Financial Times
Editorial
May 17, 2011
The past two days’ meetings of finance ministers of eurozone and European Union countries checked the right boxes: leaders signed off on the decisions that needed to be made without surprising markets. Next month’s meetings will be a lot more challenging.
After all the uncertainty about whether Finland and Germany would approve a rescue loan for Portugal, it was reassuring that both countries’ leaders agreed to authorise a loan programme without further drama. Lisbon will now have access to €78bn, provided in equal portions by the European financial stability facility, the European Commission and the International Monetary Fund, subject to conditions of deficit cuts, structural reform and bank support. The programme may or may not rein in Portugal’s sovereign debt crisis, but a failure to agree to it at this stage would have made it worse, perhaps irretrievably so.
Ministers also backed the nomination of Mario Draghi, Italy’s central bank governor, to take over from Jean-Claude Trichet as head of the European Central Bank in November. This is good in itself – Mr Draghi is undoubtedly the best candidate – and welcome proof that Europe can take important decisions without being clouded by national jealousies or stereotypes.
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