The Ongoing Political Transformation of Europe

[MPB]

Anything that brings about the fall of the euro, is alright by me, so keep talking Schaueble.

The sooner we get back to local currencies, the sooner we destroy the power of banks, corrupt politicians and civil servants

[Captain Con O'Sullivan]

Schauuble ... bless 'im, he's no Ribbentrop.

[DCon]

I wonder if Schaueble factored this in..

A plan to create a single eurozone banking supervisor is illegal, according to a secret legal opinion for EU finance ministers that deals a further blow to a reform deemed vital to solving the bloc’s debt crisis.

A paper from the EU Council’s top legal adviser, obtained by the Financial Times, argues the plan goes “beyond the powers” permitted under law to change governance rules at the European Central Bank.

The legal service concludes that without altering EU treaties it would be impossible to give a bank supervision board within the ECB any formal decision-making powers as suggested in the blueprint drawn up by the European Commission.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/d62db344-1...#ixzz29aPvyHi7

[DCon]

Holland telling Angie what's what

[DCon]

Merkel

EU fund aimed at improving competitiveness
Shared liability is the ‘false way forward’
Financial Transaction Tax (FTT) could go to a new EU fund
‘Solidarity fund’ could be open to all EU member states
Can’t worry about a a 2 tier Europe
Need to discuss how to give democratic legitimacy to decision in the Eurozone
Would be ‘fatal’ to lessen efforts after ECB proposal

Sees progress on unit labour costs in Greece, Ireland, Portugal, Spain (yep, amazing how lack of jobs can drive down labour costs)
Reforms can’t stop at the ‘halfway mark’
ESM solidarity ‘goes hand in hand’ with conditions
10 States have signed fiscal treaty which can start in 2013
Further development of the euro area is indispensable
Closer financial cooperation is needed
‘Strong financial market regulation necessary’
Sees common banking supervisor, ECB to play a central role
Banking supervision as seen isn’t enough
EU needs power to intervene in national budgets
EU needs more common economic policies
Nobel is all the more significant in times of crisis
Europe faces a dramatic situation
Euro’s a symbol of European prosperity
Problems at the root of the crisis can’t be resolved overnight
Can already see signs that Eurozone is stabilizing
This summit won’t be the last to tackle the crisis
Greek PM Samaras will give an interim summary of recent talks with Troika
Corruption is still a major issue in Greece
Too many reforms are happening too slowly in Greece
Most of Greece’s problems have to be solved in Greece
Reiterates wants Greece to remain in the Eurozone
Greece has to keep to its commitments, convinced of Samaras’s determination to carry out reforms
Decision on Spanish bailout rests with Spain, ESM rules will apply to any aid given

http://www.forexlive.com/blog/2012/1...ific-projects/

http://www.forexlive.com/blog/2012/1...dditional-aid/


http://www.forexlive.com/blog/2012/1...well-deserved/

[DCon]

Merkel wants a budget veto

Lorraine Willis ‏@LorraineWillis1

BBC News-EU summit: Angela Merkel calls for national budget veto

[DCon]

Holland telling Angie what's what

Merkel becoming isolated?

This EU summit is already shaping up to be a strange beast: David Cameron is singing from the same hymn-sheet as Barroso, Van Rompuy and Hollande; Angela Merkel is isolated. Dave warned that Europe was "falling behind" on sorely-needed economic reforms designed to stimulate growth and jobs just as Barroso and Van Rompuy were urging the EU-27 leaders to start implementing measures they had agreed back in June.

But, in Berlin, addressing the Bundestag before setting off for Brussels, Merkel made plain her plan for a "credible Europe" involved an EU super-commissioner empowered to veto national budgets – an idea instantly rejected by Hollande and others. Angela is in no rush for banking union; Francois wants it settled right now. She wants something called "fiscal capacity" (see below) rather than eurobonds; he wants bonds ("solidarity") ASAP.

http://nucleus.uk.net/home/item/germ..._source=buffer

[MPB]

Merkel is in election mode.

That is the problem with this so called Union, they can,t even co ordinate their elections.

How the bloody hell can a Union be a Union, when each country has a populist bunch of parasites running for election every year?

Everything about the EU/ECB is prolonging this recession and is in danger of turning it into a depression.

[Dr. FIVE]

Interesting peice on Hartz reforms mentioned on Vinb. Same old story of interest rates and credit, exports did the real legwork for the German economy beyond any labour reforms

http://mobile.globalpost.com/dispatc...er-euro-crisis

and

The result has been a two-tier system under which one part of the labor force enjoys good social and job protection and the rest must get by on less secure, generally low-paid jobs.

Although some say unemployment was a worse prospect for the many with low-paid jobs, Lindner describes the system as a “race to the bottom.”

And if the euro crisis continues to slow the German economic juggernaut, unemployment may become an issue again

[DCon]

Guardian, quoting Reuters

unnamed French official is helpfully giving a lot of detail about the banking supervision plans being hammered out at the Summit.

Here's the snaps, via the Reuters terminal:

• FRENCH GOVT SOURCE: DEAL REACHED AT EU SUMMIT ON
HAVING LEGAL FRAMEWORK FOR BANKING UNION BY END 2012, COMPLETION BY EARLY 2014

• FRENCH GOVT SOURCE: GERMANY HAS AGREED
FOR 6,000 BANKS TO BE UNDER UNIQUE SUPERVISION OF ECB, DAY-TO-DAY SUPERVISION COULD BE DELEGATED TO NATIONAL SUPERVISORS

•FRENCH GOVT SOURCE: ECB TO START SUPERVISING BANKS UNDER STATE AID FIRST

• FRENCH GOVT SOURCE: DIRECT RECAPITALISATION OF BANKS TO BE A REALITY IN 2013, LIKELY IN FIRST QUARTER FOR SOME BANKS

• FRENCH GOVT SOURCE: ISSUES OF LEGACY ASSETS FOR BANKS ALREADY UNDER STATE AID TO BE DISCUSSED BY DECEMBER, GERMANY NOT OPPOSED IN PRINCIPLE

• FRENCH GOVT SOURCE: ONE POSSIBILITY WOULD BE TO SHARE BANKS' LEGACY ASSETS BETWEEN STATES AND EURO ZONE RESCUE FUNDS

But,

Marco Zatterin, the Brussels correspondent of the Italian newspaper La Stampa, suggests that the Germans have a different interpretation of the deal.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2...-greece-strike

[DCon]

German govt source

Direct recapitalization of banks in first qtr of 2013 is ‘very unlikely’.
Can only begin once an effective single banking supervisor is in place.
ECB will be responsible for systemically important banks, but will oversee other banks if necessary.
There will be a mix of supervision between ECB and national supervisors.

http://www.forexlive.com/blog/2012/1...banking-union/

[Dr. FIVE]

DAY-TO-DAY SUPERVISION COULD BE DELEGATED TO NATIONAL SUPERVISORS

lol, exactly how it's always been since 2002 then, great

[Dr. FIVE]

ECB will be responsible for systemically important banks,

lets hope the two Brians weren't talking ***** so

[MPB]

ECB are the 3 most dangerous letters in the alphabet. Federal Reserve being the most dangerous words.

[Ogiol]

Since this is the thread on the ongoing political transformation of europe I just though that Id wade in and propose the theory that the forces of globalistion, along with the equal but opposite forces of localisation (leading to glocalisation) seem to be creating a space for the further break up of the ''national'' empires we call countries throughout europe.

Spain, Catalonia, Basque Country, UK, Scotland, Belgium (coming apart from the seams), Italy, the northern half of italy, and all that along with a general pull towards minority nations pushing for more rights, or as in the cases above, full blown independence.

Maybe we'll be seeing a europe or an EU of a collection of small nations after the final break up of the ''home'' empires. And maybe we'll be seeing it sooner rather than later, what think ye? Have the forces of globalisation paved the way for national self realisation for the smaller nations? and has the EU created a sphere through which these nations feel safe enough to go all out and push for independence?