|
More Unilateral Action from the French
EFL....Defend THIS, Aris! ;)Eleven years after France signed the Maastricht Treaty it has decided it has had enough of its obligations. The straitjacket of the stability pact, which paved the way for the euro, is bound too tight for an economic downturn, it has told Brussels. So instead of suffering for the common European good, President Chirac has decided to bust out, to let his deficits soar and try to spend his way to an economic recovery. It is hard to know what lesson Sweden is to draw from this as it prepares to vote on Sept 14 on whether to start using the euro. Maybe the same one Britain & Denmark are going to draw? Is every country that uses the single currency allowed to behave like this? Nope, just the special ones... By telling the EU where to go on deficits, M Chirac is telling his citizens that France?s problems and recovery are now their own to deal with. No foreign entity can be held responsible - unless you count America, whose economic recovery is being prayed for fervently by the French. Still thinking that "Let?s Fall In Love Again" campaign is working? (fits of uncontrollable laughter) M Chirac has also told his government that nothing must affect promised increases to the defence budget. He believes the French military must at least be equal to the British if France is to be a credible global power. Let?s build tanks with gears other than "reverse"! Germany and Italy are having similar problems to France in meeting the stability pact criteria and are also applying unilateral remedies to the economic downturn. But what about "European solidarity"? Which leaves those countries still mulling over joining the euro with a new question. Which kind of flexibility is better? The flexibility of staying out or the flexibility of joining and then ignoring the rules? Well, we all see what the French choice is.... Posted by: Baba Yaga 2003-09-01 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=18220 |