Kiev Communard
16th November 2010, 22:53
It seems something interesting is brewing... I would advise the West European left to henceforth take the possibility of the EU breakup seriously. The so-called "PIIGS" economic collapse is just the beginning.
The European Union's (EU) economic affairs commissioner has said Europe must "resist alarmism" amid the latest fears over the Irish Republic's debts.
Olli Rehn said he was "concerned" about public debate on the eurozone.
Late on Tuesday a meeting of eurozone ministers meeting in Brussels broke up with no concrete plan of action.
But speaking after the talks finished, Mr Rehn said the EU would, however, step up work on support for Ireland "with an accent" on its banks.
Earlier, the Irish Prime Minister, Brian Cowen, reiterated that the Republic of Ireland had not asked for bail-out money and that the Irish economy was well funded until next year.
He said his country was working with European partners to deal with the debt issue, but that his country was neither "immune or unique" amid the recent economic crisis.
The Irish government, the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the IMF have also met to discuss the country's "serious banking problems".
Mr Cowen tried to play down the growing sense of crisis across the eurozone, telling the Irish parliament that these were just a continuation of ongoing discussions it had been having with European institutions for some time.
'Survival crisis'
Earlier, the EU Council president, Herman Van Rompuy, warned that the European Union was in a "survival crisis" over eurozone debt problems, as the economic health of members such as the Republic of Ireland and Portugal came under fresh scrutiny.
Mr Van Rompuy said that if the euro failed, so too would the EU.
However, he added he was "very confident" the problems could be overcome.
Uncertainty has caused the cost of Irish, Portuguese and Spanish government borrowing to rise significantly over recent weeks.
Rising yields are not an immediate concern for the Irish Republic, as it does not need to borrow money on the markets this year.
But it is for countries such as Spain, which held an auction of government bonds earlier, and other countries facing large deficits.
The Spanish treasury secretary called on the Republic to act quickly to end market uncertainties.
Portugal's finance minister Fernando Teixeira dos Santos has urged Dublin to do the right thing for the euro and accept a bail-out.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-11762500
The European Union's (EU) economic affairs commissioner has said Europe must "resist alarmism" amid the latest fears over the Irish Republic's debts.
Olli Rehn said he was "concerned" about public debate on the eurozone.
Late on Tuesday a meeting of eurozone ministers meeting in Brussels broke up with no concrete plan of action.
But speaking after the talks finished, Mr Rehn said the EU would, however, step up work on support for Ireland "with an accent" on its banks.
Earlier, the Irish Prime Minister, Brian Cowen, reiterated that the Republic of Ireland had not asked for bail-out money and that the Irish economy was well funded until next year.
He said his country was working with European partners to deal with the debt issue, but that his country was neither "immune or unique" amid the recent economic crisis.
The Irish government, the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the IMF have also met to discuss the country's "serious banking problems".
Mr Cowen tried to play down the growing sense of crisis across the eurozone, telling the Irish parliament that these were just a continuation of ongoing discussions it had been having with European institutions for some time.
'Survival crisis'
Earlier, the EU Council president, Herman Van Rompuy, warned that the European Union was in a "survival crisis" over eurozone debt problems, as the economic health of members such as the Republic of Ireland and Portugal came under fresh scrutiny.
Mr Van Rompuy said that if the euro failed, so too would the EU.
However, he added he was "very confident" the problems could be overcome.
Uncertainty has caused the cost of Irish, Portuguese and Spanish government borrowing to rise significantly over recent weeks.
Rising yields are not an immediate concern for the Irish Republic, as it does not need to borrow money on the markets this year.
But it is for countries such as Spain, which held an auction of government bonds earlier, and other countries facing large deficits.
The Spanish treasury secretary called on the Republic to act quickly to end market uncertainties.
Portugal's finance minister Fernando Teixeira dos Santos has urged Dublin to do the right thing for the euro and accept a bail-out.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-11762500