EU Ministers statement on IMF resources

Via 'spiked' and here, this has just been published:

"EU Finance Ministers statement on IMF resources
19 December 2011
EU Member States support a substantial increase in the IMF's resources. These resources will enhance the IMF's capacity to fulfill its systemic responsibilities in support of its global membership, which is especially important given the ongoing economic slowdown and financial market tensions. The IMF’s involvement will be based on normal IMF conditionality.
The EU, and in particular Euro area Member States are fully aware of their special responsibility in the current circumstances. Therefore, on 9 December, euro area Member States have committed to enhanced governance to foster fiscal discipline and deeper integration in the internal market as well as stronger growth, enhanced competitiveness and social cohesion.
Ministers confirmed today that, as part of a broader international effort to improve the adequacy of IMF resources, euro area Member States will provide EUR 150 billion of additional resources through bilateral loans to the Fund's General Resources Account.Burden-sharing among euro area Member States will be based on quota shares resulting from the 2010 quota reform.
The Czech Republic, Denmark, Poland, and Sweden indicated their willingness to take part in the process of reinforcing IMF resources. The United Kingdom has indicated that it will define its contribution early in the new year in the framework of the G20.
For some Member States, commitments will be subject to parliamentary approval.
The EU will also work expeditiously to implement in full the 2010 quota and governance reform of the IMF.
The EU would welcome G20 members and other financially strong IMF members to support the efforts to safeguard global financial stability by contributing to the increase in IMF resources so as to fill global financing gaps." (my emphasis)

It is hoped readers will forgive what may appear to be xenophobia, or nationalism, but:

So the leaders of some European countries, having screwed up their continent economically, now ask the world to save them. Forgive me, but didn't the leaders of some European countries screw up their continent militarily, about 70+ years ago, for the same empirical aims? So the UK has to join with others to save them - again? To paraphrase: when will they ever learn? More importantly - and perhaps selfishly - when will our politicians learn?

I stand to be corrected, however it appears there are only three 'avenues' by which the eurozone can be 'saved'. One is through the EFSF, which is an avenue not being used this time; the European Central Bank (ECB), which doesn't have the required funds; or the IMF, which providing it can raise the funds, would have. Whether Britain would contribute, via the G20, is the intriguing question and it seems to me that Cameron and Osborne, who have been stating that survival of the eurozone is paramount to our country's well-being, may well use this 'avenue of last resort' in order to appear to be 'good Europeans', thus 'saving face' following their 'belligerence' during 'Events Bruxelles' of 8/9th December - and thus 'getting their feet back under the table'.*

We shall see what transpires.................**

* Of course, if we had 'Referism' and 'Direct Democracy' any payment by our country to another would not be the decision of politicians!

** If I'm proved wrong in my belief that we eventually do contribute via the IMF, then needless to say I shall don sackcloth and ashes, pleading many 'mea culpas' in the process.

 

Catastrophe?

From Politics Home we hear Tony Blair warning of catastrophic consequences if the eurozone is broken up whilst maintaining that Britain should keep entry into the single currency as a "long-term option". We also have another 'usual suspect', in the shape of Will Hutton, warning of catastrosphe should the eurozone break-up.

We are no doubt going to hear more statements such as the above in the desperate attempt by Europhiles to save their beloved project, statements intended to frighten the population of Europe, especially the UK - included in which will no doubt be the old claim that 3million jobs depend on our being a member of the EU. It is extremely doubtful whether any form of rebuttal will come from our politicians, especially the leaders of the Lib/Lab/Con who are enthralled with EU membership.

From John Redwood:

"As the rest of the EU sells us a lot more than we sell them, they will not want to disrupt it in any way. They have more to lose than we do. EU goods trade probably accounts for around £120 billion of our output. (EU exports adjusted for the entrepot factor) That’s around 8% of our total National Income. It’s important, but not nearly as important as the 92% that is not dependent on selling things on the continent. Since 2008 the government figures show that our exports to the rest of the EU have anyway fallen by 6%, whilst our exports to the rest of the world have risen by 4%. So the trend has been going against the EU before the crisis. Slowdown in the EU and collapse in the weaker EU economies will accelerate this process."

Not once has the Lib/Lab/Con published a cost/benefit analysis, always arguing that the benefits are obvious, something from which it is possible to draw one's own conclusions. Courtesy of Gerard Batten, Ukip MEP, the latest cost/benefit analysis he has done can be accessed via this post. Besides the scare of lost jobs our politicians cite figures about the percentage of trade, especially exports, that is done by the UK. In this context we have what is called The Rotterdam (and Antwerp) Effect, covered in this post from Helen at Your Freedom and Ours; one which shows that the UK's export statistics are, shall we say, flawed?

Because our politicians lie to us in order to further their own despicable ends it is perhaps pertinent to end with a quotation, the origin of which I know not, but one that is directed at the people of this country and our politicians:

"From the cowardice that shrinks from new truth; from the laziness that is content with half-truths; from the arrogance that thinks it knows all truth - oh God of Truth deliver us!"

A solution to the eurozone debt problem?

Courtesy of one of my commenters I was directed to this website.

It presents the results of a simulation conducted by students at ESCP Europe Business School. The aim was to uncover the amount of interlinked debt between Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece, Spain, Britain, France, and Germany; and then see what would happen if they attempted to cross cancel obligations.

The countries can reduce their total debt by 64% through cross cancellation of interlinked debt, taking total debt from 40.47% of GDP to 14.58%

• Six countries – Ireland, Italy, Spain, Britain, France and Germany – can write off more than 50% of their outstanding debt
• Three countries - Ireland, Italy, and Germany – can reduce their obligations such that they owe more than €1bn to only 2 other countries
• Ireland can reduce its debt from almost 130% of GDP to under 20% of GDP
• France can virtually eliminate its debt – reducing it to just 0.06% of GDP 

Simples?