No default Noonan - A new episode in Euro Lalaland!

"We don’t have default even in our vocabulary,” Ireland's Finance Minister,  Mr Noonan is quoted in this morning's Irish Times as declaring, linked here, when informed by the outgoing chief of the Euro Group Jean-Claude Juncker, that neither Portugal nor Greece could presently expect similar largesse as that being applied to Greece.

Elsewhere in the same newspaper, we find this quote in a report on Ireland's latest austerity budget slated to hit the oppressed and EU impoverished nation tomorrow:

The new property tax to be announced in tomorrow’s budget will be reduced slightly as a result of the late addition of the so-called mansion tax for properties worth over €1 million.

So what are thinking people to make of such obvious complete contradictions, well one way to consider it is this, all the debts that caused the banking crisis in Ireland, mass unemployment and emigration of the nation's youth, collapse of the property market and effective ritual slaughter of the Celtic Tiger, have been miraculously solved by the Euro Group, without their members incurring a euro centime of financial loss, neither now, nor at any foreseeable point in the future!

So that's all alright then, is it not?

Rheding in London tomorrow to meet Clegg

EU Vice-President Rheding, an even bigger spare part than her fellow Luxembourger, Jean-Claude Juncker, yet just as dangerous to freedom, prosperity and democracy, is flying in to London from Barcelona tomorrow to meet with the low-life Deputy PM, and EU lackey, Nick Clegg.

Now that is jet plane abuse of the environment if ever I heard of it! Can we please send Luxembourgers back to tend their cows, at least they could do little harm out there in the fields!

A Press Statement of almost inhuman callousness and negligence!

Olliu Rehn on behalf of the equally culpable EU Commission also made an absurd statement, reported here by CNN which concluded as follows:

"The future of Greece is first and foremost in the hands of those who have the political responsibility," said Rehn. "The decisions they will take in next days and weeks will determine the prospects of the country and its people in order to put an end to an era of unsustainable public finances and a chronic lack of competitiveness."

Do these idiots not know that they TOO have political responsibility for they allowed (indeed encouraged) this situation to develop over many years. The Greek Crisis belongs to the EU, its institutions (ALL OF THEM) and especially the EU Commission and Ecofin!

Italy spreads over bunds breaks 450 bp, Draghi's ECB buying Italian Bonds!

The following quote from Gary Jenkins in the FT ,here, has its amusing side when one reflects Jean-Claude Trichet, named by this blog "The turd in the punch bowl" has finally departed, leaving Europe, not just the EU, in the complete and utter chaos that this blog always predicted over many, many years.

“They have created a situation where the only people buying Italian debt are themselves.”

Of course, when one of the Italians being so obliging, is the new head of the European Central Bank, on his first day at work, it probably has its brighter side, other than just the relief at the departure of the one man walking disaster that was Jean-Claude Trichet.

Unhappily the other Jean-Claude, this time the Luxembourger, Juncker , head of the Euro Group of Finance Ministers, is still on the scene, thus other matters are still going haywire! Even those beyond the chaos in Greece? Italian interest rates have smashed above 6.3% this afternoon, read here.

Merkel and Sarkozy have spoken on the phone and may meet tomorrow. Sarkozy has called an emergency meeting for late this afternoon and more importantly the Greek Cabinet is scheduled to meet at 1600 GMT today!

Jean-Claude Juncker's Lies and the Misery of the Euro Zone he heads!

EU crisis - Juncker to meet Tremonti on Wednesday

The euro currency is firmly on the skids this evening. Tremonti meeting Juncker tomorrow, read Forbes from here, hardly seems the kind of response that could possible achieve anything.

Gold has hit $1647 an ounce with an hour's trading left to go on the markets in New York.

Read an interesting item, urging Trichet to change his spots and start printing money, titled 'Can Jean-Claude Trichet turn into Jean-Claude Van Damme' from Forex Crunch, linked here.  This being expected from the man who actually raised Euro interest rates just a couple of weeks or so ago.

Strong and visionary European leadership is needed - Papandreou

"I am now convinced, after fourteen months, that no matter what Greece does-and we have proven ready to live up to our responsibilities—if Europe does not make the right, collective, forceful decisions now, we risk new, and possibly global, market calamities due to a contagion of doubt that will could engulf our common union. Strong and visionary European leadership is needed.
I say this to you because now there is a greater need to avoid mistakes of the past. “Crunch time” has arrived and there is no room for indecisiveness and errors such as:
- taking decisions that in the end prove ‘too little, too late’ to convince the markets we are serious;
- making compromises that satisfy our internal political ‘red lines’ that in the end substitute tactical politics for sound management of the crisis (although I do recognize the problems some governments have and the democratic demand for a greater say of Parliaments in trying to deal with this crisis);
- failing to use in-depth technical analysis and consultation before decisions are made;
- allowing a cacophony of voices and views to substitute for a shared agenda, thereby creating more panic than security;
- and I would add more global issues such as doing nothing substantive about the destabilizing role of the rating agencies, credit default swaps, tax havens or about plausible new revenues such as a financial transaction tax.
The above have in one way or another had profound effects on my country and others facing similar challenges."

The above is from a letter from Greek Prime Minister Papandreou to Jean-Claude Juncker, thanks to Covering Delta, linked here. Asking for strong and visionary leadership from this typically blinkered Luxembourger in regards to the leadership of the Continent seems worse than asking a member of an Olympic synchronised swimming team to run the IMF, (or perhaps expecting a drone bee to take the role of the Queen Bee in a hive). Frankly they are just not mentally, genetically nor physically capable of fulfilling such a task! When will somebody twig that obvious fact?
Or of course, on the other hand, is that the very reason they are appointed to the very positions in which they now find themselves? 

PS The Euro Group response to this letter, appears to be to prepare legislation against the rating agencies, as I reported on my first post of today see below.

Let's disband Luxembourg

A really good review of the first of the two ghastly Jean-Claudes now destroying the economies of all the former nations of the EU, this time I mean Juncker, not Trichet, is in the Business Spectator, linked here, titled 'The phantom giant of Luxembourg' by Dr Oliver Marc Hartwich, which contains these gems:

Unfortunately, his preference for backroom deals does not square with the most basic principles of democratic and transparent government that European leaders usually like to talk about. Juncker’s open admissions about his (lack of) understanding of democratic process are legendary.

 Just a few weeks ago, Juncker made it clear that his philosophy was still the same. "I am for secret, dark debates between a few responsible people", he told a gathering in Brussels and admitted that he often had to lie in order not to feed rumours

The article ends with this crushing concluding paragraph:

 Looking at the history of the euro crisis, with its endless crisis summits and secret diplomacy, it is impossible to overlook the handwriting of euro group chief Jean-Claude Juncker. By confusing Luxembourg’s interests with an imaginary European ‘reason of state’, Juncker is one of the main culprits for Europe’s sad state of affairs, both economically and politically. The tail is wagging the dog to death.

It is this very man, who is today working the telephones to extend the misery of the euro for ever greater numbers of Europeans, sacrificed for the self-interests of the likes of this Luxembourger!

What next for the two Jean-Claude Tricksters!

Jean-Claude Juncker, Prime Minister of Luxembourg, but far more "self-" importantly, Head of the Euro Group (the countries now trapped within the sinking euro currency) was last night clearly to be seen in a state of panic as proven by his public utterances: Juncker warns of further contagion, Forbes; Juncker says Angela Merkel is "Playing with Fire  ...with Extreme Consequences" Business Insider; Greece debt crisis likely to hit Italy, Belgium warns Luxembourg PM, International Business Times, etc.

What news, however, from the prime mover in this disaster, the "Turd in the Punchbowl" himself, Jean-Claude Trichet, for this crisis weekend?  So far, nothing, complete silence!

Dutch will join IMF in refusing next Greek funding tranche. Time for a complete New Start for the EU!

Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte said in a web-based video: ""We are looking very carefully at what the IMF does ... and if they don't say a new tranche in loans should go the Greeks, then we won't either."

The above quote is in a report from the Daily Telegraph this morning, linked here.

Interestingly the sequence of unfolding events seems to have been twisted in the Telegraph coverage, for last night the IMF was warning Juncker of what was the situation, here we apparently have Juncker issuing the warning to his Euro Group, nothing, as ever can be really believed when it arrives from a source connected with the EU.

The report of Mark Rutte's statement happily is confirmed by CNBC, linked here, a source clearly mostly beyond EU influence.

A fuller report with all the various statements and suggestions that this may be more Juncker brinkmanship with the Greek Government as the target is in the Baltimore Sun (also beyond EU control) linked here.

As events are now unfolding, it appears to me that the EU position is becoming increasingly desperate. It is daily ever clearer that the politicians in Germany and France, who ultimately control the direction of events, are scared witless at the very idea of a Greek defailt, the one means these two nations can defer it is by providing an open cheque to all the countries now at risk. Greece, Ireland and Portugal could thus benefit from such a guarantee if they play their cards cleverly, they now appear to hold both the Ace and King of trumps.

In the longer run, such guarantees, will not be acceptable to the electorates of Germany and France, indeed France itself, will likely be in the line behind Belgium, Spain and Italy!

The EU could look at wholesale reform, starting by suspension of the Commission and Parliament, as long suggested by this Blog. Nothing less than a completely fresh start now seems likely to have any impact.

Senior Europhile Juncker, slams EU "torture" of Ireland

Jean-Claude Juncker, is reported by Reuters, linked here, as follows:

"Not as chaiman of the Eurogroup, but as Luxembourg prime minister I don't like this link between the corporate tax issue and the so-called Irish package," Juncker told reporters.

"I'm not happy with the idea that some governments obviously find some pleasure in torturing Ireland in the meetings and outside. I don't like this way of dealing with serious problems," he said.

The Prime Minister of Luxembourg, Juncker, has been at the forefront of the EU project for many years and this blog has always viewed him as very much among the bad guys, bent upon the destruction of all democracy and decency within our continent. It seems quite incredible that so late in the day he now has opened his eyes to what is really taking place.

We must hope other leaders of smaller EU ex-nation states, similarly and rapidly have the rose coloured spectacles removed from their eyes and begin to take positive action to restore their democracies!

While David Cameron remains as Prime Minister of Britain there will be no help from that quarter in halting the emerging tyranny!