Europe Imploding - Germany Rejects Eastern European Bailout and Keeps its own euros, Sorry

Germany is very smart in rejecting a bailout of Eastern Europe; they need to think of themselves first and foremost. I guess the European Union has hit a bump in the road to their dream of becoming united, where nationalities and borders no longer matter. The Germans are sounding pretty nationalistic to me, and I don't blame them. Why should Germany have to pay for the incompetence, or misfortune of other countries? That would be like taking tax money from competent innovative companies and then giving it to incompetent and mismanaged companies. Who in their right mind would do something like that? Why would someone want to reward failure? It makes no sense to me, and apparently it makes no sense to the Germans either. jbranstetter04 Germany rejects Eastern Europe bailout Germany on Sunday rejected appeals for a single multibillion-euro bailout of Eastern Europe, even after Hungary begged European Union leaders not to let a new "Iron Curtain" divide the Continent into rich and poor. The swift, strong comments by Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany dampened hopes that leaders at the EU summit meeting Sunday could forge a unified stance to tackle the worsening economic crisis. As Europe's largest economy, Germany has been under increasing pressure to take the lead in rescuing eastern EU members, but Merkel insisted that a one-size-fits-all bailout was unwise. "Saying that the situation is the same for all Central and Eastern European states, I don't see that," said Merkel, adding "you cannot compare" the dire situation in Hungary with that of other countries. Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany of Hungary, saying the credit crunch was hitting the eastern members hardest, had called for an EU fund of up to €190 billion, or $241 billion, to help restore trust and solvency in those nations. "We should not allow that a new Iron Curtain should be set up and divide Europe," Gyurcsany told reporters. "In the beginning of the '90s we reunified Europe. Now the challenge is whether we will be able to reunify Europe financially." EU nations are all grappling with a worsening recession, compounded by a severe credit crunch that has left many bloc countries looking ever more inward to protect jobs and companies from international competition. Those policies are now undermining the open market cornerstone on which the EU is founded. Ahead of the summit meeting, the leaders of nine countries - Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Romania and the three Baltic states - forged a common stand to pressure richer members in the 27-nation bloc to back up vague pledges of support with action. Prime Minister Donald Tusk of Poland said the nine leaders had called for "a spirit against protectionism and egoism." Hungary, Poland and the Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania also want the EU to fast-track their bids to join the euro currency, which could offer them a stable financial anchor. Latvia's government has already collapsed amid the economic fallout. Other EU members, like Sweden, want to coordinate a Europe-wide bailout plan for car producers. Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek of the Czech Republic, which holds the EU's rotating presidency, has called on his counterparts to act together. A draft summit conclusion centered a commitment to "make the maximum possible use" of the EU's cherished free market "as the engine for recovery." The EU "does not want any new dividing lines. We do not want a Europe divided along a North-South or an East-West line, pursuing a beggar-thy-neighbour policy is unacceptable," Topolanek said. The crisis has sorely tested solidarity among EU nations. The Czech Republic has accused France of trying to protect its local car plants at the expense of foreign subsidiaries, while Germany rejected earlier calls to help bail out economies in Ireland, Greece and Portugal... http://www.iht.com/articles/2009/03/01/europe/01union.php

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YouTube | March 3, 2009

Tags:. .dampened. .imploding. .incompetence. .incompetent. .multibillion