The Federal Trust: Join the Euro, Rejoin the EU

Sep 7, 2023 | In this new video, Brendan Donnelly and John Stevens argue that membership of the euro will be necessary to sustain the UK’s re-entry into the European Union after Brexit. They recognise that political leadership will be necessary for such a radical step to come about. But they also argue that British public opinion would be more receptive to leadership on the issue of the single currency than is often assumed.

SPEAKERS

Brendan Donnelly is the Director of the Federal Trust and a former Conservative MEP.
John Stevens is the Chairman of the Federal Trust and a former Conservative MEP.

ABOUT THE FEDERAL TRUST

The Federal Trust is a research institute studying regional, national, European and global levels of government. It has always had a particular interest in the European Union and Britain’s place in it. The Federal Trust has no allegiance to any political party. It is registered as a charity for the purposes of education and research.

Croatia Adopts Euro, Joins Schengen: What Are the Pros and Cons? | DW News

Jan 1, 2023 | Croatia has dropped its currency the kuna to adopt the European common currency, the euro. The Balkan nation becomes the 20th member of the eurozone. Croatia had to meet strict economic conditions to join. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen traveled to Zagreb to mark the occasion. Croatia also became the 27th member of the passport-free Schengen zone, which allows more than 400 million people to move freely through its borders.

Croatia Joins the Euro!

On 1 January 2023, Croatia will become the 20th member of the euro family!

What a Sinking Euro Means for Europe and the US | DW Business

Jul 15, 2022 The euro has taken a major beating against its US peer since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February, falling to its lowest level in 20 years. While a weakened euro should worry European consumers, US travelers visiting Europe could benefit.

Euro und Dollar erreichen Parität

ERSTMALS SEIT 2002
FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNG: An den Devisenmärkten ist die europäische Gemeinschaftswährung nun genauso viel Wert wie der amerikanische Dollar. Anleger flüchten sich derzeit in Dollar-Anlagen, da alles andere risikobehaftet scheint.

Nach einigen Tagen Ringen hat der Euro nun die Grenze von einem Dollar nach unten durchbrochen. Damit ist die europäische Gemeinschaftswährung zum ersten Mal seit 2002 wieder genauso viel Wert wie der amerikanische Dollar. Am Mittag kostete ein Euro genau 1,0000 Dollar. Devisen schwanken normalerweise in geringem Maße, deshalb werden ihre Wechselkurse an den Finanzmärkten mit bis zu vier Nachkommastellen angegeben. » | Von Gregor Brunner | Dienstag, 12. Juli 2022

L’euro atteint la parité avec le dollar, une première depuis sa mise en circulation : La monnaie unique européenne est plombée par le risque de coupure des approvisionnements russes en gaz pour l’Union européenne. »

Euro Nears Parity with Dollar as Pound Hits Two-year Low

THE GUARDIAN: Europe’s single currency battered by fears over gas supply from Russia and US interest rate rises

One euro coin placed on top of one dollar bills Photograph: Gerard Bottino/SOPA Images/REX/Shutterstock
The euro is on the brink of parity with the dollar as investors fear that an energy crisis will plunge the region’s economy into recession.

The single currency fell to just $1.0003 on Tuesday morning, pushed lower by worries that the scheduled shutdown of the Nord Stream 1 pipeline – which transports natural gas from Russia to Europe – for maintenance could be made permanent.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in late February has triggered fears over Europe’s energy supply and hurt the region’s economies, pushing the euro 12% lower against the US dollar so far this year.

The euro is also being hit by expectations of further aggressive interest rate rises by the US Federal Reserve, which are driving the dollar higher. » | Julia Kollewe and Graeme Wearden | Tuesday, July 12, 2022

Business Live: Euro falls to brink of parity with dollar over fears Russia will cut off gas supplies »

Nicola Sturgeon Interview on Brexit, Scottish Independence and the Euro

First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon discusses her time frame for a second Scottish referendum - and is challenged on whether Scotland would have to commit to adopting the Euro if an independent Scotland were to join the EU.

Lord Heseltine Says Britain Will Join The Euro And Brexit Might Not Happen

Lord Heseltine remained adamant the UK would adopt the currency when the “circumstances are right”. Joining Iain Dale in the studio, he also said it was “very possible” that Britain does not end up leaving the European Union.

‘Euro Is Dead Man Walking’: Marine Le Pen Lashes Out at EU, Says Frexit Is Question of Time

After the EU Parliament revoked her parliamentary immunity, French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen accused the European Union of breaking up society, and promised to re-negotiate France's agreements with the bloc. The parliament's decision follows a second round of voting held by EU lawmakers. Le Pen may now face prosecution for tweeting pictures of Islamic State violence. In her latest interview on a French channel, the presidential candidate dubbed the allegations, politically motivated.

Euro, Russland, Flüchtlinge - wie geht es weiter mit der EU? - Diskussion am 09.10.2015

Im Rahmen des Themenschwerpunktes zeigt phoenix die Diskussionsrunde "Menschen in Europa" mit Jean-Claude Juncker (EU-Kommissionspräsident)

24 Hours to Save the Euro: Germany Prepares for a 'Temporary' Greek Exit as Euro Project on the Brink of Collapse

THE TELEGRAPH: Berlin readies humanitarian aid for Greece proposing a five-year expulsion from the euro, after Athens is accused of destroying the trust of its partners

The German government has begun preparations for Greece to be ejected from the eurozone, as the European Union faces 24 hours to rescue the single currency project from the brink of collapse.

Nine hours of acrimonious talks on Saturday night, saw finance ministers fail break the deadlock with Greece over a new bail-out package, accusing Athens of destroying their trust. It leaves the future of the eurozone in tatters only 15 years after its inception.

In a weekend billed as Europe’s last chance to save the monetary union, ministers will now reconvene on Saturday [?] morning ahead of an EU leaders' summit later in the evening, to thrash out an agreement or decide to eject Greece from the eurozone.

Should no deal be forthcoming, the German government has made preparations to negotiate a temporary five-year euro exit, providing Greece with humanitarian aid while it makes the transition.

An incendiary plan drafted by Berlin's finance ministry, with the backing of Angela Merkel, laid out two stark options for Greece: either the government submits to drastic measures such as placing €50bn of its assets in a trust fund to pay off its debts, and have Brussels take over its public administration, or agree to a "time-out" solution where it would be expelled from the eurozone. » | Mehreen Khan | Saturday, July 11, 2015

Europe's Big Guns Warn Greek Voters That A No Vote Means Euro Exit

THE GUARDIAN: Germany, France and Italy joined the European commission in insisting that Sunday’s poll was about continued eurozone membership

The eurozone’s three biggest countries have raised the stakes in next Sunday’s Greek referendum with an orchestrated warning to voters that a no vote would mean exit from the single currency and the return of the drachma.

As the Greek economy suffered on its first day of stringent capital controls, politicians from Germany, France and Italy joined the European commission in insisting that the poll was not about whether Athens could secure more favourable bailout terms but was about continued euro membership.

The stark assessment was shared by George Osborne, who told MPs that the UK economy would be affected by the chaos that would result from Greece leaving the eurozone. » | Larry Elliott, Graeme Wearden and Nicholas Watt | Monday, June 29, 2015

Merkel Speech: Chancellor Urges Reforms to Preserve Euro

Angela Merkel addresses the Bundestag on Wednesday

SPIEGEL ONLINE INTERNATIONAL: In the first parliamentary speech of her third term, German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned that Europe needs to take more action to make its single currency crisis-proof and urged states to undertake binding economic reforms.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday called on European countries to agree to binding economic reforms to correct flaws in the makeup of the single currency.

In her first parliamentary speech since her re-election for a third term on Tuesday, she warned that Europe needed to take further action to make the euro zone crisis-proof.

"Clearly the euro-zone debt crisis is not yet overcome. One cannot emphasise this often enough. But we are seeing first successes and we are convinced it can be overcome permanently," she told the Bundestag lower house of parliament.

She said Ireland's successful exit from the bailout program last week and progress elsewhere showed that her approach of seeking reforms in return for aid had been the right one. » | cro -- with wire reports | Wednesday, December 18, 2013

France's Triumphant 'Joan of Arc' Vows to Bring Back Franc and Destroy Euro

THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Marine Le Pen is spoiling for a fight. The leader of France's Front National vows to smash the existing order of Europe and force the break-up of monetary union, if she wins the next election.

It is no longer an implausible prospect. "We cannot be seduced," she said, brimming with confidence after her party secured 46pc of the vote in a by-election earthquake a week ago. Her candidate trounced the ruling Socialists in their own bastion of Villeneuve-sur-Lot.

"The euro ceases to exist the moment that France leaves, and that is our incredible strength. What are they going to do, send in tanks?" she told the Daily Telegraph at the Front National's headquarters, an unmarked building tucked away in the Paris suburb of Nanterre. Her office is small and workaday, almost austere.

"Europe is just a great bluff. One side there is the immense power of sovereign peoples, and on the other side are a few technocrats," she said.

For the first time, the Front National is running level with the two governing parties of post-War France, Socialists and Gaullistes. All are near 21pc in national polls, though the Front alone has the wind in its sails.

Yet it is the detail in the Villeneuve vote that has shocked the political class. The Front scored highest in the most Socialist cantons, a sign that it may be breaking out of its Right-wing enclaves to become the mass movement of the white working class. » | Ambrose Evans-Pritchard | Sunday, June 30, 2013

German Euro Founder Calls for 'Catastrophic' Currency to Be Broken Up
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Oskar Lafontaine, the German finance minister who launched the euro, has called for a break-up of the single currency to let southern Europe recover, warning that the current course is "leading to disaster".

"The economic situation is worsening from month to month, and unemployment has reached a level that puts democratic structures ever more in doubt," he said.

"The Germans have not yet realised that southern Europe, including France, will be forced by their current misery to fight back against German hegemony sooner or later," he said, blaming much of the crisis on Germany's wage squeeze to gain export share.

Mr Lafontaine said on the parliamentary website of Germany's Left Party that Chancellor Angela Merkel will "awake from her self-righteous slumber" once the countries in trouble unite to force a change in crisis policy at Germany's expense.

His prediction appeared confirmed as French finance minister Pierre Moscovici yesterday proclaimed the end of austerity and a triumph of French policy, risking further damage to the tattered relations between Paris and Berlin.

"Austerity is finished. This is a decisive turn in the history of the EU project since the euro," he told French TV. "We're seeing the end of austerity dogma. It's a victory of the French point of view." » | Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, International Business Editor | Sunday, May 05, 2013

'Euro Dead, Stop the Surgery' – ‘Alternative for Germany’ Party
Anti-euro sentiment is going mainstream in Germany - with the launch of a new party dedicated to pulling the plug on the struggling single currency. The group - called 'Alternative for Germany' - says it has already received thousands of membership requests. RT's correspondent Peter Oliver was at the party's first official convention.

Ruinous Euro Rescues
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: In an attempt to save the euro at all costs, Europe's technocrats are advocating policies of startling brutality

When the Dutch finance minister suggested that the Cypriot bail-out could become a “model”, the outcry was immediate. It was all very well to treat a minnow such as Cyprus in such a brutal manner, said Jeroen Dijsselbloem’s critics, but no country of real stature would put up with a raid on its savers’ funds. What a difference a few weeks makes. Germany’s council of economic experts has now scrutinised the Cypriot rescue package, and concluded that the critics had a point. Not about the arbitrary confiscation of wealth, but that a levy on bank accounts was an inefficient manner of going about it. They suggest, in future, a tax on property or other assets, paid predominantly by the wealthy, since it is far more difficult to move your home out of reach. » | Telegraph View | Monday, April 15, 2013

Beppe Grillo Says Italy May Soon Have to Pull Out of Euro
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Beppe Grillo, the comedian who was the big winner in Italy's election, suggests Italy may have to abandon the euro and go back to the lira, and renegotiate its gigantic debt.

Beppe Grillo, the former comedian who holds the balance of power in Italy, has suggested the country may have to abandon the euro and return to the lire.

In an interview with a German magazine published on Saturday, Mr Grillo said that “if conditions do not change” Italy “will want” to leave the euro and return to its former national currency.

The 64-year-old comic-turned-political activist also said Italy needs to renegotiate its €2 trillion debt.

At 127 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP), it is the highest in the euro zone after Greece.

“Right now we are being crushed, not by the euro, but by our debt. When the interest payments reach €100 billion a year, we’re dead. There’s no alternative,” he told Focus, a weekly news magazine. » | Nick Squires | Saturday, March 02, 2013

Germany and Italy Near Blows Over Euro

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: German politicians from across the spectrum have reacted furiously to warnings by Italy’s Mario Monti that Bundestag control over EU debt policies threatens to bring about the “disintegration” of the European project.

“We must make it clear to Mr Monti that we Germans will not shut down our democracy to pay Italian debts,” said Alexander Dobrindt, secretary-general of Bavaria’s Social Christians (CSU).

Bundestag president Norbert Lammert said parliament’s integrity cannot be subordinated to the ups and downs of the markets. Free Democrat (FDP) leaders said Italy’s unelected prime minister is playing with political fire by trying to circumvent democratic legitimacy.

The dispute comes as relations between Germany and Italy touch the lowest ebb since the Second World War, with Il Giornale publishing a front-page picture of Chancellor Angela Merkel under the headline “Fourth Reich”.

“The tone of the debate has turned dangerous. We must be careful that Europe does not rip itself apart,” said German foreign minister, Guido Westerwelle. He himself fanned the flames over the weekend, saying he was “categorically” against further expansion of the EU rescue machinery or bond purchases by the European Central Bank. “I can’t imagine that a majority of the Bundestag will back unlimited debt liabilities,” he said. » | Ambrose Evans-Pritchard | Monday, August 06, 2012

Berlusconi fossoyeur de l'euro ?
LE POINT: Le Cavaliere pourrait prendre la tête d'une coalition faisant campagne pour l'abandon de l'euro par l'Italie.

"On criera au scandale, mais aujourd'hui, l'hypothèse de l'abandon de l'euro par l'Italie n'est pas un blasphème ". C'est Silvio Berlusconi qui a jeté mercredi ce pavé dans la mare de la crise européenne. Ce n'est pas la première fois que l'homme qui présidait aux destinées de la péninsule jusqu'au 16 novembre dernier prend ses distances de l'euro. Le 1er juin, le Cavaliere avait écrit sur sa pageFacebook : "Si Angela Merkel refuse que la BCE fasse marcher la planche à billets, on devrait avoir le courage de dire ciao et d'abandonner l'euro tout en restant dans l'Union. Ou alors c'est l'Allemagne qui devrait quitter la zone euro."

Un scénario qui donne des sueurs froides aux économistes. La sortie de l'Italie de l'euro serait immédiatement suivie d'une dévaluation de 20 à 40 % de la "nouvelle lire". Si l'exportation en bénéficierait, le coût de la facture énergétique et du financement de la dette exploserait, l'inflation s'emballerait. Mais le Cavaliere persiste et signe. Il organisera le 15 juillet prochain un séminaire auquel il a annoncé la participation de "plusieurs Prix Nobel d'économie". » | Dominique Dunglas, correspondant du Poit à Rome | jeudi 21 juin 2012