Lots of talk, little action, climate change back
The European Summit of 27 leaders of member states last week, under Slovenia’s rotating presidency, hardly raised any expectations, nor any eyebrows, as leaders came, attended and left. The subject of Climate Change, to which Spring Council 2007 was entirely devoted, was once again on top of the agenda for 2008, with leaders trying to balance industrial lobby demands with greenhouse gas emission cuts.
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, who, according to the EU grapevine is lobbying for a second term, was all smiles as he stressed his words to please both the industrial sector and European citizens.
Barroso spoke “in favour of keeping jobs and industry in Europe,” and promised to not only provide an EU-wide breathing space for industries but also get “an international agreement” on carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.
But an argument to use environmental concessions to keep EU-wide industries on the Continent seemed less convincing as environmental pundits and industry gurus confided on the sidelines of the Spring EU Summit.
Claudia Delpero of WWF told New Europe, “A global agreement will help make industries happier, because rules will be applied to everyone. But a strong global agreement will not be possible without strong European legislation.”
Explaining the underlying reasons for industries to shift locations, Delpero said, “The real question is: would weak environmental laws really keep businesses in Europe? History has shown that major factors for relocation are proximity to markets and labour costs, while environmental laws play only a small role in the relocation factor.
“European businesses should rather take this opportunity to become global leaders in clean technologies. The American car industry provides a very good example: after refusing the idea of fuel standards, the market is now overtaken by cleaner product from Asia. Europe should learn from history and avoid mistakes already seen in the past.”
German Chancellor Angela Merkel echoed the doubts about an international agreement saying, “If there is no international deal, we should already have a (law) ready on how to deal with energy-intensive industries, rather than only starting to think about it if nobody else joins us.”
The European Commission on January 23 had proposed an auction system for CO2 for industries, who immediately protested, arguing this would make it impossible for them to compete with firms in countries with less stringent environmental rules.
The Commission responded by promising to study the problem with an eye to proposing solutions by 2011 in the belief that to do so earlier would damage the EU’s position in global talks on climate change, which are set to culminate in Copenhagen in December 2009.
But at the Summit the conclusions insisted that the issue be “analysed and addressed urgently in the new (law), so that if international negotiations fail, appropriate measures can be taken.”
Moreover, the 27 leaders also diluted ambitious proposals from Nicolas Sarkozy on the creation of a so-called “Union for the Mediterranean” to promote cooperation in the area.
The first public salvo was fired by the European Parliament President Hans-Gert Poettering, insisting on a parliamentary dimension of the Union for the Mediterranean. Calling for an explicit reference to the Barcelona Process (launched in 1995 for Mediterranean region) said, “I am convinced that the European Commission will fully take into account the parliamentary dimension of the Union for the Mediterranean in its proposal and that the European Parliament will be fully involved in the debate which will lead to the final decisions on this project.”
According to sources familiar with closed-door talks, there were reservations from member states from Central and Eastern Europe that a Union for the Mediterranean would divert precious EU funds away from the region.
Turkey also immediately was in the news as Ankara got the notion that by being invited to join Union for the Mediterranean, its EU membership application will be left on the back burner forever.
Answering a question from a Turkish journalist, Slovenian Premier Janez Jansa said, “Turkey was not mentioned at the talks.” Saving the situation, he said, “The project for a Union for the Mediterranean was presented as an upgrade of the Barcelona process.” “And sometimes, changes get a new name,” he concluded.
Showing posts with label Angela Merkel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Angela Merkel. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Euro rally worries EU
ECB to take action; Merkel, Barroso express concern
Money is talk of the town and money, “The social lubricant” with a near free-fall of the US dollar, is sending ripples across the globe affecting all quarters of life. The steady fall of the American dollar against other global currencies and the meteoric rise of the nascent European currency, the Euro, is making financial pundits act and react.
Acknowledging the reemergence of tension in money markets, the European Central Bank (ECB) announced, “To counter the re-emerging risk of volatility, the ECB intends to reinforce in the upcoming main refinancing operation, as well as in the following ones for as long as it is needed and at least until after the end of the year, its policy of allocating more liquidity than the benchmark amount in main refinancing operations.” The benchmark amount is an estimate of the liquidity needed by banks to fulfil their minimum reserve requirements.
“In line with its communication of October 8th, the ECB will continue to closely monitor liquidity conditions, consistently with its aim to limit the volatility of very short term rates around the main refinancing operations minimum bid rate,” the bank in a move aimed at financial markets said.
Reiterating faith in the earlier ECB actions as “effective and flexible,” ECB president Jean- Claude Trichet said, “Looking ahead, and in line with its previous communications and actions, the ECB will continue to steer very short term interbank rates close (to) the minimum bid rate.”
Commenting on the strength of the Euro becoming a problem for some European exporters, German Chancellor Angela Merkel told N24 television on November 22 that the strong Euro and high oil prices pose a risk to the country’s economy — Europe’s largest. “We are pleased that Europe has a strong currency, but this obviously also creates problems for exports,” she said adding, “We are working on an international level to balance currency imbalances reasonably.”
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso echoed her sentiments last week. Speaking on the side lines of an EU-ASEAN Summit in Singapore, Barroso said, “It’s true that the very strong Euro is becoming a concern to some export sectors in some parts of the European economy.”
The European Commission this month cut its forecast for 2008 Eurozone economic growth to 2.2 percent from 2.5 percent.
In related fallout in the industry, Airbus CEO Thomas Enders said the Euro has now “crossed the pain threshold” and that the rate of the dollar’s fall “hardly leaves room for reasonable adapting.” “That is lifethreatening,” he was quoted by Der Spiegel magazine as telling the company worker’s council in Hamburg on November 22.
Although the company is expecting a record number of orders, it still must reckon with “tremendous losses,” he said. But the German economics ministry reacted the next day saying it is up to the aircraft maker Airbus and not the government to estimate the impact of the strong Euro on the company’s performance. “Only the company itself can assess how threatening such a development is for the company,” said an economics ministry spokeswoman. “Only the company can say to which degree the Euro has contributed to its development.”
Moreover, there is a flip side of the strong Euro as was pointed out by Merkel’s deputy economics minister. The rising Euro is damping the effect of rising oil prices, noted Bernd Pfaffenbach, who is also Merkel’s advisor on the Group of Eight industrial nations’ issues.
Recalling the worries during the birth of the European currency that Euro will even stay weaker than the Deutsche Mark, Pfaffenback welcome the news that China has announced plans to shift its currency reserves into Euro adding, “This shows a growth in faith in the European currency.”
Although burdened with strikes and transport chaos at home and silent directly on the rising Euro, French President Nicolas Sarkozy was about to address the currency issue during talks with Chinese leaders in Beijing.
According to media reports, a senior French official was cited as saying that Sarkozy will make proposals for an “equitable and fair” relationship among four major currencies - the US dollar, Euro, Japanese Yen and Chinese Yuan.
The common currency for the 13-nation Eurozone is hovering close to the USD 1.50 mark against the American dollar, breaking all records.
Money is talk of the town and money, “The social lubricant” with a near free-fall of the US dollar, is sending ripples across the globe affecting all quarters of life. The steady fall of the American dollar against other global currencies and the meteoric rise of the nascent European currency, the Euro, is making financial pundits act and react.
Acknowledging the reemergence of tension in money markets, the European Central Bank (ECB) announced, “To counter the re-emerging risk of volatility, the ECB intends to reinforce in the upcoming main refinancing operation, as well as in the following ones for as long as it is needed and at least until after the end of the year, its policy of allocating more liquidity than the benchmark amount in main refinancing operations.” The benchmark amount is an estimate of the liquidity needed by banks to fulfil their minimum reserve requirements.
“In line with its communication of October 8th, the ECB will continue to closely monitor liquidity conditions, consistently with its aim to limit the volatility of very short term rates around the main refinancing operations minimum bid rate,” the bank in a move aimed at financial markets said.
Reiterating faith in the earlier ECB actions as “effective and flexible,” ECB president Jean- Claude Trichet said, “Looking ahead, and in line with its previous communications and actions, the ECB will continue to steer very short term interbank rates close (to) the minimum bid rate.”
Commenting on the strength of the Euro becoming a problem for some European exporters, German Chancellor Angela Merkel told N24 television on November 22 that the strong Euro and high oil prices pose a risk to the country’s economy — Europe’s largest. “We are pleased that Europe has a strong currency, but this obviously also creates problems for exports,” she said adding, “We are working on an international level to balance currency imbalances reasonably.”
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso echoed her sentiments last week. Speaking on the side lines of an EU-ASEAN Summit in Singapore, Barroso said, “It’s true that the very strong Euro is becoming a concern to some export sectors in some parts of the European economy.”
The European Commission this month cut its forecast for 2008 Eurozone economic growth to 2.2 percent from 2.5 percent.
In related fallout in the industry, Airbus CEO Thomas Enders said the Euro has now “crossed the pain threshold” and that the rate of the dollar’s fall “hardly leaves room for reasonable adapting.” “That is lifethreatening,” he was quoted by Der Spiegel magazine as telling the company worker’s council in Hamburg on November 22.
Although the company is expecting a record number of orders, it still must reckon with “tremendous losses,” he said. But the German economics ministry reacted the next day saying it is up to the aircraft maker Airbus and not the government to estimate the impact of the strong Euro on the company’s performance. “Only the company itself can assess how threatening such a development is for the company,” said an economics ministry spokeswoman. “Only the company can say to which degree the Euro has contributed to its development.”
Moreover, there is a flip side of the strong Euro as was pointed out by Merkel’s deputy economics minister. The rising Euro is damping the effect of rising oil prices, noted Bernd Pfaffenbach, who is also Merkel’s advisor on the Group of Eight industrial nations’ issues.
Recalling the worries during the birth of the European currency that Euro will even stay weaker than the Deutsche Mark, Pfaffenback welcome the news that China has announced plans to shift its currency reserves into Euro adding, “This shows a growth in faith in the European currency.”
Although burdened with strikes and transport chaos at home and silent directly on the rising Euro, French President Nicolas Sarkozy was about to address the currency issue during talks with Chinese leaders in Beijing.
According to media reports, a senior French official was cited as saying that Sarkozy will make proposals for an “equitable and fair” relationship among four major currencies - the US dollar, Euro, Japanese Yen and Chinese Yuan.
The common currency for the 13-nation Eurozone is hovering close to the USD 1.50 mark against the American dollar, breaking all records.
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