George Soros : The Euro and the EU at risk

George Soros :"The reunification of Germany was the great driving force that has pushed Europe forward. Germany was ready to pay any price just to have European support on this, then the Germans have always made the concessions that were used to advance the European Union, when attempting an agreement. No more. The Germans feel detached, self-centered and reluctant lovers of their old black-pier. This is why the European project has stalled. And like this it cannot go on. It is important to understand that if they do not move the next steps for the euro, the euro will go to pieces and the European Union can no longer inspire further progress. "
in an interview with the italian daily Corriere della Sera on the 15 April 2010
http://rassegnastampa.mef.gov.it/mefnazionale/View.aspx?ID=2010041515460288-1

Soros on European crisis - Spiegel Video

Soros on European crisis - Spiegel Video

Soros does not rule out The collapse of The Euro

German austerity policy may destroy The EU project says Soros

The economic policy of Germany based on austerity likely to split the monetary union, says the financier George Soros. In an interview with the weekly Die Zeit, Soros explains why a possible 'collapse' of the euro can not be 'excluded. Soros Has no doubts: 'If the Germans do not change their policy, their exit from the monetary union would be useful for the rest of Europe'. Soros also advocates a tax on financial transactions.

George Soros Talking the Euro to Death

First it was the “Death Spiral,” now it is the “Death Circle.”

George Soros told a Greek TV station last night that the government in Athens is facing the prospect of both recession and falling budget revenue if yields on Greek debt remain this high.
More...

Soros Says Euro Will Face Bigger Tests Than Greece

George Soros
The Financial Times
February 22, 2010

Otmar Issing, one of the fathers of the euro, correctly states the principle on which the single currency was founded. As he wrote in the FT last week, the euro was meant to be a monetary union but not a political one. Participating states established a common central bank but refused to surrender the right to tax their citizens to a common authority. This principle was enshrined in the Maastricht treaty and has since been rigorously interpreted by the German constitutional court. The euro was a unique and unusual construction whose viability is now being tested.

The construction is patently flawed. A fully fledged currency requires both a central bank and a Treasury. The Treasury need not be used to tax citizens on an everyday basis but it needs to be available in times of crisis. When the financial system is in danger of collapsing, the central bank can provide liquidity, but only a Treasury can deal with problems of solvency. This is a well-known fact that should have been clear to everyone involved in the creation of the euro. Mr Issing admits that he was among those who believed that “starting monetary union without having established a political union was putting the cart before the horse”.

Read entire article