Hard Sell: ČR skeptical on euro bailout fund
Cat Contiguglia, Prague Post, 23.02.2011
Quotes
A February 14 meeting of the European Union's finance ministers in Brussels about the union's fiscal policy highlighted the divide between smaller southern economies and more dominant northern members - but Czech representation just drew a euroskeptic line even deeper in the sand, a move economists say is not in the country's long-term best interests. [...]
"There are fears that the enhanced cooperation in the competitiveness pact would increase the gap between those who have and those who haven't introduced the euro, and that it will make the hurdles to joining the eurozone higher," said Janis Emmanouilidis, a senior policy analyst at the European Policy Centre in Brussels. "That is simply not the case." [...]
Partly to blame is the discomfort of smaller economies with Germany's dominance.
"I remember when Germans were hesitant in 2010 to show solidarity and do something to help calm down the markets," Emmanouilidis said. "I know that others have a problem with the German leadership role ... but they're coming up with these proposals because they're the strongest boy in the group, and from their perspective, it's the high route." [...]
"Greece's economy is a small part of the Euro 17 economy, but at the same time, when Greece was stumbling and about to fall, this was an issue that could have become a systemic threat. The argument that because you are small, you won't get help doesn't fly," Emmanouilidis said.
For the entire article see here.
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