Monthly Archives: March 2012

From The World March 14, 2012

Yesterday, the European Commission slapped down a request by Ireland to defer a €3.1bn payment related to its banking debt.

“I actually wonder why this has to be asked at all,” said the EU’s top economic official, Olli Rehn. “The principle in the European Union and the long European legal and historical tradition is, in Latin, pacta sunt servanda – respect your commitments and obligations.”

So what commitment is Ireland trying to avoid, and why? Jamie Smyth, the FT’s Dublin correspondent, answers our questions.

 Read more

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Posted in EU, EU Commission, Fiscal policy |

Just how big is Greece’s new bailout, really?

March 14, 2012 1:17 pm by Peter Spiegel

Most of officialdom has been referring to the second Greek bailout, formally launched today, as a €130bn rescue. But the first 189-page report by European Union and International Monetary Fund monitors makes clear it’s actually a lot larger, though the actual size depends on how your measure it.

In the latest in our occasional series “We Read Brick-Sized Bailout Reports So You Don’t Have To”, Brussels Blog will attempt to explain why the figures have gotten so confusing and the bailout is probably better described as a €164.5bn rescue. Or maybe it’s €173.6bn.

The key thing to remember is that the first €110bn Greek bailout was originally supposed to run through the middle of next year and its remainnig funding will be folded into the new package and added to the €130bn in new funding. According to the report, €73bn of the first bailout has been disbursed, leaving about €37bn left.

But here’s where it gets slightly complicated. Read more

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Posted in EU, Euro |

The EU takes on the world (and then doesn’t)

March 6, 2012 7:01 pm by Stanley Pignal

Uma Thurman, in front of a cutout of her "Kill Bill" character "The Bride", during its 2003 premiere.

Few people pay much attention to European Union public information campaigns, except when they misfire. This seems to be happening with one particular set of ads designed to boost the public’s enthusiasm for EU enlargement.

The European Commission on Tuesday took down a video it released last week that critics claimed was veering on racism. In the clip, still visible here, the EU is cast as “The Bride”, the yellow tracksuit-donning martial artist played by Uma Thurman in Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill movies.

The clip features the heroine being besieged by a group of assailants which – and this is where the problems lie – are grossly stereotyped versions of India, China and Brazil. The impending threat they pose is disarmed when the EU fighter multiplies into 12 fighters who can intimidate the savages into peaceful dialogue.

Is this really offensive? Arguably, the stereotypes are used for a reason: because we see them everywhere, including in films such as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and video games. Read more

Posted in Enlargement, EU, EU Commission |

A year after Fukushima, a Lithuanian holdout

March 6, 2012 10:52 am by Joshua Chaffin

Next week marks the one-year anniversary of the tidal wave that unleashed a disaster at Japan’s Fukushima nuclear facility and forced a profound shift in Europe’s nuclear debate.

Within weeks of the disaster, Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, decided to switch course and phase out the country’s nuclear plants – a move that was subsequently copied by Switzerland and Belgium.

Talk of a nuclear revival that once filled the air in Italy and other member states – encouraged by the industry and supportive governments – has been dashed. Even in France, Europe’s nuclear champion, public opinion has turned increasingly negative.

But in spite of Fukushima, one European Union member state has lost none of its nuclear ardour: Lithuania. Read more

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Posted in Energy, Environment, EU, Foreign policy |

Why was Greece’s last €71.5bn delayed…again?

March 5, 2012 9:30 am by Peter Spiegel

IMF's Lagarde, Eurogroup's Juncker and German finance minister Schauble at Thursday's meeting

The Greece crisis is entering a crucial week, with private investors deciding whether to participate in a €206bn debt restructuring and Greek officials scrambling to finalise reform measures to release the last €71.5bn in bail-out money in time for a eurozone finance ministers meeting Friday.

The failure of the ministers to sign off on all the aid during a meeting in Brussels on Thursday caught a few people by surprise. Over the weekend, Brussels Blog got its hands on the report by the troika – the European Union and International Monetary Fund team that monitors Greek compliance – showing where Athens came up short.

As we reported last week, the troika evaluation (a copy of which can be found here) held that Greece had completed most of the 38 “prior actions” ahead of Thursday evening, but had not yet fully implemented all of them, particularly in the area of so-called “growth-enhancing structural measures” – mostly a series of changes in wage and collective bargaining laws aimed at driving down costs. Read more

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Posted in Euro |
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