German politicians and media are intensifying pressure on Rome in anticipation of today’s EU Commission verdict on Italy’s national budget. Already last week, EU Budget Commissioner Günther Oettinger announced, in reference to the Italian deficit, that the Italian government must “correct” its draft budget. Media reports refer to a “black week” for Rome. Negative reporting – like rating agencies’ devaluation of Italy’s creditworthiness – can contribute to the destabilization of Italy’s financial and credit markets. The country’s current downward spiral threatens to re-escalate the banking crisis. Whereas Berlin insists that the EU take sharp measures against deficits, Germany’s Finance Minister at the time, Wolfgang Schäuble had prevented the EU Commission from taking measures against excessive surpluses, which the commission sees as potentially just as destabilizing. Germany has been achieving these surpluses year after year.
Economics
Claire Connelly: What the left can learn from Mont Pèlerin
The historian Philip Mirowski says the left lacks a compelling story about how markets work, and for too long has conceived of government and markets as separate entities. Read here
Climate Crisis
Thomas Roulet, Joel Bothello: Why “De-growth” Shouldn’t Scare Businesses
The degrowth movement has already begun: at a grassroots level, consumer demand is actively being transformed, despite political and corporate reticence. Read here Daniel Grizelj/Getty Images
EU politics
Richard Murphy: Schäuble gets it wrong, even in hindsight
Wolfgang Schäuble, the leader of Europe’s austerity campaign and devastator of Greece, is retiring. Neither he, nor the German media, have any doubt that he saved Europe from itself. Richard Murphy is neither German, nor […]
Be the first to comment