John Palmer's Prognosis for EU

The next few years will be decisive for the future of Europe, according to veteran EU journalist and pundit John Palmer. The eurozone will either have to forge a closer union or else the EU as a whole will start gradually to disintegrate, he said. John was speaking at the AGM of the European Movement in London at Europe House in Westminster and stressed that the eurozone crisis is part of a much wider global crisis triggered by the US real estate crisis and the consequent banking crisis. He pointed out that the total deficits of the eurozone countries are proportionately lower than those of the US and the UK; the problem lies with several countries on the periphery. But we would be deluding ourselves if we believed that Greece could leave the eurozone without provoking a serious knock-on effect. “You can’t build an effective wall around Greece alone,” he added. If Greece left, the integrity of the Single Market would be challenged, which would have dire consequences for all of Europe, including Britain. But John believes that the austerity timetable currently imposed on Greece is unrealistic and counter-productive. “Certainly, there need to be major structural changes, but in the context of a programme for growth.” Greek voters go to the polls again this weekend, though the outcome is predicted once more to be inconclusive. And towards the end of the month there will be a crucial EU Summit. There have been other EU Summits that were meant to come up with a solution to the crisis but frankly didn’t. This next one cannot afford not to.

Link: http://www.euromove.org.uk

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