February 7, 2012
There is a widespread belief that Germany is the big winner of the euro crisis, as investors stash their money in the euro zone's last safe haven, driving interest rates on German bonds down to record lows. But the idea is just a myth. Indeed, the crisis could end up costing Berlin dearly.
Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti is a thoroughly levelheaded man who feels a close affinity to Germany's famous stability culture when it comes to economic policies. Nevertheless, he has had nothing good to say about Berlin in the last few weeks. That's partly because he sees German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble as a secret beneficiary of the euro crisis. Germany, says Monti, benefits more from the euro than others.
Even German experts are convinced that Germany is profiting as a result of the currency crisis, while others are the losers. Because the country is seen as a safe haven on the crisis-plagued continent, investors are currently pouring billions into Germany. This is pushing down interest rates on government bonds to historic lows. "Germany is currently living at the expense of the other euro-zone countries," says Theodor Weimer, head of the board of the HypoVereinsbank bank. According to calculations performed by the Cologne Institute for Economic Research (IW), which is closely aligned with employers, the low bond rates will translate into savings of €45 billion ($59 billion) in the medium term for the German Finance Ministry.
As a result, the German government is under growing pressure to contribute even more money to efforts to rescue the euro. Germany, critics argue, cannot benefit from the crisis and be miserly at the same time.
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