23/06/2012
The end of a weary week has
Spiegel reporting on the four-power summit, telling us that they have agreed to an economic growth programme with a total value of â¬130 billion â but containing only â¬10 billion of new money, the rest coming from the private sector and "restructuring" the EU budget.
The sum notionally represents one percent of the European Union's gross domestic product, and has been plucked from the ether in recognition that growth measures undertaken so far have not been enough to pull Europe out of its debt crisis. The "big four" also agreed that budget discipline alone will not be enough to fuel economic growth and create jobs for the mass of unemployed "Europeans".
This, we are told, makes "a positive contribution" in preparing for an effective European Council next week, but â says
The Guardian - leaves Germany feeling "bullied and misunderstood".
Uwe Jean Heuser, economic commentator of
Die Zeit invokes James Dean in the film
Rebel Without a Cause â when two cars speed towards an abyss and whoever jumps out first has lost. "Germany is being pressurised to jump out of the car to save the world," he says "The question is, who will give in first?"
Ambrose will have
none of it. He has Merkel defying Latin Europe and the IMF on bond rescue, shooting down calls for full mobilisation of the eurozone's bail-out and ignoring unprecedented pleas for action from the International Monetary Fund.
Meanwhile, Greece is threatened with
demotion from the group of developed countries to the status of a transition state â a unique "disgrace" never before experienced by the euro country. Nevertheless, "The lesson of the crisis is not less Europe, but more Europe",
says Merkel.
That leaves Monti to say that Europe needs a better plan to convince the world that the euro will survive. "Markets need to know that the euro is here to stay, and we all mean it", he said during a news conference after the big-four summit.
"Well, if you knows of a better plan, go to it", I sez. We've 'ad enuff plans for this week.
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