Sarkozy, increasingly desperate, dangles "EU empty chair" threat

The French elections are now the centre of the crisis for the EU. France will be whipped back into subservience by German economic might once a new puppet government is comfortably installed back in place to continue the charade of ongoing national sovereignty. Yet enough of hard, cold and fearsome facts, let's consider the theatrics on this Easter Sunday morning.

According to the Chicago Tribune, linked here, President Nicolas Sarkozy, has today told the weekly newspaper Journal du Dimanche that he is prepared to cut across the EU monopoly in both trade matters and the Schengen free movement of people requirements or ape the "empty chair policy" once used by his more substantial predecessor President Charles de Gaulle.

His statement on public utilities is truly laughable, when you think of the plight of Britain, with its water industry asset stripped practically bare by the French, where leakages are so widespread that even in our rainy island a hose pipe ban has been widely enforce even before Easter across much of Southern and Eastern England, a quote from the article:

"All the public markets on our continent have been open since 1994. In Japan the only open market is water. In China � no public market is open," he said.

"All I am saying is, show reciprocity. Otherwise, French public contracts will only be awarded to companies that produce in Europe. When General de Gaulle instigated his empty chair policy in 1965 he obtained the Common Agricultural Policy and pushed Europe forward."

Cameron and Sarkozy in Paris

I will try to keeep up to date as this potentially fascinating meeting proceeds, but plan to mainly stay on top of things, perhaps surprisingly, through The Guardian Business Blog, linked here.

Sarkozy's speech - an early report in English & Poland's Sikorski

Expatica in France  is linked here. Update WSJ report is here.

Ructions from an increasing role for Germany in Europe are already causing problems in Poland as may be seen from these recent tweets from Open Europe:

Vote will be held on 14th or 15th December but has no chance of going through as Law & Justice only have around 140 out of 460 MPs in Sejm

Following speech calling for more EU integration Law & Justice table vote of no confidence in Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski

A summary for Hng Kong readers, on the unfolding fiasco and the Polish speech, is linked here.

Sarkozy/Carla Bruni have baby girl - better a New Franc

Stuff NZ has the report, linked here. President Sarkozy, is this evening in Frankfurt, locked in session with the useless indivduals who have destroyed the euro currency, now apparently intent on setting back european unity for decades by turning the underfunded EFSF into an insurer of dodgy debt!

Merkel has now agreed to meet Sarkozy next Sunday - The Slog reports

Even if this report, mentioned in my headline above, is true, what can happen in the markets over the balance of this week? Earlier we quoted EU Observer who reported the next palnned meeting between these two fumblers, was on October 17 ahead of a routine EU gathering. Elsewhere in The Slog report, linked here, Merkel is reportedly heading off to Brussels today, what can be achieved there is open to much doubt, not least in view of the history of the past 60 odd years!

'Anchoring Debt Brakes' - just think about it!

The Irish Times, linked here, makes a stab of making sense in English of what Sarkozy and Merkel were apparently proposing at their Paris press conference earlier this evening. These two small paragraphs caught my eye and imagination:

"She (Merkel) said Germany and France have agreed to anchor so-called debt brakes in their countries' constitutions and want other euro region governments to do the same.

"Germany and France have agreed and propose to anchor such a debt rule in the constitutions" of other euro countries and signal that deficit-reduction does not depend on changing political majorities, she said.

As an ex-mariner, I know something about anchors, dragging anchors, raising anchors before an approaching storm, avoiding anchoring on a lee shore or on bad holding ground and certainly not on shifting sands. Anchors are not brakes, used as such they would be lossed, friction on the hull  and the resistance of the ocean are the only thing that will eventually bring a mammoth tanker to a halt! So with this wholly mistaken EMU!

Having watched Germany and France drive a coach and horses through the original EU Growth and Stability pact, I also know something about Franco/German solidarity and supposed restraints on deficits and the non-payment of in-built penalties when such provisions are broken!

Refresh your own memories from the archives of my blog Ironies for the months in late 2003 and early 2004, one linked here.  One such post:

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Franco/German Bullying Gathers Pace

While the entire front page of this morning's Financial Times is taken over with the story on the illegalities of the EU Finance Ministers buckling under French and German pressure to break the law and allow the destruction of the Growth and Stability pact, in order that the two ruling axis powers can continue their prohibited excessive deficit spending, evidence arrives of similar bullying tactics elsewhere. As reported last evening on Ironies.

In EUBusiness we read here of Chirac calling Ahern yesterday "assuring him of French support; next thing we find, to no surprise whatever, that PM Ahern has been on the telephone to guess who: the PMs of Poland and Spain and that the former will be visiting Dublin before the end of the month! Read the report from RTE News.

posted by Martin at 1/08/2004 12:13:00 PM

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(Post corrected and slightly edited 0815 CET 17/08/11)

Merkel and Sarkozy aim to balance budgets

The press conference, now underway,  significantly earlier than scheduled, has Sarkozy and Merkel seeming to mainly be emphasising Sarkozy's so-called 'Golden Rule' which requires a balanced budget, and a Parliamentary majority of two thirds in both houses as far as I understand the constitution requires in France.

In the Bundestag, even more problems seem likely to occur, never mind the German Constitutional Court.

The elected heads of France and Germany will nevertheless push for such a rule across the Euro Group.

The long discussed concept of a financial transaction tax was mentioned in conjunction with the equally time worn strengthening of "economic governance" again to be pushed by Von Rompuy.

Questioners asking about Eurobonds are being answered in the negative as far as joint and several liabilities seem to be being suggested.

My early impression, while the questions continue, is that this meeting is the damp squib I expected in my post of last weekend and the real MELTDOWN of the euro will now begin.

Why did they meet seems the main burning question.

The French role in the fracture of the Eurozone!

President Sarkozy is this morning reported in Le Figaro, link in french, as writing to his parliamentarians urging the passage of a "golden rule" requiring a balanced budget. Well may he do so.

France stands pretty much shoulder to shoulder with Britain in relation to the size of its dreadful indebtedness, and seems similarly unsuccessful in implementing meaningful cuts in the face of limited growth. Hailing his success in forcing moves towards a European Monetary Fund, the French President, thus pledging 15 billion euros extra payments by France to the basket case that is Greece, seems blithely unaware of the potential damage to France's AAA credit rating by extending such largesse to Portugal, Ireland and even thereafter, contemplating expensively frittering funds in support of the flailing countries of Italy and Spain, who laughingly will also be providing financing for these ludicrous market finaglings, through the structures of the EFSF.

The Golden rule needs 70 % of votes to pass, and will not be considered until the Autumn, we can therefore view the President's letter as the usual "grande" grandstanding.

The election will then be  a few short months away, will the Socialists find a candidate who can cash in on the anti-EU sentiment which is by then certain to be widespread, or will the longer-standing anti-EU-federalist parties be the beneficiaries?

Germany's Bundestag and electorate may well be persuaded that the financial costs of last week's package, may have some benefit to their country. Can France's parliament, faced with looming elections, really be persuaded that such penury for France's voters will ever have any benefit for France, when it merely seems to serve as the foundation for German control of the western end of the European peninsular?

Let us also not forget the IMF which, in spite of Lagarde, has yet to pronounce on last week's muddled and incomplete package:



The above video, of the Greek Finance Minister meeting the IMF yesterday, issued by AFP., does not work in some countries (of which, strangely, France appears to be one such), further explanation of the delicacy of this matter can be guaged from this link, whence comes the following quote:

But Charles Dallara, head of the Institute of International Finance, indicated that the IMF had promised it would expand its loan program. Dallara's IIF is a trade group that represents the world's leading banks and is spearheading talks with Greece.

"It's clear that Europe, and not just the private financial community, predicated its renewed commitments on continued IMF support," Dallara said, adding that the agreed "additional support" from the fund "was endorsed by all the officials in the room."

If the IMF were to refuse more financing for Greece, "not only is our deal invalid, but Europe's whole plan," Dallara said. "We all know that this does not work without continued IMF support," he said.

The decision on additional IMF funding is ultimately decided by the executive board that represents shareholder countries. IMF chief Christine Lagarde said last week that based on the deal for a new financing package, "the IMF will continue to play its part."

Threat to Sarkozy's re-election repeated in new French Opinion Poll

France24 has the report linked here, in English. A quote confirming what this blog has been publicising for some time:

The poll, conducted by the French polling agency Harris Interactive, spells bad news for Sarkozy. The president would only advance to the second round if the candidate representing the main opposition Socialist Party were Segolene Royal, a former presidential candidate.

The famed “April 21” date still haunts many in France. It was on that day in 2002, that the National Front’s firebrand leader Jean-Marie Le Pen knocked out the Socialist candidate from the presidential race, setting up a runoff against former president Jacques Chirac.

Sarkozy at Davos - Euro break-up UNTHINKABLE!

France/Germany - Love/Hate from France 24 in English

View today's Talking Points broadcast from France24 as Merkel and Sarkozy meet in Freiburg to further complicate and/or confuse the dreadful mess that is the non-democratic EU of their joint creation.

Click here for a link with the nearly quarter of an hour report.

Sarkozy stands by as Merkel declares German EU Sovereignty

I have scanned the morning media to try to locate a report to link to the extraordinary defeat for democracy that occurred yesterday evening. At a joint press conference yesterday, screened live on France 24, while Britain was on its Bank Holiday, Merkel described the procedure by which the German Parliament will assume "control" on all EU matters undertaken within the EU under the terms of the soon to be ratified Lisbon Constitutional Treaty, whilst leaving every other national parliament within the corrupt organisation effectively neutered. The presumed head of state of France stood by, looked on and said nothing. No links have been found. Later last eveing, it was reported, the two presumed leaders, met over dinner to discuss the future of Europe. At least, for the moment you can still read such details on this blog, but if it is buried everywhere else, how long will my "write" to blog continue?

One-eyed Scottish idiot miffed by Sarkozy

Jeremy Clarkson in Australia has described Britain's Prime Minister as a liar in addition to the personal description contained in this post's headline, read here. It is criticism from across the Channel from President Sarkozy of France which is likely to be more damning for the nation's dreadful Prime Minister this blog believes! Here are some of the French President's comments: Gordon Brown's decision to cut VAT has absolutely not worked.

Cutting VAT by two points doesn't incite people to buy if they are scared about their future. If anything, consumption in Britain has gone down."

A Daily Mail report is linked here.