'Germans Will Have to Pay' (Interview with Former German Finance Minister)

Spiegel
September 12, 2011

In a SPIEGEL interview, former German finance minister Peer Steinbrück, 64, now a prominent member of the opposition Social Democratic Party, argues for a complete overhaul of Europe's currency union -- one that would include euro bonds, strict rules and harsh sanctions.

SPIEGEL: Mr. Steinbrück, all efforts to end the euro crisis have so far failed. So why aren't any politicians saying that the common currency just can't be saved, at least as the euro was once conceived and sold to the populace?

Steinbrück: What makes you think the euro can't be saved?

SPIEGEL: Because it has become clear that the national economies that were welded together into the currency union were too different and that the euro has increased rather than decreased these disparities.

Steinbrück: No one will argue with that. Indebtedness and competitiveness have drifted apart. But that's not going to make the euro disappear. We could argue for a long time over how many and which member states will still be in the euro zone at the end of the decade if we don't get this drifting under control. But I would bet that the euro continues to exist and that its importance as a global currency will likely increase.

SPIEGEL: The only question is: In what form? In any case, it's not going to survive in the way it's defined in the European Union treaties.

Steinbrück: If you mean that the euro system will change, and the way it's anchored in the EU's body of rules and regulations, I would agree with you.

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