September 5, 2011
In a SPIEGEL interview, former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, 67, discusses the German government's learning curve in the euro crisis and his idea of a United States of Europe. He also addresses allegations that his government helped set the stage for the current common currency woes.
SPIEGEL: Mr. Schröder, is the euro in mortal danger?
Schröder: No. If you look at the external value of the euro in relation to the dollar, we were once at 82 cents and are now at 1.40. The euro is not in danger. What is missing is a political concept.
SPIEGEL: But something is going fundamentally wrong with the euro at the moment.
Schröder: (Former French President Francois) Mitterand and (former German Chancellor Helmut) Kohl were pursuing two basic ideas in creating the euro. Mitterand wanted to contain Germany's economic power within Europe by means of a common currency. That couldn't work. If you create a common currency, the stronger economy will prevail. Kohl's mistake was to assume that the common currency would inevitably lead to political union. And the crisis we are currently experiencing makes it abundantly clear that you can't have a common currency without a common fiscal, economic and social policy.
SPIEGEL: You said the same thing before you became chancellor, and then you didn't pursue it.
Schröder: Europe is a very tough nut to crack. Everyone who has ever done it knows this. That's why I am also hesitant to criticize administrations now in power. I admit that I would like to have achieved more than I did. When I was in office, I would have liked to bring the European constitutional process to a satisfactory conclusion. But it didn't fail because of us.
SPIEGEL: Helmut Kohl blames you for the crisis, arguing that you were too quick to accept Greece into the euro zone. Does that mean that you are to blame for the euro debacle?
Schröder: Anyone who considers the issue fairly knows that this isn't true. At the time, it was the European Commission that felt that the conditions had been met. All the relevant groups in the European Parliament agreed to Greece's acceptance into the euro zone, as did the (center-right Christian Democratic Union) CDU and the (pro-business Free Democratic Party) FDP. Only the (conservative Christian Social Union) CSU was opposed.
More
See also
No comments:
Post a Comment