sovereignty and Democracy
Third, the European summit was a loss to national sovereignty and democratic principles. Merkozy bullied other leaders to sign something that no one knew what it really contains.


It is downright silly to suppose that the goal is merely to “strengthen” the existing rules. Every economist knows that the fiscal rules are flawed and incapable of solving the real issues, anyway.

What they are trying to do is to bring in a federal state through the backdoor. First, more powers to the Commission, in effect a European Ministry of Finance. Then, the Eurobonds. Finally, federal taxation.

It will be interesting to see how all this is done in practice. The politicians seem to be so used to breaking their promises that following it has become a national pastime in many countries.

This time they may also have to break the law.

In Finland, the Constitutional Committee gave a clear verdict before the summit: it would violate the constitution to be part of a bailout mechanism in which we have no veto. Prime Minister Katainen went ahead anyway, and now they are figuring out how to wiggle through.

Legal scholars in Germany have pointed out that Germany could never accept a similar situation (in the new ESM deal Germany will always have a veto due to its size). Yet they are asking, even insisting, that Finland and others accept it.

What about Ireland? Will they put the changes to the people in a referendum? Or will it be another Lisbon Treaty? Yet it is evident that if the new deal is supposed to have any real meaning, it will have to imply a transfer of sovereignty, so that a referendum is necessary.


No Other Solution?
The correct solution is simple. It will cost, of course. There is no painless way out of this mess.

Remember Iceland. It suffered one of the biggest crises in recent history. It took the right measures, taking big haircuts on its external debt (despite vocal protests from international bankers and their political puppets!), and tightening the belt.

Now it is undergoing a promising recovery. Of course, Iceland had a clear advantage: its own currency. That gives flexibility.

Yet the basics are repeatable. Tough haircuts on external debt. Aid only through ordinary IMF funding, along ordinary principles and ordinary funding.

No special politically motivated deals.

Tough on banks and bankers. Bail them out only if necessary: not indirectly, but openly and directly, with demanding conditions.

Will there be a recession? Maybe. Perhaps even a depression. But if so, then it is something that cannot be avoided in any case. The current, flawed plan is not “buying time”. It is only making things worse.


Wanted: Political Courage
In the Finns Party, we are in favour of co-operation. We are favour of Europe. We are in favour of national sovereignty and effective responsibility.

The British have made their choice. I cannot express in words how grateful we are in Finland to Cameron and the British leadership for their courage to say No. (He was not showing courage, but trying to let others in the EU do the dirty work while he edges us in the back door).

It makes a huge difference. Other countries like Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Austrian and the Netherlands must ask themselves: what is really the right thing to do?

To us one thing is clear: Finland should not participate in a flawed and dishonest bailout plan. The Finnish parliament has the power to say No and stay out, completely.

However, Mary Ellen Synon is right: The Big Question is referendum.. Now is the time to listen to the people, for once for real throughout Europe.

[Wolof]

Good on them. Real men!

[Andy]

Camorons rejection though small was still a rejection.  It also prooved one thing that few people have picked up on.

He was told constantly that a rejection would mean we lose our voice in Europe.  Ridiculas.

It gave us a stronger voice.
Europe needs our money whilst we dont need to be in a European Union, so they have had to rethink their attitude to the UK.  We heard Europes wannabe leaders Sarcozy and Merkal claiming they would go ahead with the Euro countries leaving the UK on the sidelines....it hasnt happened.  Their bluff has failed.  We are stronger for saying no, whilst Liebours Ed Milliband would be handing over billions more to the EU without a wimper.

[Steven]

Euro could become world's leading currency - Noyer

(Reuters) - The euro could become the world's leading currency in the next decade if leaders of the single-currency bloc succeed in tightening fiscal integration, European Central Bank policymaker Christian Noyer said in an article to be published in the Journal du Dimanche.
European leaders struck a historic deal at an emergency summit in Brussels on December 9 to draft a new treaty for deeper economic union, in an attempt to stem the debt crisis that is threatening to cause the collapse of the single currency.

The news temporarily calmed markets. But concerns quickly resurfaced as the final details of the agreement have yet to be determined and a new treaty could take up to three months to negotiate.

Ratings agency Fitch has said it doubts a comprehensive solution to the crisis can be found and urged more decisive action from the ECB.

"If we implement all the decisions taken at the Brussels summit we will emerge stronger," Noyer said in the article, due to be published to coincide with the 10-year anniversary of the euro on January 1.

"In 10 years, maybe the euro will be the world's number one currency."

Noyer, who is also governor of the Bank of France, waxed lyrical about the merits of the euro, saying it had protected purchasing power, improved trade and competitiveness and made workers increasingly mobile.

In the past decade, the euro had become the world's second reserve currency after the dollar, and the only eurosceptics were outside the monetary union, he said.

Contrasting with Noyer's nostalgia, an opinion poll also due to be published in Sunday's Journal du Dimanche showed 50 percent of French people thought the single currency had been a bad idea, compared with 35 percent who approved.

A separate article in Saturday's Le Parisien showed the price of an average shopping basket had risen 22 percent since the euro first came into circulation, with certain basic goods such as the baguette rising up to 30 percent.

source

Steve

[Eadwine]

Great to see this here, I have been living in Finland for the most of the last 15 years. The veneer of political correctness here is paper thin. The left were shocked when Soini and the Finns (True Finns until recently) got such a large proportion of the vote. Be interesting to see the results of the current presidential election here, at least we won't have anymore of the dreadful Halonen woman's drivel about tolerance and equality.