20 January 2012

FN: Barnier dares to speak the name of fiscal union

Barnier said that European leaders, in moving towards fiscal union, were “taking the logic of the euro to its natural conclusion”.

Leading European politicians and officials had previously chosen to speak only in coded language about fiscal union, which will involve transfers from the taxpayers of Germany and other creditor nations to support the struggling governments on Europe’s periphery - even though the process is already well underway, given creditor nations' commitments to the Greek and Irish bailouts.

Instead, European leaders have preferred to describe the process by which creditor governments have supported those struggling with their debts as “solidarity” – a term deemed to be easier on the ears of Germany, French or Dutch citizens who may be asked to send more of their taxes south to buttress the finances of Greece, Italy or Portugal further.

A case in point came in a speech last week from Helle Thorning-Schmidt, the prime minister of Denmark – which has taken over the rotating presidency of the EU – who told the European Parliament that austerity measures were a “precondition for dependable solidarity”.

Reflecting on last month’s failed European leaders’ summit, Nicolas Sarkozy used the term to attack British Prime Minister David Cameron - whose refusal to move ahead with further European fiscal he described as a rejection of solidarity.

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