The euro crisis makes itself felt in development assistance

The euro crisis makes itself felt in development assistance
Landgrabbing and pension funds hit, especially in Africa
The generosity of the super-rich in the ARD
First The euro crisis makes itself felt in development assistance

An article by Markus Schönherr reported in the daily newspaper New Germany today, that many EU countries, according to shorten ONEs DATA report their spending on development cooperation in crisis due to the €. Some financially unstable countries such as Spain and Greece reduced its 2011 development budget accordingly by 30-40 percent. Other crisis-weakened countries, e.g. Ireland, were ahead of Germany but in spite of their difficult situation in its development commitments. The EU15 had promised in 2005, 0.7 percent of economic output in 2015 to invest in development aid. Germany is far behind with 0.39 percent. Therefore see ONE of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which can be reached by 2015 at risk. On the question of how difficult it was amid the crisis, more assistance to developing countries can afford to, commented Tobias Kahler, Germany chief of ONE. "Our solidarity with the individual states of the euro crisis, Germany's promise is where the poorest people in the world in proportion," How beautiful gentleman writes, Germany had for Greece within a few days about twenty times higher than the amount mobilized for Africa in ten years.

Second Landgrabbing and pension funds hit, especially in Africa

Germany is paymaster in European crisis

Policy issues in the euro crisis - With an "exceptional circumstances" justified the Finance Minister today in the Bundestag, the billions of aid for the Spanish banks. Looking at the last months of the crisis, European politics, can not escape the impression that in the euro area is a state of emergency gradually become the norm. Under the bailout, it is getting tight: Greeks, Irishmen, Portuguese, Spanish and Cypriots have now sought refuge there. If the heavily indebted Italy to come, the money should be just the relief fund. The growing danger of a European conflagration. Since it is understandable that

EURO CRISIS Spain maintains inventory

In Madrid, a little grumbles about the "austerity" in Berlin. The crisis forced the country to self-criticism.

As long as the euro crisis continues, one should not refer to Southerners as Spaniards. This could easily result in the roughened German public misunderstandings. Liederlich, irresponsible, unreliable, those are just some of the attributes with which we in this country occupies the south. Because it is better to speak of Spain as the country beyond the Pyrenees, which had been an empire in a long agony to relative insignificance and fell in the 20th Century almost four decades under the dictatorship of General Franco froze. After Franco's death, sought and found Spain to join Europe. It began an unprecedented, rapid ascent.

Since the country's accession into the European Union in 1986, doubled by the year 2009, the per capita income of the Spaniards. Spain and the EU - that we must not forget - is a success story that is now but an abrupt end. The Madrid government has asked banks for funding from Brussels, the EU's imminent intervention along the lines of Greece could. The question is whether Spain can find a way out of this crisis? It has the power and the conditions for this?

In difficult times, the temptation is great everywhere, looking for scapegoats. The overcome believed national stereotypes reinforce, in Germany like the lifestyle of "southerners" to the debt crisis blamed, and is "in the" southerners complained about the excessive hardness of Germany, the weaker economies drifting straight into the abyss.

The slogan: It will get worse before it gets better

The official Spain is comparatively reticent on this point. Angela Merkel with a Hitler mustache you look in vain in Madrid. One reason for this is that the Spaniards until November 2011, the conservative Partido Popular, Mariano Rajoy and his ausstatteten with an absolute majority - Rajoy was already in the program, what Merkel called for: save, save, save. This was done out of conviction, not by outside pressure. The "realism", the one in Berlin demands of indebted countries, has long since established itself in Spain. There is no expectation that things will get better quickly.

600,000 jobs will be lost this year also. The government has announced. Their slogan: It will get worse before it gets better. How long can it be "" worse, without leading to social revolts, it can make no predictions. But so far is the incredibly high youth unemployment by the still-functioning family network are collected and, more recently, by emigration, for example, to Germany.

Are critical of the attitude of the government in Berlin is of course also in Madrid. "The markets do not believe in €. The euro is fundamentally a structural defects. This is the central problem, not Greece, not even Spain! ", Says José Ignacio Torreblanca of the European Council on Foreign Relations. Really, this argument may seem, it lends itself so well as the ability to deflect attention from their own inadequacies. The fears of the German government. Crisis countries such as Spain could be dismissed by pointing to the euro itself from responsibility.

A general crisis of capitalism

Euro-rescue Merkel calls Gauck of plain text in the crisis

Joachim Gauck, Angela Merkel (in February): "Sometimes it is difficult to explain".
President Gauck directed by TV interview admonishing words to Angela Merkel. The Chancellor must explain to the citizens of the euro rescue better: "It is our duty to describe in detail what that means." Merkel's critics, who complain to the Constitutional Court, he says.


Berlin - Angela Merkel is to explain to the citizens of the euro rescue in all the details better. The President has called Joachim Gauck in the ZDF Summer interview. "She now has the obligation to describe in great detail, what this means, also means fiscally." The overall policy would communicate sometimes too little, Gauck said in the interview. "Sometimes it is difficult to explain what is at stake. And sometimes lack the energy to say the population is very open to what actually happens." He could help there.

But Gauck is not entirely satisfied with the Chancellor. On the contrary. He regarded her work with great respect, he said. "I could not do what they can and what it does right now."
Gauck had praise, however, even for those left, who before the Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe has filed suit against the Fiscal Pact and the European Stability Mechanism (ESM). Say, for opponents of Merkel's crisis policy. "The plaintiffs have every right to bring their concerns to express," said Gauck. He has intensively dealt with the complaints and demand. "I am glad that this will happen." He would like to see a broad social debate.

Next Tuesday, the judges in Karlsruhe negotiate on the urgent requests. A decision by the highest German court is expected in July.

Euro-crisis Britons fear Berlin's European super-state

A working paper of the Federal Government electrified Britain. This
will allow the orderly Berlin State Insolvency and create a European
Monetary Fund.

It's not often that British media dig up papers of the Federal
Government. Whoever leaked this document to them, knowing how the
British would react.

On Friday in Berlin: Chancellor Angela Merkel and British Prime
Minister David Cameron

They were once so electrifying that it writing immediately translated
into English and presented to the Internet. Germany wants to create a
"European superstate", writes the "Telegraph".

"It confirms fears that lead the German plans in the euro crisis into
a European super-state could, in the financial and tax policies are
made in Brussels." The British "Financial Times" speaks of a
"significant amount of detail, such as Berlin wants the government to
change the economic Euro-zone ".

Plans for the fiscal structure of a new Europe

The six-page paper titled "The Future of EU integration required
political progress towards creating a stable union." And it is indeed
a paper from the federal government, but it is not from Chancellor
Angela Merkel, but by their Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle. The
FDP politician sent it on 20 October 2011 to members of the Union
Group, where it under went unnoticed.

This paper provides the attentive reader something concrete, but it
plans for the fiscal structure of a new Europe.

Reading through it quickly becomes apparent is that the existing
authority of the EFSF and planned for the coming year European
Stability Mechanism (ESM) for a long time could not be the last word.

From a volume of 700 billion € ESM-equipped, the Bundestag will
decide the next spring, as soon Westerwelle wants a European Monetary
Fund (EMF) to make, which can directly intervene in the budgetary
powers of the States €.

"The instruments of the ESM is not sufficient," it says in his paper.
"It also requires real rights of intervention in the national budget
rights of those Euro-Member States which are under an ESM program and
thus potentially jeopardizing the stability of the euro zone."

And then follows the sentence to see where the British, but also a
departure of U.S. observers present bailout policy: "The ESM must also
be able to carry out an orderly insolvency of a permanently insolvent
€ state. The ESM would these two steps into a real "EWF".

Orderly bankruptcy

There it is again, the orderly insolvency. This time it does not come
as a side note, therefore, the Minister of Economy, but in the
government strategy paper is embedded.

Further writes Westerwelle: 'For Member States which are located
within one-ESM program and found to comply with, is that debt
sustainability is not given, the possibility of interventions in the
budget is not sufficient. Therefore, it must also give the possibility
of an orderly bankruptcy States to reduce the burden on taxpayers (the
other euro area member states) and also to create the possibility for
a restart of the affected country. "

Also planned is even a "stability Commissioner". This position should
be equipped with large powers. Are provided - such as the European
Monetary Fund - "direct rights of intervention in national households
of € states."

A change of course?

And the private creditors, the federal government take the duty. "The
present ESM contract in the proposed permit participation by private
creditors so-called" collective action clauses "(CACs) is not
sufficient," writes the secretary of state.

All this is not without a modification of the Basic Law and the
European treaties possible. Amending European treaties to a convention
to be convened, suggests Westerwelle.

"Such a convention should quickly submit proposals within its tight
fiscal policy mandate, which are then decided by an intergovernmental
conference," the foreign minister. In just a few years the changes
could be implemented.

Does this letter but, as under the British make a course change to,
away from the bail-out policy for the orderly insolvency?

It's hard to say. What is written in it is, first of all the price of
the foreign minister. In other key ministries such as Finance Minister
Wolfgang Schaeuble, it seems to play no role. From there was "World
Online" the terse reply, the paper was not known.

Draghi insists on independence of the ECB

Euro-crisis
Draghi insists on independence of the ECB
Friday, 18.11.2011, 17:03
Mario Draghi, head of the European Central Bank
In the debt crisis, more and more voices calling for help from the
European Central Bank. ECB chief Draghi has now rejected his critics
in their place - and gets support from Federal Reserve Chairman
Weidmann.

The President of the European Central Bank (ECB), Mario Draghi, has
defended the independence of his institution. The ECB lose their
credibility if they - as required in many cases - engaging with more
money in the financial markets, Draghi said on Friday in Frankfurt am
Main. Also, Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann cautioned against an
overly strong collection of the ECB.

The credibility of the ECB is justified in the success of its monetary
policy with which they curb inflation, Draghi said at the conference
Euro Finance Week. That is the contribution that could make the
monetary authorities to support the growth, create employment and
financial stability. "And we make this contribution in complete
independence," said Draghi

Shopping spree
Nevertheless, the ECB has purchased since May 2010 for almost € 200
billion government bond ailing euro-zone countries. These acquisitions
are in the euro-zone is very controversial, because the central bank,
according to many experts that exceed their expertise and money
associated with fiscal policy.

According to one newspaper report, the ECB but a secret weekly cap on
their bond purchases. The very existence of this limit is secret, told
the "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung" on Friday without citing sources.
Could there be feared that the knowledge about the border to encourage
speculation.

But the skepticism was growing about the buying-in of Governors of the
Central Bank, in which the heads of 17 central banks in the euro
countries are represented, told the "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung"
on. Therefore, the upper limit had been lowered last week to 20
billion €. At the meeting of Council on Thursday, the limit was
probably set down again. Bundesbank President and ECB Council Member
Weidmann wanted to not comment on Friday on request to the existence
of such a limit.

Warning from the Federal Reserve Chairman
Instead, he warned in the previous Congress, the Federal Reserve to
collect revenue for purposes of crisis management even further. The
lack of success in addressing the debt crisis does not justify it, to
irritate the mandate of the ECB, said Weidmann. "A clear commitment to
our mandate is an essential element for a successful future of the
euro."

To enter the monetary union in the future, a stable and consistent
framework, there are two practical ways: "The first would be a
reversal of the fundamental principles, with the responsibility of
individual Member States in fiscal and economic policy matters must be
taken seriously," said Weidmann. The second way is a "fundamental
change in the federal structures of the European Union" - a so-called
fiscal union in the coordinated monetary and fiscal policy closely
monitored and is European.

Federal Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble (CDU) said on Friday in
favor of closing the "gap" for the fiscal union. Within "24 months",
the EU can modify their contracts accordingly prognostizte Schäuble.

Euro Crisis: Spanjards de-elect government

MADRID (RP) The government of Spanish Prime Minister José Luis
Rodríguez Zapatero is the fifth, which is this year fell on the euro
and financial crisis or deselect. His Socialists suffered a historic
defeat. In June, lost in the heavily indebted Portugal, the socialist
José Sócrates, the election in October cost the dispute over the euro
rescue the Slovak Prime Minister Iveta Radičová the majority in
parliament and in November took over in Greece and Italy transitional
governments, the business of George Papandreou and Silvio Berlusconi.

After counting the votes of 77 percent in Spain, given the
conservative Popular Party Mariano Rajoy, PP of 44 percent and thus
the absolute majority. The Socialists came in the early elections to
29 percent. The election campaign was mainly determined by the
unemployment. The ratio of more than 21 percent, the highest in the
EU. Many people accused the Socialist government to have implemented
reforms such as cuts in salaries and benefits too late.

The 56-year-old Rajoy is expected to take over power in December. But
it is expected that soon he set out his plans. Spain is under pressure
from the financial markets, because the interest rates on government
bonds last snaking on the mark of seven percent. This threshold is
considered critical. Spain is in proportion to its gross domestic
product, however, still less in debt than Germany.

Stood for election in Spain 350 MPs and 208 senators. The Socialists
had done, Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba in the election. Prime Minister
Zapatero, after six years in office no longer taken up.

Between the Conservatives and the Greek international creditors of the
country there is further dispute over the payment of the outstanding
loan from the billion-euro rescue package. At a meeting with
representatives of the International Monetary Fund, the European
Central Bank (ECB) and the EU refused to allow the head of the New
Democracy party, Antonis Samaras, a written statement in support of
further reform. The verbal agreement is sufficient. His party is
involved in the transitional government under former ECB deputy Lucas
Papademos.