Time for hesitation is over. There is only one way of interpreting the eurozone summit: an in principle agreement is in sight on the EU's enhanced strategy for tackling the single currency problems, particularly in Greece. The fact that Mr Van Rompuy has organised the meeting, which he was already thinking about at the beginning of last week, implies that eurozone government leaders consider that the time is right to express themselves both clearly and forcefully on how to overcome the divergences that have led to protracted negotiations at the level of the Eurogroup and the Economy/Finance Council. This summit means that most EU leaders at the highest level consider that the moment for legal wrangling and hesitations about the appropriateness of one or other of the different measures is over and that fundamental guidelines have to be defined. Several member states have finally decided to attach less importance to the excessive objections being raised by financial players, as well as the arrogance displayed by the ratings agencies and the irresponsible attitude demonstrated by the banks that are refusing to take part in the recovery efforts. Ms Merkel also indicated that she would not travel to Brussels without an orientation in favour of private sector involvement in the cost of “operation Greece”.
Support for strengthening European construction. This interpretation is further confirmed by the eloquently expressed positions of senior figures that have contributed to the history of Europe. These include Jacques Delors and Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, as well as key players from the generations that followed who have also pushed in the same direction. Whatever their political leanings and the differences that occur as a result, they all agree on the need to strengthen European construction and develop a spirit of solidarity. I will leave aside the pettiness of those who use the confusion and fear among some sections of the population to advocate the end of European integration. This is demagogy of the worst kind, when the authorities themselves of the countries experiencing difficulty reject any option of leaving the euro and when all candidate countries are focusing on one aim alone - accession. Faced with this demagogy, my position remains the same - the EU is not a prison and the door is open to those that want to leave. I would like to see the reaction of the people if they were provided with the explanation of what leaving united Europe would really entail!
Delors and Co: the banks have to pay up. Our publication has provided reports on the common position taken by Jacques Delors, Felipe Gonzalez, Romano Prodi and a number of others. I will therefore simply provide the following quotation: “The financial institutions took risks - that is part of their job. But the shareholders and those buying the bonds which these institutions issued must bear their part of the burden. This must be done without threatening the stability of the system, but it must be done. It is not for the taxpayers to pay for the Greek debt investments which the financial institutions thought it appropriate to buy or to pay for the bonds of banks which turned out to be fragile.” The declaration adds that the inevitable loss of value of Greek debts “is the normal counterpart to the higher remuneration packages that investors have been enjoying” (which is obviously directed at the exorbitant rates they have imposed).
The euro is not in crisis. Valéry Giscard d'Estaing strongly rejects the idea that the current crisis is a crisis of the euro, which is on the contrary “a great success; over ten or so years the euro has become the second most used currency in the world. It is said that the euro is in danger. This is a totally meaningless assertion. It is sheer nonsense. Eurozone public deficits are on average less than those of the United States, the United Kingdom or Japan. To assert that the euro is under threat is to deliberately court speculation.” The problems in Greece obviously have to be tackled but talk of a risk of contagion is totally groundless: “Looking at it closely, this argument is being put forward by those, speculative funds or banks, who have rushed, at their risk and peril, to purchase bonds in Greek debt.” The EU will continue to help Greece but everything now has to change in Greece through “structural reforms, which will be long, because these will involve a change in mentality”. It is up to the Greek people to make this choice themselves.
I could continue providing a number of other quotations but I will simply point out that: (a) 50 or so top German and French managers, heading giants such as Siemens, Michelin, Deutsche Bank and others, have bought whole newspaper pages to appeal to the EU to save the single currency; (b) Ms Merkel has called for a European agency to be set up as an alternative to the three ratings agencies currently paving the way to speculation against the euro, guided by Wall Street and the City of London.
Hopefully, Thursday's summit will tackle the problems in the same spirit demonstrated by Jacques Delors and Giscard d'Estaing. This will then be progress for Europe. (F.R./transl.fl)