Further integration is always the answer Germany gives as it continues to takeover Europe piece by piece. It portrays continual integration as key to survival, but then chips away at the national sovereignty of other nations in exchange for being part of this ‘elite club’. If they choose not to continue membership, then it will lead to full-blown civil unrest as receiving no aide will cause economies to go into full depression. This doesn’t bode good for member states such as Greece where the political leadership wants to hold on to its power, yet ironically gives it up at the expense of citizens.
It’s quite clear by now that the ‘European Project’ was never going to work, but that was the intention from conception. In the end, guess who’s back? Germany. All roads lead back to Berlin and the Fourth Reich is here with a smarter approach.
The former head of the German Bundesbank has warned that the European Central Bank (ECB) will not succeed in raising inflation for years to come and is almost powerless to revive the fortunes of the eurozone on its own.
Axel Weber, now chairman of UBS and widely-regarded as Europe’s most influential private banker, said Europe’s leaders had squandered the chance to rebuild the eurozone’s foundations when the going was good and markets were calm.
In an ominous sign, he appeared to lose confidence in the euro altogether, cautioning that monetary union will be tested repeatedly and may not survive unless EMU leaders agree to bite the bullet on full fiscal and political union.
“The ECB has continuously bought time for European policy makers to fix the issue but they didn’t do it,” he told the World Economic Forum in Davos.
The region is now stuck in a 1pc low-growth trap at best, with dangers looming once again on the horizon. “I really don’t see any bold action from governments needed to reach escape velocity. There has been no competitive reform. Europe has lost the opportunity,” he said.
Mr Weber warned that the eurozone remains crippled by its failure to share real risk. This leads ineluctably to fresh tensions between the North and South with each spasm of the crisis. The structure has to be transformed. “If this does not happen, there will always be questions about the viability of the project,” he said.
Asked whether Europe would be in better shape today if the euro had never been launched, he answered that is “very hard to say”, a tactful evasion understood by almost everybody in the room as nostalgia for the stability of the D-Mark.
Full article: EU has squandered last chance to make euro workable, warns Ex-Bundesbank chief (The Telegraph)
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