Wednesday, 5 October 2011


E U BRIEF

IMF Vows To Spend Some More Taxpayer Money

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/imf-vows-spend-some-more-taxpayer-moneyLatest European Bailout Rumor SummaryIn the interests of sanity and reality, we thought it worthwhile to note the wild and whacky rumors and statements emanating from Europe this morning.


A growing number of politicians and bankers are admitting that perhaps, just maybe, banks do need additional capital - but clearly they do not see need to pay for it as their comrades in Europe will help


A growing number of politicians and bankers are admitting that perhaps, just maybe, banks do need additional capital - but clearly they do not see need to pay for it as their comrades in Europe will help
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/latest-european-bailout-rumor-summary

U.S. 'Paid a Price' on Egypt

In a blunt assessment, President Obama’s first national security adviser told a private audience this week that there is a “chasm” between the United States and its Gulf Arab allies that has yet to heal since the White House very publicly ushered Egypt’s president out of power in February.
Retired Marine Gen. James Jones, who served as national security adviser in 2009-10, told a private meeting at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce that the United States’ Persian Gulf allies interpret the president’s handling of the Egyptian revolution as a sign that Washington will dump their monarchies or governments if enough demonstrators take to their streets, according to a recording of the speech reviewed by The Daily Beast.
“We have paid a price,” Jones said of the decision to call for Hosni Mubarak’s ouster. “Our policy with regard to Mubarak as interpreted by some of our closest Arab allies in the Gulf has not gone over well.”
“In their interpretation of our dumping President Mubarak very hastily, [it] answered the question of what we would be likely to do if that happened in their countries. So there is a chasm there that somehow has to be bridged,” he added.
Jones did not immediately return a call to his office seeking comment Tuesday.
The remarks from the former national security adviser, who left the White House last year, comprise one of the frankest assessments of the U.S. relationship with its oldest and most important Arab ally, Saudi Arabia. The Saudis have been aligned with the United States since the last Roosevelt administration, providing oil to the West in exchange for security guarantees from the U.S. military.
http://news.yahoo.com/u-paid-price-egypt-030400193.html

U.S. 'Paid a Price' on Egypt

In a blunt assessment, President Obama’s first national security adviser told a private audience this week that there is a “chasm” between the United States and its Gulf Arab allies that has yet to heal since the White House very publicly ushered Egypt’s president out of power in February.
Retired Marine Gen. James Jones, who served as national security adviser in 2009-10, told a private meeting at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce that the United States’ Persian Gulf allies interpret the president’s handling of the Egyptian revolution as a sign that Washington will dump their monarchies or governments if enough demonstrators take to their streets, according to a recording of the speech reviewed by The Daily Beast.
“We have paid a price,” Jones said of the decision to call for Hosni Mubarak’s ouster. “Our policy with regard to Mubarak as interpreted by some of our closest Arab allies in the Gulf has not gone over well.”
“In their interpretation of our dumping President Mubarak very hastily, [it] answered the question of what we would be likely to do if that happened in their countries. So there is a chasm there that somehow has to be bridged,” he added.
Jones did not immediately return a call to his office seeking comment Tuesday.
The remarks from the former national security adviser, who left the White House last year, comprise one of the frankest assessments of the U.S. relationship with its oldest and most important Arab ally, Saudi Arabia. The Saudis have been aligned with the United States since the last Roosevelt administration, providing oil to the West in exchange for security guarantees from the U.S. military.
http://news.yahoo.com/u-paid-price-egypt-030400193.html

IMF could buy Spanish, Italian paper alongside EFSF


Merkel Ally Roesler Takes Insolvency Plan to Baroin in Paris

Italian rating hit by Moodys downgrade
I would welcome a military coupe in England.
Unrest spreads to military as retired Greek officers storm defence ministry The Greek armed forces now appear to be entering the political and street-level debate in the country over EU- and IMF-imposed austerity,with a group of retired Greek officers storming the defence ministry and

the armed forces’ professional organisation issuing a stern warning to the government that the military’s confidence in the “intentions of the state” regarding their pensions has been “shaken”.
 http://euobserver.com/13/113821


Unrest spreads to military as retired Greek officers storm defence ministry - 04/10/2011 16:55:02
The Greek armed forces now appear to be entering the political and street-level debate in the country over EU- and IMF-imposed austerity, with a group of retired Greek officers storming the defence ministry and the armed forces’ professional organisation issuing a stern warning to the government that the military’s confidence in the “intentions of the state” regarding their pensions has been “shaken”.
http://euobserver.com/13/113821

Any takers for a MILITARY JUNTA running Greece within 6 months?

Money lenders want sensible people to take over but if the Greek army stages a coup now, Germany will kick Greece out of the EU the next day. But the EU is still trying to bail out Greece with hundreds of bilions of euros. Besides, EU membership means more to the Greeks than it does to us. Leaving the EU is not a decision they can take lightly. Also, there is the matter of symmetry. For a junta to take over, Greece needs to experience humiliation in Turkish hands. That was how the Karamanlis returned to Greece in 1974, so that is how the soldiers will return to power.

At some point, the Germans are certain to pull the plug on the Greek bail-out and the Turks are certain to teach Greece a lesson, particularly with all that drilling around Cyprus going on. After that, a junta will give Messrs Papandreou and Karamanlis the sack, clean up the streets and start paying back all that debt. But it is difficult to say for sure if six months is enough for all that to happen. If I were placing bets, I would increase the period from six months to say five or six years. It would be disappointing to place the bet for six months and then lose thousands of pounds only to see the army take over a few months afterwards.

EU Debt : Leveraging EFSF Is An Official Option Now

The European Union especially the Euro zone finance ministers would be looking at leveraging the European Financial Stability Fund as an option to tackle the debt crisis and restore confidence in the market, the EU Economic Affairs Commissioner Ollie Rehn said yesterday in Luxembourg.

This was the first time an European Official has acknowledged that leveraging the EFSF was an option. Recently, the eurozone finance ministers had a spat with the US Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner on leveraging the EFSF to bolster investor confidence.

But as the chances of Spain and Italy being cut off from the bond market are significantly high, the Euro zone may not have any other option but to go for leveraging the EFSF which would give it a fire power of over 2 Trillion Euros. Supporting the Spanish and the Italian economies would not be possible even with an enhanced EFSF of over 750 Billion Euros as agreed by eurozone leaders in July.

The leveraging would not require parliamentary ratification from member states and hence would move quicker and hence could be seen as a decisive action to stem the rot. This is also a position backed by the G20 – even the British Chancellor George Osborne speaking yesterday argued for the maximum fire power to be given to the EFSF to fight the crisis.
http://www.egovmonitor.com/node/44038

European Union Directives,Regulations and Laws.
EU Makes Derivatives Deal That Osborne Says Benefits UK
BusinessWeek
He noted that the UK is in the midst of a related legal dispute with the European Central Bank. “We have inserted into the article of the draft directive an explicit reference to non-discrimination against any member state in any currency,” Osborne ...
See all stories on this topic »
Opinion due on airlines' challenge to emissions directive
Irish Times
Sarah Burt, staff attorney at Earth Justice, said in a briefing yesterday there was nolegal basis for the US airlines' claims that the EU directive “violates the sovereignty of non-EU countries” or that it amounted to an “unlawful charge or tax under ...
See all stories on this topic »
Irish Times
Parliament, ministers on collision course over e-waste collection
EurActiv
The EU institutions are set for some difficult negotiations over the recast of the bloc's electronic waste directive before final reading in January, as the European Parliament insists on setting more ambitious targets than member states can accept for ...
See all stories on this topic »
Canada vows to fight for oilsands
Calgary Herald
He said the action proposed by the European Commission, the EU's executive arm, could trigger a challenge before the World Trade Organization if it is endorsed by EU member states and becomeslaw. "Should the European Union implement unjustified ...
See all stories on this topic »
Ban on poor English speaking doctors welcomed by Cradley Heath GP
Halesowen News
Dr Gray, of Church View Surgery, Halesowen Road, would like to see the EU directive scrapped and he and his brother Rory have given written evidence to a House of Lords sub-committee examiningEU mobility of doctors, the conclusion of which is expected ...
See all stories on this topic »
CML supports latest EU mortgage regulation report
FT Adviser
According to the CML, the report's approach contrasts that of an earlier report on the proposals for adirective by the European parliament's economic and monetary affairs committee (ECON), which sought to take the proposed directive in a direction CML ...
See all stories on this topic »

Europe returns to stalk Tories
AFP
He conceded that under a new law passed by his government, a referendum might be held if the crisis among the 17 countries using the euro leads to a new EU treaty. But he stressed: "What people really want is not a choice between in or out, ...
See all stories on this topic »
AFP
William Hague says calls for an EU referendum dam
Are you listening, Boris?

Boris Johnson is this morning insisting he's very sorry for any, er, misunderstanding over his rather off-message European adventures last night. Apparently when the Mayor openly contradicted David Cameron on the case for an EU referendum, he was speaking "hypothetically".

If that doesn't persuade you, you're not alone. BoJo's Cabinet colleagues are this morning keen to stamp on him and his not-so-coded flirtation with the increasingly sceptic Tory backbenches.

And they're stamping hard.
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/jameskirkup/100109073/william-hague-says-calls-for-an-eu-referendum-damage-the-uk-economy-are-you-listening-boris/

William Hague: UK 'closely tied to fate of euro'
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/william-hague-uk-closely-tied-to-fate-of-euro-2365867.html

Hague: Britain's EU role will be protected if eurozone integration grows
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2011/oct/05/william-hague-britain-eu-role

EU referendum would hurt Britain's economy, says William Hague
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/8807806/EU-referendum-would-hurt-Britains-economy-says-William-Hague.html

EU treaty changes 'years away' - Hague
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-15179600

Hague: ''Don't hold your breath on EU'
http://www.publicservice.co.uk/news_story.asp?id=17623

Curbing EU power 'to take years'
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/politics/article-23994787-curbing-eu-power-to-take-years.do

Hague Urges More Help For Eurozone 'Flames'
The Foreign Secretary has said Britain must help the eurozone countries "quench the flames" of their debt crisis in a speech to the Tory party conference.
http://news.sky.com/home/politics/article/16083055

William Hague speech in full
http://www.politics.co.uk/comment-analysis/2011/10/05/william-hague-speech-in-full

2. Unrest spreads to military as retired Greek officers storm defence ministry 
The Greek armed forces now appear to be entering the political and street-level debate in the 
country over EU- and IMF-imposed austerity, with a group of retired Greek officers storming 
the defence ministry and the armed forces’ professional organisation issuing a stern warning to the  government that the military’s confidence in the “intentions of the state” regarding their pensions 
has been “shaken”. http://euobserver.com/13/113821

Posted by Britannia Radio at 17:13