Germany unmoved by French pleas for more ECB action

The Telegraph ^ | 11/24/2011 | Louise Armitstead

[bruinbirdman]

French appeals for Germany to sanction extra powers for the European Central Bank have been firmly rejected, despite warnings from politicians, economists and even the Vatican that it is the only way of "averting a catastrophe".

Italian premier Mario Monti (right) pledged to balance the budget by 2013 - but failed to prevent the country's 10-year
bonds from closing in the danger zone again at 7.13pc

Angela Merkel was unmoved by another roller-coaster day that saw Portuguese debt being downgraded to junk status, Italian bond yields pushed into the bail-out zone, and doubts cast over France's AAA rating: the German Chancellor refused to allow the ECB to become Europe's lender of last resort.

Ms Merkel instead used a three-way summit with France and Italy in Strasbourg to insist that new treaty powers to intervene and punish sinner states remained the key focus of Europe's rescue efforts. She said: "The countries who don't keep to the stability pact have to be punished – those who contravene it need to be penalised. We need to make sure this doesn't happen again."

Even suggestions that the ECB could extend longer loans to countries over a period of up to three years appeared to be ruled out. Ms Merkel said: "The ECB is independent, the modification of the treaty does not concern the ECB, which is dealing with monetary policy and financial stability. We are worried about a fiscal policy. It's a very different chapter. It has nothing to do with the European bank."

But at the start of the day, Jean Leonetti, French minister for European affairs, said: "France wants the ECB to have the same role as the Federal Reserve... Why is the euro under attack? It's simple. In the US there's a Federal Reserve. Europe has

[arkady_renko]

No one cares in the middle of America. Black Friday and my scanner is going nuts with fights in Wal Mart parking lots.

When the real SHTF these same people will be the Zombie horde.

[cartan]

…Germany’s behavior…tyranny and brute force…

What exactly is your problem with Merkel’s stance on this? The Frenchies and the PIGS want the ECB to be like the Fed, so they can continue spending money like crazy in the public sector and pay for it all with worthless paper money. Are you in favor of unfettered money printing? When has that become a recommended policy here on Free Republic? Are you a Keynesian? Did you also think that Obama’s stimulus programs were just great?

[goldstategop]

The French want Germany to launch a TARP program. And kick the can down the road.

[Condor51]

*** The Churchill War Papers, p. 38 ***

Whoopee. He wrote those while drunk as a skunk.

[Condor51]

*** LOL, germany finally took europe and did not fire a shot. ***

Yeah, but this time they don't want it.
It's like being forced to have your Crazy Uncle move in with you. :-)

[BfloGuy]

For years, the French and the Italians have been telling Germany that it must temper its export-based economy and work to increase domestic consumer spending. Now, how do you suppose they could do that? There's just one way.

Inflate the currency. That would cause Germany's domestic prices and wages to rise making their exports less competitive, and would make imports more attractive to German consumers. Germany has remained economically strong because it refused this "helpful" advice.

As the article points out, the French want the ECB to become a lender of last resort just like the Fed. That is code for let's please print Euros to get us out of this bond mess. It's the same old thing and Germany's not falling for it.

I do get a kick out of the commenters here who claim Germany is "running" Europe and basically just being mean. The truth is, they're the only adults on the continent right now -- and maybe the world.

[Cronos]

Nah, olog believes that Germany is planning a new Reich. The theme of his threads are generally: EU bad, Germany is really the 3rd Reich undercover, blah-blah.

[mdmathis6]

I wondered if the dollar would rise....

[Olog-hai]

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Whoopee. He wrote those while drunk as a skunk

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Thanks for the opinion, Mr. Obama.

[Olog-hai]

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actually it was Churchill's jingoism behind that statement that the USE should be built by the English

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History will certainly prove that opinion to be correct.

[Olog-hai]

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Originally posted by org.whodat
germany finally took europe and did not fire a shot.

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Yeah, but this time they don't want it

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The people never wanted it, perhaps. The German elites have always lusted after it, though. Never read about the CDU's "passion" for European union?

[Olog-hai]

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Nah, olog believes that Germany is planning a new Reich. The theme of his threads are generally: EU bad, Germany is really the 3rd Reich undercover, blah-blah

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You seem hell-bent on defending Germany and the EU over the US and the UK; defending true republics against a copy of the Soviet Union. Why is that?

There is enough evidence out of EU and German politicians already. And that's aside from things like the Red House Report (declassified in 1996), the papers recovered from the German Geopolitical Office in Madrid (as recorded in T.H. Tetens' book), and the plethora of modern-day news articles.

The (European) Community is living largely by the heritage of the Holy Roman Empire, though the great majority of the people that live by it don't know by what heritage they live.

— Otto von Habsburg, 1988

The future will belong to the Germans … when we build the House of Europe. In the next two years, we will make the process of European integration irreversible. This is a really big battle, but it is worth the fight.

— Helmut Kohl, 1995

Does free Europe want to join Germany? Germany is the heart of Europe, and the limbs must adjust themselves to the heart, not the heart to the limbs.

— Hans Christian Seebohm, 1951, after accusing the victors of WWII of a "monstrous crime . . . against Germany, Europe and the whole world".

[Moltke]

Spain actually better follows the Maastricht guidelines than Germany as i've read (not thoroughly).

Ah, the irony. Germany takes on additional debt to prop up the failing states, thus leaving the boundaries of the Maastricht treaty, and *then* some (here and elsewhere) point the finger at Germany and say, see, you're not in compliance with Maastricht either!

[TomasUSMC]

Norway is going to be a factor. Like the Viking Raids of a thousand years ago, they will start raiding with money and buying parts of the Euro up. North Sea Oil is the new Viking Sword. Although they better watch their back for those Russian Bears.

[Moltke]

Let me add that with “some (here and elsewhere)” I did not mean to refer to you, Cronos. Mostly to so-called journalists and ‘pundits’.

[Moltke]

Perhaps, but I believe they spend a lot of their oil money for social measures in their own country, and the people wouldn’t be happy if that money went elsewhere. Plus, they might have to get in line behind the Saudis and Emirates...

[Cronos]

if you mean England at THAT time, namely 40s-50s, then to a large extent yes, a USE created by England would have been a good thing and definitely better than anything that could be created by Nzi Germany or the Soviets at that time

If you mean England of today, then no, the England of today is a mess, trudging along on past glories and unable of managing itself let alone others

I'm not saying the Franco-German union isn't bad, just that if Blairite-postBlairite England was to organize it, it would have been worse

[Cronos]

You seem hell-bent on defending Germany and the EU over the US and the UK;

Nothing of the kind. Firstly, the matter of the euro-zone collapsing or not is not "defending the EU over the US".

Secondly, the UK of today is heavily integrated into the EU in most matters

Thirdly, you are the one parading 40s stereotypes of Germany out of Allo Allo and not awake to the reality that in this case, the Germans are saying to the Greeks etc. "if you want OUR money, then stop cheating on your taxes, stop inflating govt accounts, etc. -- what gives you Greeks the right to retire at 55 when we have to work hard until 67?" -- and the Germans are right to demand action if the Greeks want their money.

[Cronos]

And you seem hell-bent on living in the 1940s instead of the 2010s.

As I said, I've read the Red house report and that planned for the continuation of the 3rd Reich. Germany since the 60s (and probably earlier) is NOT in any way like the Germany of the 40s or earlier. The German people are nothing compared to the Germans of the Reich or Empire -- they're not necessarily nicer, just weaker

The Red report details how the Nutzis taught they could retain a united Germany by holding off the soviets until they could secure good terms from the West

That didn't happen and the East Germans were pyschologically changed from the West Germans

the Soviets never allowed any form of German nationalism and that still holds true today

the Red report is a product of its time and for a future that never happened.

now come out of your twilight zone

[Cronos]

And you seem hell-bent on living in the 1940s instead of the 2010s.

Did you even check on where and when and EXACTLY WHAT Kohl said? Did you even wonder why the elipses?

Because there's something cut out by reporters for their soundbite?

When Kohl talks about German reunification and saying the future belongs to a united Germany, he's not being jingoistic any more than a Rwandan President saying the future belongs to a strong Rwanda

and when "we" -- the we referred to were the Europeans united -- there has been no idea of Germany being the one making all the rules until everyone demanded bailouts from them -- nearly all the EU rules and bureaucracy is French or Belgian or Dutch or Luxembourg in origin.