Fog and sunshine in Brussels
May 23, 2012 1:14 pm 2 Comments
Am in Brussels where the sun is breaking through but political fog beckons.
This was always going to be an informal dinner – orginally planned as a getting to know you session for Francois Hollande and the other 26 EU leaders. It is still intended to be “informal” – in so far as a multi-lingual conversation between 27 government leaders can be a casual, chipping in at will. It is still intended to have no communique at the end, just words from van Rompuy the President, who chairs the sessions. So what is on the political menu?
The talk of a massive breakthrough on Eurobonds is far-fetched. They would take years to get going -ECB targeted acts of intervention, particularly on bank liquidity, remain the order of the day. The German people are not ready for Eurobonds. They could require an EU treaty and a change to the German constitution.
Berlin is acutely aware that Francois Hollande has to rattle a sabre at austerity. Not just because he’s just been elected to do that but – more importantly – because he wants to win the French Parliament elections in mid June. Chancellor Merkel is acutely aware how important those elections are to President Hollande and to help smooth a tricky relationship she is backing a “growth pact” text to be ready for the next full EU summit in late June.
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