February 7, 2014
by Nosemonkey
3 Comments
The ruling – which happened only in the last few minutes – likely means that, until the European Court of Justice has made a final ruling (which could take months/years), the European Central Bank will be prevented from bailing out … Continue reading
January 21, 2014
by Nosemonkey
2 Comments
It’s an important question in a European Parliament election year – especially one where many seem to be planning on punishing the EU for the perceived failures of its leadership and conception during the Eurocrisis (even though, y’know, the European … Continue reading
January 9, 2014
by Nosemonkey
Comments Off on The EU and global economic growth / convergence
One of the criticisms that still gets leveled at the EU is that the Common Market is a rich kids club, and that the Common Agrigultural Policy and free movement of goods and services within the EU puts non-EU (and … Continue reading
January 2, 2014
by Nosemonkey
4 Comments
Nicely depressing piece for the start of the year. “As in previous years, the fundamental problem haunting the global economy in 2013 remained a lack of global aggregate demand. This does not mean, of course, that there is an absence … Continue reading
July 14, 2012
by Nosemonkey
26 Comments
So, supposedly in a bid to allow any future in-out referendum on UK membership of the EU to be based on facts rather than ideology (fat chance), Foreign Secretary William Hague has announced an “audit” of the influence of EU … Continue reading
July 9, 2012
by Nosemonkey
4 Comments
(Sorry for blogging silence – I’ve been asked to write a book on the eurocrisis and European integration, so have been deep in research working out if I understand the current situation enough to do so.) It’s been a bit … Continue reading
June 19, 2012
by Nosemonkey
3 Comments
This piece on Crooked Timber really is superb. A few highlights – but do read it in full: “the fuzzy compromise between supposedly depoliticized trans-national rules (run by the ECB), and national-level responsibility for compliance, is now increasingly problematic. Countries … Continue reading
June 14, 2012
by Nosemonkey
Comments Off on A rare non-hyperbolic take on the likelihood of a Grexit
Good stuff from European economics think tank Bruegel: “Commentators, especially from North America, take it for granted that Greece will exit the euro area and will be followed by others… But is a Greek exit really inevitable? “…If we look … Continue reading
June 12, 2012
by Nosemonkey
Comments Off on Treating the EU & G20 leaders like naughty schoolchildren
Excellent teacherly putdown in this post from thinktank Bruegel’s blog:
“Europe has already expressed its intention to focus [the upcoming G20 summit] on growth and jobs; the deliverable should foreseeably be yet another ‘plan’ without specific deadlines or commitments, along the lines of previous summit discussions. Growth and jobs are obviously fine in principle, but adopting such broad focus is likely to divert attention from the immediate challenges and even more from the actions to be undertaken. It is a pity, because Europe, while being ultimately responsible for its own actions, badly needs to explain itself and convince the global community that it is doing its best to resolve its problems.”
Reads like many a school report*: “It is a pity… Must try harder… We wouldn’t mind if it were only himself this behaviour was affecting, but he’s disrupting the whole class…” (etc. etc. etc.)
* Not one of mine, obviously… *ahem*
June 12, 2012
by Nosemonkey
Comments Off on An American view of Europe the UK would be sensible to note
Once again, no one knows what’s going to happen – yet everyone knows it’s going to be bad. This from The Atlantic makes some good points amidst the “eurogeddon” worst-case scenario act – but this time from an American perspective, … Continue reading
June 11, 2012
by Nosemonkey
Comments Off on A terrifying but promising sign
Oh, sure, it sounds terrifying at first: “European finance officials have discussed limiting the size of withdrawals from ATM machines, imposing border checks and introducing euro zone capital controls as a worst-case scenario should Athens decide to leave the euro” … Continue reading
June 9, 2012
by Nosemonkey
2 Comments
Good pessimistic (realistic?) piece from Der Spiegel:
“The next stage in the crisis will be blatant blackmail. With their refusal to accept money from the bailout fund to recapitalize their banks, the Spanish are not far from causing the entire system to explode. They clearly figure that the Germans will lose their nerve and agree to rehabilitate their banks for them without demanding any guarantee in return that things will take a lasting turn for the better.
“The next test of the resolution of Europe’s donor nations will come from the Greeks… after the election on June 17, the Greeks will bargain with the other EU countries to see what it’s worth to them to see Greece abandon the euro. The Greeks no longer have much to lose; but their EU neighbors — and particularly the Germans — still do. This discrepancy will determine the price to be paid.
“Germans have always expected that being part of a united Europe meant that national interests would recede into the background until they eventually lost all significance. One recognizes in this hope the legacy of political romanticism.”
June 8, 2012
by Nosemonkey
Comments Off on Fixing the euro: “It’s very simple…”
Yeah – sounds like a piece of piss…
“Jörg Asmussen, a member of the European Central Bank’s executive board and a former official at the German ministry of finance, outlined what Europe needs to do.
“‘It’s very simple,’ Mr. Asmussen said. ‘We need a more integrated monetary union, because the monetary area that we have now is incomplete. And we have to complement it in a way to make it more stable. One point is a fiscal union. The second one is a financial market union with three key elements: a resolution regime; second element, a deposit guarantee insurance; and third, we need a centralized supervision for the large 25 banks in Europe.”
“‘We need a democratically legitimized political union,’ he added. ‘We need to start this speedily.'”
Well that’s alright, then. Should be doable by the end of next week, I’d say.
June 6, 2012
by Nosemonkey
Comments Off on The euro: A domesday machine
As a counter to the last post, an interesting from investment banker Marshall Auerback at EconoMonitor, worth a read for a bit of history on the (evidently flawed) economic assumptions underpinning the formation of the euro and some links to … Continue reading