Brussels, 29/01/2007 (Agence Europe) - Deemed too high and the cause of price hikes, the Euro is considered negatively by most citizens in five of the biggest European economies. According to a survey published by the Financial Times and focusing on quite general issues, a majority of Germans, French, Italians and Spanish said that the Euro had harmed their respective economies. The British were more neutral and did not share this gloomy feeling. There are more British people than French who consider the introduction of the common currency as having beneficial repercussions on the British economy. France and Italy (the latter has seen the single currency come in for some serious criticism) are the most negative about the Euro.
The spokesperson for Commissioner Joaquin Almunia said that they should be extremely careful about this data. He said that these kinds of surveys could help “strengthen impressions rather that the facts”. The spokeswoman said that the facts actually spoke in favour of the Euro. Inflation is currently “under control”, despite a hike in oil prices on the same scale as previous oil shocks of 1973 and 1979. The spokeswoman explained that at the time, countries like France and Italy witnessed spectacular price increases but did not attribute them to the French franc or Italian lire, she emphasised, affirming that they should not make the Euro a “scapegoat”.
Speaking on French radio, Jean-Claude Trichet rejected the thesis of a fall in French purchasing power since the introduction of the Euro. He indicated that, “this is completely false” and that job creation had been much higher over the last eight years than during the same period before the introduction of the Euro (EUROPE 9332). The president of the European Central Bank (ECB) said that they were in danger of witnessing an “inflationary spiral being triggered” in the eurozone. He pointed out that risks from the effects from a second round of wage talks existed, due to rises in crude oil prices. A risk that is growing greater, as witnessed with the most recent rise in interest rates in December 2006, (EUROPE 9323) and which could pave the way for a new rise, possibly in March. This risk, however, does not appear to have to be borne out with regard to the Europeans interviewed, less than half of whom expected a wage rise this year. (ab)