Stepping into the abyss?
Janis A. Emmanouilidis and Fabian Zuleeg
EPC Commentary
12/2011
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The crisis has reached crunch time. It is not just the stability of the EU’s common currency but also the future of the whole European project which is at stake. In this commentary Janis A. Emmanouilidis and Fabian Zuleeg argue that three things will be crucial:
First, the EU has to embark on a credible path towards a fiscal and eventually economic union, which will require both quick, limited treaty change on the basis of the simplified revision procedure, and a more fundamental revision of the EU's primary law in the framework of a European Convention.
Second, the Euro 17 should signal their readiness to introduce collateralised debt arrangements. Of crucial importance today is to send a signal to the ‘markets’ that current and future euro members are ready and willing to tie themselves together more closely than in the past.
Third, the ECB must act as a (temporary) lender of last resort as it is the only EU institution credible and powerful enough to stop the downward spiral. A higher inflation risk would be justified if it were to contain the crisis and ultimately avert the danger of the euro imploding.
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