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Barosso
More power for Barosso?
Barosso, running the European comission, having 32 000 people reporting to him, is probably the most powerful person in the EU, and the one responsible for monitoring the budgets. Der Spiegel on Barosso.
When José Manuel Barroso launches into one of his notorious PowerPoint presentations in the conference hall of the European Council building in Brussels, the mood among European Union leaders present quickly begins to resemble that of an endless vacation slide show in someone’s living room. While grandpa waxes lyrical over his photos of Alpine wildflowers, the rest of the family reaches for snacks and hopes the show will soon end.
With each new slide that the Commission president pulls up on table monitors, his enthusiasm for the achievements and initiatives of his own organization grows, while the 27 heads of state and government resign themselves to their fate. The most recent Brussels summit was no different. EU leaders leaned back into their chairs, confident that Barroso’s presentation would not prove particularly demanding.
Weekender
Guest Post Weekender by MoreLiver.
What a week – Super EFSF proposed last weekend, shorting bans continued, financial transaction tax (FTT) gaining ground. Now even Barroso is switching to the same hypomanic gear as Trichet. Somebody please send them more lithium before it’s too late.
During the week the proposed Death Star (leveraged EFSF) has been mostly shot down by commentators: it has been argued that it does not solve the underlying fundamental problems of the eurosystem, leverage would not be credible, ECB’s commitment is uncertain and above all, markets are not impressed, as the EFSF and the Death Star-EFSF is too little, too late.
Expect more can-kicking and soothing the voters by playing the bad cop to PIIGS and the banks. As the banks are weak, the bad cop routine will be limited to indirect threats like the shorting ban, FTT and HFT. They will not make additional moves until the EFSF is ratified.
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