Bank power in the EU

[theswede]

An interesting, and quite unexpected, fallout of the recent financial turmoil appears to be the vastly increased power of the EU in financial matters. Sure, the UK is taking the hard "we lead, do as we say" approach, but they're not powerful enough to make that reality and they've always had the "fog over the channel, the continent isolated"

Comments

[eu4hell]

Your description of events in the past two weeks is inconsistent with reality.

It has taken until yesterday for a somewhat combined Eurozone reaction to materialise, a week after decisive steps were taken by the US and days after the UK. If it wasn't for Gordon Brown, who in unmistaken terms on Friday told the French side that, "if no combined action is taken Britain would go her own way and disassociate herself from the EU," we would still witness haggling and pondering from an inherently indecisive and bickering EU. Mr Sarkozy was in a big hurry to wrestle with the Germans, Spain and Italy to seek a common approach to the crisis.

The EU emerges from this crisis even weaker than it has been four weeks ago.

[theswede]

The UK will go its own way no matter what. That's neither news, a secret or anything that affects the rest of the EU much in their decision making.

The EU is more powerful than ever, and will become even more so as the deregulation trend is reversed. The UK is not in control of the other European markets, and will be even less so as time goes. The main result of the financial free fall from deregulation will - hardly surprising - be more regulation, especially coordinated regulation. The US model has failed spectacularly, and even the UK is in reverse from it.

[sun_stealer]

Thank goodness for the decisive leadership of Gordon Brown to cut past the continental politics and propose the usual solution to everything, fighting corporatism with more corporatist measures.

[eu4hell]

The ECB had nothing instrumental to do with the rate cuts. In opposite to market trends, and despite serious misgivings from 88% of economists surveyed at the time, the ECB even INCREASED rates in July, when Germany and France already reported weakening economic growth on the brink of recession.

It was the US Fed and the UK Government who co-ordinated from Washington a sweeping rate cut, forcing the ECB to reverse course and join the US, UK, Canada, China, Sweden and Switzerland.

late_news

[theswede]

Says the guy who considers Tokyo on par with London and NYC. Heheh. You're opinion is noted, thank you.

[sun_stealer]

What unfettered capitalism? The European countries are even more socialized than the USA. corporatism =/= capitalism

"A strong, unified European financial market will make for a new powerhouse, and with the decline in US power there is an opportunity to grab a share. The Asian markets are well up for that task, and will be going for the jugular."

Typical neo-mercantilist fallacy, treating trade like a war machine to club your enemies over the head with. "Going for the jugular." What does that even mean? Are you proposing large-scale investement by European companies in the American market, or a viking raid on Wall Street?

[theswede]

Comparative. In no way absolute, but the trend recently had been towards deregulation and had the bubble continued, that would have been realized to a large extent, since it's been seen as working so well in the US. Recent events have changed that, and the counterreaction will lead into much heavier control mechanisms than ever.

Asia is simply posed to take over a lot of trade, and start to dominate more in the markets. This is good for them and bad for those who do not dominate.

[sun_stealer]

Though you are right about the Britain thinking they're leading the charge. Britain has been deluding itself, for quite a while now, into thinking that the empire is still running strong.