What in the world is going on in Europe? Each day things just seem to get stranger and stranger. We are being told that a “deal” for a second Greek bailout has been reached and that Greece will not default in March. But behind the scenes it seems clear that many politicians in Germany (and in the other northern European countries as well) would like to kick Greece out of the euro. So what exactly is happening here? Well, it is complicated. The United States, along with other members of the international community, put a tremendous amount of pressure on Germany to bail out Greece one more time. Germany does not want to look like the bad guy, so they are going along with this bailout but they are also imposing conditions on Greece this time that will be almost impossible to meet. And when Greece fails to meet its “obligations”, that will give the northern Europeans the excuse that they need to kick Greece out of the euro. At this point, many politicians in northern Europe are convinced that Greece is a “lost cause” and that it is not fair to ask northern European nations to pay the price for the financial mistakes of Greece. Greece is basically completely and totally bankrupt, and the nations of northern Europe don’t want to have a “financial dependent” on their books forever. They are looking for a “way out”, and this new agreement lays the foundation for that. (Read More...)
European Debt Crisis
The United States Of Europe: A Proposed “Economic Government” Would Integrate Europe To A Degree Not Seen Since The Roman Empire
Are you ready for “The United States Of Europe”? The integration of Europe is about to go to another level. As the European debt crisis deepens, there are cries all over the EU for full economic integration in Europe. On Wednesday, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel sent a letter to European Council President Herman Van Rompuy which stated that they want a new “economic government” for Europe to be formed. According to the letter, Sarkozy and Merkel want the leaders of the eurozone countries to “elect” a president for the new “economic government”. The idea would be that the president would hold twice-yearly summits to address the debt problems that Europe is facing right now. But many pro-EU critics are already howling that Sarkozy and Merkel have not gone nearly far enough. A whole lot of “experts” in Europe are proclaiming that without full economic integration and the creation of “eurobonds”, Europe is doomed. Jennifer McKeown, an economist for Capital Economics, put it this way when asked what would happen if eurobonds are not created fairly soon: “The likely outcome is the eurozone ceases to exist”. (Read More...)