Financial Times
January 2, 2012
Europe’s leaders warned 2012 was likely to be tougher than 2011, when spiralling borrowing costs forced political change in Italy and Spain and threatened the survival of the euro.
In a sombre address on national television Nicolas Sarkozy, president of France, said the gravest crisis Europe has faced since the second world war “is not over” and Angela Merkel, German chancellor, told German voters “next year will no doubt be more difficult than 2011”.
The euro crisis in 2011 forced borrowing costs higher for Italy and Spain and led to the dismissal of Silvio Berlusconi’s centre-right government in Rome and the fall of the Socialist administration of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero in Madrid.
It also undermined sentiment in the euro which had a second consecutive year of losses against the dollar and fell to its lowest level in a decade against the yen.
Speaking on national television on Saturday, Ms Merkel said Europe was experiencing its “harshest test in decades” but would ultimately be made stronger by the crisis.
Mr Sarkozy, who is facing a tough re-election campaign later this year, said French voters were more anxious at the end of the year than they were at the beginning.
“This extraordinary crisis, without doubt the gravest since the second world war, is not over … you are ending the year more anxious for yourselves and your children.”
More
No comments:
Post a Comment