EC PRESIDENT CALLS URGENT MEETING FOR TOMORROW #2

fuzeta wrote:That is the biggest problem with having a single currency. Countries cannot devalue when they need to. That is why it will never work, ever.

God only knows why they ever thought it would.

Hi Fuzeta, it was Germany , the strongest Country who dreamed of a single European State , but the EU has been badly run . can"t even balance its own books and the only reason all these Countries are being bailed out is to save the EURO, nothing altruistic.All the analysts are saying the EU will never
work without fiscal union but Germany doesn"t want to go down that road because it fears it will be helping other Countries out all the time. There is a
theory that all the Southern Countries are the laziest, Italy Spain, Greece, Portugal....could be the Sun.

Panda wrote:

fuzeta wrote:That is the biggest problem with having a single currency. Countries cannot devalue when they need to. That is why it will never work, ever.

God only knows why they ever thought it would.

Hi Fuzeta, it was Germany , the strongest Country who dreamed of a single European State , but the EU has been badly run . can"t even balance its own books and the only reason all these Countries are being bailed out is to save the EURO, nothing altruistic.All the analysts are saying the EU will never
work without fiscal union but Germany doesn"t want to go down that road because it fears it will be helping other Countries out all the time. There is a
theory that all the Southern Countries are the laziest, Italy Spain, Greece, Portugal....could be the Sun.

Yes Panda, they have had dreams before that is what is worrying!! They will do anything to save this plot of theirs!

I do think it is wrong to say that the Southern countries are the laziest. They made a big mistake in joining, like everyone else involved. They were presented with something that looked wonderful but was never going to work. Faults of Governments. Every country is so different and to me it is ridiculous to think that we can all be the same in any way. God forbid that we should be.

I was living in Greece when they first joined the EU. Certain restrictions were put on them right away.

The Greek people, used to start work early, then have a couple of hours sleep in the afternoon , then work until eight. Then go out for the evening , eating and going to bars. It was their way . Whilst we were there. It was said that having the afternoon nap (hottest time of day we must remember) and going out at night until the early hours was interfering with International trade. This was a recommendation from the EU!

They then made bars take off their music at midnight and had police going around to see that they did. Bar owners had watchers posted outside to watch for the police and to warn the bars that they were coming and then the music had to go off.

It was ridiculous. How can they take away other people's way of life and customs.


I remember that they had many protests in Athens, they started partying in the streets instead. I believe that the rule has now gone by the board! Thank God.

I have friends in Holland who are totally sick of the EU and what it has done to them. They are almost as overcrowded as us.

I truly hate the ridiculous EU and the Euro. Nothing good has ever come of it, nor will it. IMO only

Somebody remarked recently that Germany lost two World Wars this Century but has managed to take over Europe without firing a shot. I think they pay something like 1.5% interest on their loans which is why they don"t want the European Union to break up, Grease is paying 104% on a Ten Year Bond.

It"s not just the monetary side, you have 17 different Countries tied to the Euro who have different cultures, ways of doing things , language etc and yet Macedonia and another small Country are waiting to join who have little to contribute., it"s crazy. Had it remained as a Common Market , that would have been O.K., but now it has morphed into a dictatorship, yet still successive British PM"s will not let the people have a Referendum.

Panda wrote:

fuzeta wrote:That is the biggest problem with having a single currency. Countries cannot devalue when they need to. That is why it will never work, ever.

God only knows why they ever thought it would.

Hi Fuzeta, it was Germany , the strongest Country who dreamed of a single European State , but the EU has been badly run . can"t even balance its own books and the only reason all these Countries are being bailed out is to save the EURO, nothing altruistic.All the analysts are saying the EU will never
work without fiscal union but Germany doesn"t want to go down that road because it fears it will be helping other Countries out all the time. There is a
theory that all the Southern Countries are the laziest, Italy Spain, Greece, Portugal....could be the Sun.

It could be ignorance too. Or plain stupidity.

Claudia79 wrote:

Panda wrote:

fuzeta wrote:That is the biggest problem with having a single currency. Countries cannot devalue when they need to. That is why it will never work, ever.

God only knows why they ever thought it would.

Hi Fuzeta, it was Germany , the strongest Country who dreamed of a single European State , but the EU has been badly run . can"t even balance its own books and the only reason all these Countries are being bailed out is to save the EURO, nothing altruistic.All the analysts are saying the EU will never
work without fiscal union but Germany doesn"t want to go down that road because it fears it will be helping other Countries out all the time. There is a
theory that all the Southern Countries are the laziest, Italy Spain, Greece, Portugal....could be the Sun.

It could be ignorance too. Or plain stupidity.

Maybe these Countries were never meant to be part of a Union and have more of a Manana approach which doesn"t suit today"s frenetic Global growth,
Claudia.

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Poor show, Sarko

Nicolas Sarkozy accused us of not understanding Europe because of our insularity. Well, if we're going to trade cliches...

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• Editorial
  
• The Observer, Sunday 6 November 2011
• Article history
This island nation woke up yesterday morning with a sharp rebuke ringing in its ears, administered by President Sarkozy to our envoy, Newsnight's economics editor, Paul Mason. Perhaps, wondered Sarkozy, in response to a Mason question, the Brit's insular upbringing meant that he did not understand "the subtleties of European construction". Indeed not: the British, as anybody knows, understand little beyond growing cabbages in rows and standing up to global bullies, in return for which we accept that the French will be able to give us lessons in love-making, the Germans in punctuality and the Italians in delicious things to do with tomatoes.
Sarkozy, a new father, might well be a touch short on sleep at the moment, and he wouldn't have wanted to miss another chance to tell David Cameron, albeit by proxy, to shut up. But by falling back on a cliched insult, he raises the question of how far the euro debacle is infected with hoary national stereotypes. Well, he started it, so we'll respond in kind. If there's one thing we Brits are known for, it's our manners. And that, sir, was simply not cricket.

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Eurozone crisis

And if Greece goes...

4 November 2011
Le Figaro
Paris


A road sign on the island of Samos, Greece
Ozan Danışman / Getty Images

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What if Greece leaves the EU? Professor George Prevelakis argues that it is an eventuality that would prompt a new geopolitical upset in the Balkans. As for the EU, it would be forced to acknowledge its inability to “Europeanise” a member state of 30 years standing.
George Prevelakis
For Greece, November 2011 will mark the end of several cycles: the cycle that began with Papandreou’s mandate in 2009 and, perhaps more importantly, the cycle that began in 1981 with Greece's entry into the EEC, which was followed by PASOK’s first election victory.
These two cycles have left us with a social and economic situation that is in marked contrast to Greece’s European dreams. Recession, debt, state negligence, a demoralised population: when you consider all that has happened, it is as though Greece had never belonged to NATO or the European Union. It is as though it had just emerged from the dark night of communism like the other Balkan countries.
Is this the revenge of geography? Or is it the result of having a state that is managed by a family: the Papandreou family which many Greeks believe is responsible for all of the ills of the country?
Right now Greece and Europe are both concerned about the future, which does not look bright. The management of the economic crisis by an opportunistic government and by a Europe, that was overly preoccupied by its own business, has resulted in a succession of crises, which were initially economic, then political, and could be geopolitical in the future.
Hostility to the West

Over the last few months, a new gap has opened up between Greece and Europe. In the press, Greek cartoonists are increasingly portraying the European Union as a reincarnation of Nazi Germany. Anti-Europeanism and anti-Western attitudes are rapidly developing.
We have become imbued with a nostalgia for a relatively prosperous and dignified past – the era of the drachma – and a feeling of humiliation prompted by comments in the European press and on the part of European leaders that are often evil-minded, and, last but not least, government propaganda that blames the austerity policy on the supposed diktats of Europe.
And all of these elements have contributed to a hostility to the West that seeks to resurrect a view of history solidly anchored in the schism of 1054, the Fourth Crusade, the Nazi occupation and US support for the Regime of the Colonels …
An inadequate response

You only have to look at Greece’s geopolitical context to realise that this situation is fraught with new dangers. The Western Balkans are by no means stabilised and Turkey is moving away from the West, while the economic crisis has deprived the United States of much of its influence. At the same time, Russia and China, which have re-established cooperation with their former spheres of influence, have set about creating new economic and political networks.
Greece remains the West’s main point of anchorage in its geopolitical region. And this is probably the reason why Europe has tolerated Greece’s flouting of economic standards. If the the country leaves the European Union, or even if it exits the Eurozone, it will once again be transformed into an arena for the confrontation of English, German, French, America, Russian and Chinese interests.
And above and beyond the consequences of this development for regional stability, what a humiliation for European prestige! Europe, which wants to act as a model and a pacifying force for surrounding states, will be obliged to acknowledge its failure to “Europeanise” a member state of thirty years standing, and one which is considered to be the “cradle of democracy.”
An inadequate response to the economic crisis has now resulted in a political crisis, and it is imperative that we learn from this failure. That is only way to avoid a new transformation of the political crisis into a geopolitical crisis.
Translated

Deadlock As Greek PM Seeks To Form Coalition

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2:25am UK, Sunday November 06, 2011



Robert Nisbet, in Athens






Greece's prime minister says the country is going through
"critical times" as he tries to assemble a coalition government to push
through the bailout plan.


George Papandreou has started talks with President Karolos Papoulias
on how to construct an administration to negotiate the deal to write
down Greek debt and release billions in emergency aid.


The country is under pressure from the eurozone's power brokers to
implement the bailout package agreed in Brussels on October 27.


If the bailout stalls in the Greek parliament, that would hamper the
release of money Greece needs to pay salaries, pensions and
international creditors.


After the prime minister won a confidence vote in the early hours of
Saturday morning, European finance ministers, who meet next week, will
want to see progress in Athens.


However the opposition New Democracy party is angry Mr Papandreou
decided to tough out his tenure, rather than call snap elections.


Its leader Antonis Samaras says the prime minister is "dangerous" for Greece.












Opposition leader Antonis Samaras





But he and other opposition leaders have already said they would work
to implement the bailout deal, so the pressure to join a consensus
government is immense.


It is likely they will try to extract the resignation of Mr
Papandreou, with finance minister Evangelos Venizelos the likely
replacement before elections are held in February.


Mr Samaras is scheduled to meet President Papoulias at 1pm (1100 GMT) on Sunday.


The wrangling comes after almost a week of market anxiety over
whether the near-bankrupt country will actually embrace the bailout
deal.


Mr Papandreou has already abandoned a proposal to hold a referendum
on the package, which would result in years of financial austerity for
Greece.


On Friday world leaders drew a blank in their efforts to resolve the
wider eurozone crisis, as a G20 summit ended with no agreement on
crucial measures to shore up ailing economies.












G10 leaders met in Cannes last week





The Group of 20 leading economies failed to thrash out a detailed plan to stabilise the single currency or to boost the International Monetary Fund's ability to respond to emergencies.


Prime Minister David Cameron warned squabbling eurozone leaders that
"the world can't wait" for them to finalise plans to bailout Greece,
recapitalise banks and erect a one trillion euro (£870BN ) "firewall" to
protect the single currency.


He acknowledged that the ongoing uncertainty in the eurozone was having a "chilling" effect on the British economy.









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PM Hints At C

Secretary of the Italian Senate , Lucio Milan, says Papandreou has been elected and he should see the bail-out through. Although Italy has a deficit of
E1.9 Trillion, he sees no problem with that.. He wants to satay in the EU as long as Germany and France abide by the rules annd listens to all Countries.

Samares, the Italian opposition Leader is to meet the President today, he does not favour a Unity Party and thinks Papandreou should step down.

Chinese are critisising the sloth and idleness of some European Countries so don"t bet on them funding the EFSF.Goldman Sachs says it is inevitable that
Greece will default and there is not enough in the Fund to save Italy from defaulting. The bank thinks some of the smaller Countries will leave and there will
be a small nucleus remaining .

Samares, leader of the opposition Party wants Papandreou to resign which would presumably mean dissolving Parliament. I must say, these Politicians
are not helping their Country are they?

The Socialist Party is demanding Papandreou"s resignation and if he agrees it is expected that his Finance Minister will take over until the election . This is
not ggod news for Merkel and Sarkozy who wonder wheter any new government will make more demands.

A discussion on T.V. earlier suggested that although Italy is the priority, Spain, Postugal and Ireland also need ringfencing and there are insufficient funds.
Would the G20 agree to putting more money into the IMF to finance the ringfencing when the world is facing resession?

One of the speakers said there would never be equality in the EU because Countries like Germany are very strong and the Southern Countries will never
catch up. He said it took 100 years for the South to catch up with the North in the U.S. and it wouldn"t be a disaster if Greece defaulted, other Countries have done so and survived., however, all the money in it"s Banks would be taken out by the Customers and Investors.

Just announced , Papandreou is to resign today.

Panda wrote:

Claudia79 wrote:

Panda wrote:

fuzeta wrote:That is the biggest problem with having a single currency. Countries cannot devalue when they need to. That is why it will never work, ever.

God only knows why they ever thought it would.

Hi Fuzeta, it was Germany , the strongest Country who dreamed of a single European State , but the EU has been badly run . can"t even balance its own books and the only reason all these Countries are being bailed out is to save the EURO, nothing altruistic.All the analysts are saying the EU will never
work without fiscal union but Germany doesn"t want to go down that road because it fears it will be helping other Countries out all the time. There is a
theory that all the Southern Countries are the laziest, Italy Spain, Greece, Portugal....could be the Sun.

It could be ignorance too. Or plain stupidity.

Maybe these Countries were never meant to be part of a Union and have more of a Manana approach which doesn"t suit today"s frenetic Global growth,
Claudia.

What does a political, economical and financial opinion got to do with a ridiculous, ignorant, offensive and bigoted 'theory'?

I THINK I READ IN THE GUARDIAN FRIDAY? THAT ONE THING SOME GREEKS WOULD DO WAS STICK MONEY IN BANK ACCOUNTS PAYING 20% INTEREST,NOT PRODUCING ANYTHING USEFUL.
TAX DODGING WAS COMMON AS WELL AS TOO GENEROUS WELFARE PAYMENTS ETC.

I heard on Radio 4 that some Greek public sector workers have been able to retire at 50 years old on 95% pensions.

No wonder the country is going bust!

Claudia79 wrote:

Panda wrote:

Claudia79 wrote:

Panda wrote:

fuzeta wrote:That is the biggest problem with having a single currency. Countries cannot devalue when they need to. That is why it will never work, ever.

God only knows why they ever thought it would.

Hi Fuzeta, it was Germany , the strongest Country who dreamed of a single European State , but the EU has been badly run . can"t even balance its own books and the only reason all these Countries are being bailed out is to save the EURO, nothing altruistic.All the analysts are saying the EU will never
work without fiscal union but Germany doesn"t want to go down that road because it fears it will be helping other Countries out all the time. There is a
theory that all the Southern Countries are the laziest, Italy Spain, Greece, Portugal....could be the Sun.

It could be ignorance too. Or plain stupidity.

Maybe these Countries were never meant to be part of a Union and have more of a Manana approach which doesn"t suit today"s frenetic Global growth,
Claudia.

What does a political, economical and financial opinion got to do with a ridiculous, ignorant, offensive and bigoted 'theory'?

Well, there might be some merit in the theory, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland etc, all the Northern Countries have a different culture, more
akin to Germany, yet none of these countries is in financial trouble.

Panda wrote:

Claudia79 wrote:

Panda wrote:

Claudia79 wrote:

Panda wrote:

Hi Fuzeta, it was Germany , the strongest Country who dreamed of a single European State , but the EU has been badly run . can"t even balance its own books and the only reason all these Countries are being bailed out is to save the EURO, nothing altruistic.All the analysts are saying the EU will never
work without fiscal union but Germany doesn"t want to go down that road because it fears it will be helping other Countries out all the time. There is a
theory that all the Southern Countries are the laziest, Italy Spain, Greece, Portugal....could be the Sun.

It could be ignorance too. Or plain stupidity.

Maybe these Countries were never meant to be part of a Union and have more of a Manana approach which doesn"t suit today"s frenetic Global growth,
Claudia.

What does a political, economical and financial opinion got to do with a ridiculous, ignorant, offensive and bigoted 'theory'?

Well, there might be some merit in the theory, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland etc, all the Northern Countries have a different culture, more
akin to Germany, yet none of these countries is in financial trouble.

So, help me out because I have a problem. Me being Portuguese but having been born in Germany, am I lazy or hard-working?
Speaking of theories, there are a lot of them. Some say that black people are less intelligent, that gay people are freaks of nature, that Jewish people do anything for money, that all Muslims are terrorists and that British people are unfit parents who leave their children unattended. Any merit in those theories too or just in the Southern Europeans are lazy?

Claudia79 wrote:

Panda wrote:

Claudia79 wrote:

Panda wrote:

Claudia79 wrote:

It could be ignorance too. Or plain stupidity.

Maybe these Countries were never meant to be part of a Union and have more of a Manana approach which doesn"t suit today"s frenetic Global growth,
Claudia.

What does a political, economical and financial opinion got to do with a ridiculous, ignorant, offensive and bigoted 'theory'?

Well, there might be some merit in the theory, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland etc, all the Northern Countries have a different culture, more
akin to Germany, yet none of these countries is in financial trouble.

So, help me out because I have a problem. Me being Portuguese but having been born in Germany, am I lazy or hard-working?
Speaking of theories, there are a lot of them. Some say that black people are less intelligent, that gay people are freaks of nature, that Jewish people do anything for money, that all Muslims are terrorists and that British people are unfit parents who leave their children unattended. Any merit in those theories too or just in the Southern Europeans are lazy?

Claudia, let"s end this conversation now because I think you are over-reacting, we are just talking about the different attitudes between Southern and Northern Countries in Europe and you bring up all kinds of comparisons

Panda wrote:

Claudia79 wrote:

Panda wrote:

Claudia79 wrote:

Panda wrote:

Maybe these Countries were never meant to be part of a Union and have more of a Manana approach which doesn"t suit today"s frenetic Global growth,
Claudia.

What does a political, economical and financial opinion got to do with a ridiculous, ignorant, offensive and bigoted 'theory'?

Well, there might be some merit in the theory, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland etc, all the Northern Countries have a different culture, more
akin to Germany, yet none of these countries is in financial trouble.

So, help me out because I have a problem. Me being Portuguese but having been born in Germany, am I lazy or hard-working?
Speaking of theories, there are a lot of them. Some say that black people are less intelligent, that gay people are freaks of nature, that Jewish people do anything for money, that all Muslims are terrorists and that British people are unfit parents who leave their children unattended. Any merit in those theories too or just in the Southern Europeans are lazy?

Claudia, let"s end this conversation now because I think you are over-reacting, we are just talking about the different attitudes between Southern and Northern Countries in Europe and you bring up all kinds of comparisons

I'm over-reacting? You come up with a theory that claims that millions of people are lazy because of the part of the Planet Earth they inhabit and you don't see how that is offensive? You are not talking about different attitudes, values or cultural aspects at all. You are stating that Southern European people are lazy while Northern Europeans are not. Is that any different from saying white people are smart and black people are not? Or that straight people are normal and gays aren't? By the way, any theories on Iceland? And I still don't know if, according to that brilliant theory, I'm lazy or not. And I'd really like to find out.

Panda wrote:

Claudia79 wrote:

Panda wrote:

Claudia79 wrote:

Panda wrote:

Hi Fuzeta, it was Germany , the strongest Country who dreamed of a single European State , but the EU has been badly run . can"t even balance its own books and the only reason all these Countries are being bailed out is to save the EURO, nothing altruistic.All the analysts are saying the EU will never
work without fiscal union but Germany doesn"t want to go down that road because it fears it will be helping other Countries out all the time. There is a
theory that all the Southern Countries are the laziest, Italy Spain, Greece, Portugal....could be the Sun.

It could be ignorance too. Or plain stupidity.

Maybe these Countries were never meant to be part of a Union and have more of a Manana approach which doesn"t suit today"s frenetic Global growth,
Claudia.

What does a political, economical and financial opinion got to do with a ridiculous, ignorant, offensive and bigoted 'theory'?

Well, there might be some merit in the theory, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland etc, all the Northern Countries have a different culture, more
akin to Germany, yet none of these countries is in financial trouble.

I have to say Panda that the UK is in deep financial trouble and we are Northern Europe. We do not even have the excuse of the euro. Could the cause be that we have become a nation of lazy benefit scroungers? Probably.

fuzeta wrote:

Panda wrote:

Claudia79 wrote:

Panda wrote:

Claudia79 wrote:

It could be ignorance too. Or plain stupidity.

Maybe these Countries were never meant to be part of a Union and have more of a Manana approach which doesn"t suit today"s frenetic Global growth,
Claudia.

What does a political, economical and financial opinion got to do with a ridiculous, ignorant, offensive and bigoted 'theory'?

Well, there might be some merit in the theory, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland etc, all the Northern Countries have a different culture, more
akin to Germany, yet none of these countries is in financial trouble.

I have to say Panda that the UK is in deep financial trouble and we are Northern Europe. We do not even have the excuse of the euro. Could the cause be that we have become a nation of lazy benefit scroungers? Probably.

No, Fuzeta, that is not the reason. There may be many reasons and our societies may have many different and difficult to solve problems. But no country in this world can be treated as a whole. No country is bad or good, hard-working or lazy. Countries are made of people. And people are all different. Every human being is a universe.

Claudia79 wrote:

fuzeta wrote:

Panda wrote:

Claudia79 wrote:

Panda wrote:

Maybe these Countries were never meant to be part of a Union and have more of a Manana approach which doesn"t suit today"s frenetic Global growth,
Claudia.

What does a political, economical and financial opinion got to do with a ridiculous, ignorant, offensive and bigoted 'theory'?

Well, there might be some merit in the theory, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland etc, all the Northern Countries have a different culture, more
akin to Germany, yet none of these countries is in financial trouble.

I have to say Panda that the UK is in deep financial trouble and we are Northern Europe. We do not even have the excuse of the euro. Could the cause be that we have become a nation of lazy benefit scroungers? Probably.

No, Fuzeta, that is not the reason. There may be many reasons and our societies may have many different and difficult to solve problems. But no country in this world can be treated as a whole. No country is bad or good, hard-working or lazy. Countries are made of people. And people are all different. Every human being is a universe.

I agree Claudia but the benefit scroungers here have had so much free reign for so many years. That the rest of the hard working population are being ground down by so much tax and it is still not enough. That is why we are in trouble now. That and being so overpopulated that we have not the infrastructure to cope.

All people are different, I will drink to that, what a boring old world it would be otherwise. What would be the point traveling? going out and meeting new people from all corners of the world. Something I and most people love to do If we were all the same we might as well sit in our own back garden. What an awful thought

edited. I do love my back garden but would not want to spend my holidays there

fuzeta wrote:

Claudia79 wrote:

fuzeta wrote:

Panda wrote:

Claudia79 wrote:

What does a political, economical and financial opinion got to do with a ridiculous, ignorant, offensive and bigoted 'theory'?

Well, there might be some merit in the theory, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland etc, all the Northern Countries have a different culture, more
akin to Germany, yet none of these countries is in financial trouble.

I have to say Panda that the UK is in deep financial trouble and we are Northern Europe. We do not even have the excuse of the euro. Could the cause be that we have become a nation of lazy benefit scroungers? Probably.

No, Fuzeta, that is not the reason. There may be many reasons and our societies may have many different and difficult to solve problems. But no country in this world can be treated as a whole. No country is bad or good, hard-working or lazy. Countries are made of people. And people are all different. Every human being is a universe.

I agree Claudia but the benefit scroungers here have had so much free reign for so many years. That the rest of the hard working population are being ground down by so much tax and it is still not enough. That is why we are in trouble now. That and being so overpopulated that we have not the infrastructure to cope.

All people are different, I will drink to that, what a boring old world it would be otherwise. What would be the point traveling? going out and meeting new people from all corners of the world. Something I and most people love to do If we were all the same we might as well sit in our own back garden. What an awful thought

That's not exclusive of the UK, Fuzeta. It happened here in Portugal too. Many have taken advantage of the social state which was created to support those who couldn't support themselves. Some even turned it into a job to take advantage of it. But the ultimate responsibility is of those whose job is to control the attribution of those benefits. They are needed and should be attributed but only to those who really need them. It's up to the governmental institutions to control the attribution.
I was very lucky to have gown up surrounded by people from different nationalities, colours and religions. I became aware, from a very early age, of the beauty of diversity and was raised to appreciate it.

France - G20 -
Article published the Friday 04 November 2011 - Latest update : Saturday 05 November 2011

No more tax havens, says Sarkozy as G20 wraps up


French President Nicolas Sarkozy speaking at the G20 summit in Cannes
Reuters/Philippe Wojazer



By RFI
French President Nicolas Sarkozy says tax havens are to be shunned by the international community. The announcement comes at the end of a two-day meeting of G20 countries in the French Riviera resort of Cannes.




Sarkozy said 11 tax haven countries had been identified and pointed out Switzerland and Liechtenstein as not doing enough to end banking secrecy.
"We don't want any more tax havens. Our message is clear," he said.
At a summit dominated by the financial crisis facing the eurozone, G20 members also agreed to work on a possible increase in funds for the International Monetary Fund and are set to discuss the introduction of a tax on financial transactions at a summit scheduled for the beginning of 2012.
The French president also said conditions were favourable for an agreement in Greece over an IMF-EU billion-euro bailout to help the debt laden country.
Just ahead of his speech, Athens announced that it would not hold a referendum on the bail-out fund. The fear of a possible Greek departure from the eurozone had seen turmoil on financial markets over the past week.

Dossier: Eurozone in crisis

G20 members also agreed to work on a possible increase in funds for the International Monetary Fund and are set to discuss the introduction of a tax on financial transactions at a summit scheduled for the beginning of 2012.
The French president also said conditions were favourable for an agreement in Greece over an IMF-EU billion-euro bailout to help the debt laden country.
Just ahead of his speech, Athens announced that it would not hold a referendum on the bail-out fund.
The fear of a possible Greek departure from the eurozone had seen turmoil on financial markets over the past week.

Britain has 40 Billion £ available to lend to the IMF of which £5 billion has already been donated. Apparently the Government is not answerable to Parliament
on this fund and repayment is Guaranteed. However, you have to ask the question, with so many people in Britain unemployed , young people marching
300 miles to emphasise their plight, couldn"t 5 billion be used to help Britain by making funds available to teach youngsters a trade? Promote growth? Lend
to small Businesses? This really is disgraceful of David Cameron to be so generous when many of the G20 are not willing to conmtribute to the IMF to bail
out these Countries.

EU Puts Deadline On Plan For Greek Govt Deal

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4:51am UK, Monday November 07, 2011


The Greek prime minister has made a deal with the opposition on forming a
crisis coalition to allow further international loans, as the EU demands answers
from Athens over the new plan.


With Greece due to run out of money in a few weeks,
the EU has told the Greek political parties to explain by
tonight how they would form a unity Government to enact the 130bn euro emergency
funding package.

Premier George Papandreou, who sealed his fate last week
with a disastrous attempt to call a referendum on the bailout, will stand down
when the new Government takes over, the office of the Greek President said.

Mr Papandreou and conservative leader Antonis Samaras came up with the bare
minimum to satisfy Brussels, and they must still agree today on who becomes the
next prime minister.


Mr Papandreou also met with the Greek head of state on
November 5



Mr Papandreou's side trumpeted the agreement reached late on Sunday at talks
led by President Karolos Papoulias. He is due to meet Mr Papoulias again
later.

"(Sunday) was a historic day for Greece," Government spokesman Ilias
Mossialos said, adding that the plan was for the new coalition to be sworn in
and hold a confidence vote within a week.

Others were less charitable. "I'm afraid the new Government will very soon
turn out to be problematic," Stefanos Manos, a former conservative finance
minister, said.

The new coalition has to win parliamentary approval for the bailout before
calling early elections.


George Papandreou met President Karolos Papoulias (C) and
opposition leader Antonis Samaras (R) over the crisis



Mr Papandreou's socialist Pasok party and the New Democracy party of Mr
Samaras have agreed the most suitable date for the elections would be on
February 19, 2012.

But Brussels has piled pressure on Athens to approve the bailout, a last
financial lifeline for Greece, fearing that its crisis will spill into much
bigger eurozone economies such as Italy and Spain - which would be far harder to
rescue.

Italy is struggling to reduce its enormous 1.9trn
euro debt but Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has said International Monetary Fund inspectors
are welcome to examine his nation's reform attempts.

Mr Papandreou and Mr Samaras had been scrambling to reach a deal before
eurozone finance ministers meet in Brussels tonight, in an attempt to show that
Greece is serious about staving off bankruptcy.


Italy's Silvio Berlusconi is under increasing fiscal
pressure



European Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli
Rehn said that finance ministers from the 17 eurozone countries would insist on
hearing a plan for a unity Government from their Greek colleague, Evangelos
Venizelos, at the meeting tonight.

Mr Papandreou had sought a referendum to show that harsh cuts demanded in the
bailout had public support, but the risk that a "no" vote could bring about a
sudden bankruptcy caused mayhem in markets and unrest in the ruling party.

He soon ditched the idea and won a confidence vote in parliament, but only
after promising the president he would make way for the national unity
coalition.