A “European” agreement has been reached on Thursday to safeguard, at least temporarily, the Euro. President Sarkozy and Chancellor Merkel  have imposed on the European banks the renunciation of 50% of their exposure on the Greek debts, they have imposed their recapitalisation  and an increase to 9 % of their credit security. These banks have now to find the funds on the public market.  Governments should only intervene as a last resort, meaning part re-nationalisation of defaulting banks as already proposed in certain European countries. To secure the survival of the Euro, an effort has been imposed on every member parliament for the ratification of such a measure. The Maltese government has been completely silent for a long time on these issues, focusing more on their complete failure in the implementation of the public transport reform.

Ultimately, this reached agreement will directly affect the purchase power of its European constituents. It is evident that to sustain financially the euro crises, banks will seek to recover their losses in reducing their credit exposure and increasing their fees: The access to credit will be much more difficult to persons and companies. It is evident that recession is in sight. Governments will follow suit, the banks will increase the tax burden on the citizens, and it has already started in France and Hungary with the planned increase of Vat, thus affecting everyone’s purchase power. 

Today, we are witnessing the complete failure of ruling socialist and conservative governments. They are unable to implement and control a European union worth its people, they have shown a complete mismanagement of the eurozone crises where defaulters are not held responsible, where national audits and controls of budgets, expenditures are inexistent, where each national government seeks its own interests. It is absolutely not acceptable that the German and French governments head these negotiations and impose their conclusions on all other members, that ultimately model governments and their population have to pay the bills of defaulters. It is evident that the socialist and conservative governments cannot be trusted any more, that a change is needed, a real change, a new Green deal, which is not ruled by national and financial interests, but by human interests.

■ Henrik Piski

Qormi