Merkozy fiddles while eurozone burns

The president of the European Council and the Euro Summits, Herman Van Rompuy, and the leaders in the 25 other European capitals sit twiddling their thumbs, waiting for Merkozy.

What makes it even more absurd is that few expect the German chancellor Angela Merkel and the French president Nicolas Sarkozy to sort out much of their mutual differences today, let alone the euro crisis.

The Elysee blog of Arnaud Leparmentier (Le Monde) discusses the issues on the table and the persisting malfunction of the Franco-German ”engine”:

Accords et désaccords entre Merkel et Sarkozy, juste avant leur énième rencontre (4 December 2011)

The hopeless machinations of ”sovereign Princes” continue, instead of the needed rise to the federal level, records Jean Brochier.

Laurence Boon states on Telos that an intergovernmental eurozone just does not work.

Trisha Craig notes the impassioned plea for German action from the Polish foreign minister Radek Sikorski (via The Economist).

If it does not work, try more of the same, is how Andy Carling sees the EU institutions and the political parties reacting to the existential crisis.

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Despite the imminent bankruptcy of intergovernmental Europe and the Franco-German duopoly, the two (and other) national leaders refuse to change tack.

Our national leaders never have time for EU democracy, but there is always time for another eurozone failure.

What impact can we expect from the European Council 8 to 9 December 2011 in the real world?



Ralf Grahn