Proof Positive that ECOFIN and G7 are Completely Clueless

Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne (2nd L) speaks, as he sits next to the German Federal Minister of Finance Wolfgang Schauble (L), the Managing Director of the International Monetary fund, Christine Lagarde (2nd R), and Canada's Minister of Finance Jim Flaherty, at the Global Investment Conference 2013 in London May 9, 2013. (Photo: REUTERS)

Picture & caption copied from linked IB Times report also linked below

ECOFIN Chairman and Irish Finance Minister on 12th April ahead of next day's ECOFIN which he chaired, stating Cyprus was stabilised, was not a crisis issue and would merely be mentioned in the normal way.



IBTimes report of this morning, linked here, on the G7 Finance Ministers meeting which opens with the quoted spot on paragraph, proving that when Mr Noonan was making that statement in the video above, Cyprus was in fact facing "near economic meltdown":

Members of the G7 will home in on ways to speed up banking reforms in light of Cyprus' near economic meltdown during today's meeting in Buckinghamshire.

In fact, the measures taken by the EuroGroup Ecofin, it is daily becoming clearer,  will eventually and inevitably mark the end of the West's financial structures.

IMF appear to have abandoned the Troika

Initial reports on the overnight "supposed" rescue package for Cyprus, including the press statement given by IMF Managing Director Mme Christine Lagarde, appear to exclude that organisiation from immediate participation in the deal to save Cypriot banks agreed in Brussels overnight. The €10 billion forthcoming is thought to be some €7Billion shortfall from the #17 Bilion widely accepted as the amount necessary to prevent a collapse in the island's economy!

Eurogroup Statement on Cyprus 25/3/13 in pdf

A Statement made by Mme Lagarde, played on BBC World Service radio at 0500 GMT, made no mention of any IMF involvement in this latest rescue package for the now clearly doomed European Common Currency, the Euro!

Update BBC report with Lagarde statement video

Bank Run Fear as Depositers Scalped in Cyprus

Reuters reports linked here, on the scalping of ordinary savers in Cyprus by the EU authorities, (increasingly desperate to save their political project of the Euro and now clearly prepared to stop at nothing in an attempt so to do,) seem instead to have sealed its fate this Saturday morning!

The last thing these blinkered idiots could have desired was headlines regarding potential bank runs!

Where is there a safe haven for ordinary ciitizens savings in the monstrous undemocratic beast these people have created? Yet the conclusion to that report's first paragraph is as follows "despite the risks of a wider bank run."

Given that the British Government itself is part of this secretive regime, are even sterling deposits in English banks now safe from the demands of ever more cash for this voracious and bankrupt monstrosity that EU has become?

The Coalition Government in its actions over HS2 and elsewhere daily demonstrates it is completely subservient to the diktats of Brussels. All three of Britain's main political parties are now themselves almost completely reliant on EU disbursements!

Presumably only in Germany can EU citizens feel complacent over the sanctity of their savings, as elsewhere debts have mounted to giddying sums in a vain attempt to satisfy the infinite demands for supposed but unachievable European Unity.

If Von Rompuy becomes Euro Zone President - Can the non-Euro 10 get shot of him?

Another example of how the EU is never content to stay within the already ratified EU Treaties, again raises its head today. This time EurActiv reports, that EU Council President Herman Von Rompuy, may take on the "undefined role" of Euro Zone President or even Euro Group Head of State!

No facility exists within the existing Treaties for either such positions, so would the remaining ten, non-eurozone ex-states have to continue to pay his salary as EU Council President, if so let's be rid of him NOW once and for all!

As I posted regarding the abuses of the EFSM, this time yesterday, the conflicts between the Euro and non-Euro members are all ready becoming severe enough as it is! Any individual would therefore find it impossible to remain independent and equitably fill both posts, never mind the lacklustre Von Rompuy.

As the list of bailout applicants slowly rises, Spain and Italy are now clearly also waiting in the wings, should the Euro Group not have a President for both the bailed-out and the dwindling band of "so-far-not yet bailed-outers"?  As Von Rompuy is a Belgian Citizen (should such continue to be anything other than a versyshort term entity,) and given the economic state of Belgium, which of two such roles should Rompuy most realistically fill?

Although, as far as I know at least as I type this, Cyprus has yet to officially hold out the begging bowl to the EFSF, although it must now be getting very close, as reported in the Vancouver Sun, read here there are  3 defaulters vs 14 non-defaulters as we count today.  After Austria, Belgium, Cyprus,  Italy and Spain, go for bailouts that would quickly become 8 vs 9, surely Finland would then pick up its ball and go home, leaving a potential stand-off?

Trying to understand the Germans

A Daily Telegraph report this morning, appears to signal yet another about face by Angela Merkel's administration over bailouts, read from here, this follows the collapse of Cyprus, as I reported on this blog last evening.

More on the total confusion over what the Euro Groupe actually agreed last week may be read from here in EurActiv and here from the WSJ!

In response to my posting on Frederick Forsyth's newspaper article last Sunday, warning of a German Fourth Reich, I was contacted by the author of "Sorry I Am German", a Polemic, by Detlef Gürtler, via his publisher  with a pdf of his book. which may be purchased as an e-book from here. It is worth the read, at only €3.99 but throws little light on where the EU might go next, I am sorry to say!

Cyprus next Euro Group Country for the Knackers Yard?

The PM of Cyprus has asked his entire Cabinet to hand in their resignations. With its power supply station blown up in a munitions dump explosion, see here, billions loaned to Greece, linked here - AND a downgrade by Moody's from A2 to Baa1, things are almost as ghastly as in London, where the citizens of that overcrowded, once upon a time centre of excellence,  have, this evening, been forcibly reminded that it is now only one year before the Olympic Games come to add to their daily misery of movement and increase in taxation!

We must hope that Cyprus is not the key to the extra support for the EFSF when bonds of Italy and Spain start to be purchased in the secondary markets as agreed last week, I guess Belgium will just have to stump up the extra, they may well agree - having no Government!