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Politics : Dutch Central Bank Sale Announcement Imminent? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: sea_urchin who wrote (23175)	6/3/2005 4:35:47 AM
From: GUSTAVE JAEGER	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 80975

Re: Furthermore, we must not forget that all/most of the new Eastern members fall completely under the US spell and so French influence will be neutralised/eliminated by this new bloc. Message 21383040

To: sea_urchin who wrote (23175)	6/4/2005 4:27:22 AM
From: GUSTAVE JAEGER	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 80975

Re: Get the hell out of the euro-valley before the euro-dam collapses!! But where to? The Italian Lira, of course!! Berlusconi minister wants Italian vote on return to lira John Hooper in Rome and Nicholas Watt in Brussels Saturday June 4, 2005 The Guardian The cause of European unification yesterday suffered another swingeing blow when one of the parties in Silvio Berlusconi's governing coalition threw its weight behind a campaign to pull Italy out of the euro. Roberto Maroni, Mr Berlusconi's social security minister and a joint acting leader of the Northern League, said his party would start collecting signatures for a referendum on the issue later this month. He also appealed for the process of ratifying the EU constitution to be halted. Days after it was reported that senior German ministers had discussed the disintegration of the single currency, Mr Maroni pledged to start collecting signatures for a referendum later this month. He branded the euro a "disaster" which was product of a "European model whose failure we are witnessing with concern". Joaquin Almunia, the European monetary affairs commissioner, dismissed Mr Maroni's criticism of the euro, which fell to an eight-month low against the dollar at one point in the week. "I think nobody is going to succeed in eliminating [the euro]," he told Spanish radio. But the move by Mr Maroni showed how the certainties of Europe are starting to unravel in the wake of the emphatic no votes in two founding members of the project. Jacques Chirac and Gerhard Schröder will today attempt to keep the integrationist dream alive when they hold crisis talks in Berlin. But their meeting suffered a setback even before the French president's plane took off from Paris. Mr Schroeder had originally intended to invite the leaders of the EU's original six founding members to today's talks. The move, which fuelled speculation that France and Germany are trying to create an "inner group", fell apart when Jan Peter Balkenende, the Dutch prime minister, said he could not make the meeting. Mr Balkenende was last night emerging as a key figure in the crisis which will come to a head when European leaders gather for a summit in Brussels on June 16-17. Britain hopes to kill off its own referendum by asking Mr Balkenende and Mr Chirac whether they will hold second referendums in their countries - the only way of reviving the EU constitution. The French president will resist giving a clear commitment because he wants the ratification process to continue. But Mr Balkenende gave Britain strong ammunition by telling the Dutch parliament on Thursday that he would not attempt to ratify the treaty again. Dutch government sources said that Mr Balkenende still believes the ratification process should continue. But in remarks which will be welcomed in London, one source said: "The European process should go on. But we have had a no, therefore we cannot say yes to this constitution." Jack Straw, the foreign secretary, will choose his lan guage carefully when he gives Britain's formal response to the no votes to MPs on Monday, because ministers do not want to give Mr Chirac an excuse to blame Britain for killing off the constitution. But yesterday's attempt in Italy to kill off the euro was the most surprising intervention. Roberto Maroni is one of two Northern League politicians who have stood in for its leader, Umberto Bossi, since he was temporarily incapacitated by heart failure last year. It is unlikely that he would have made his remarks without first clearing them with Mr Bossi. Mr Maroni held up Britain as a model to be copied. "It is growing [and] developing while keeping its own currency," he said. The euro has become deeply unpopular in Italy where it is associated in the public mind with big price increases and the recent slowdown in economic growth. In the runup to a general election that must be held by next May, Mr Berlusconi will be sorely tempted to throw his weight behind the League's "back to the lira" campaign. He is lagging in the polls and a drive against the single currency would offer him a way of deflecting the blame for Italy's lamentable economic performance since he took office. Last month, it emerged that Italy had slipped into recession for the second time in two years. The European Central Bank's chief economist, Otmar Issing, said that if Italy were to leave the euro zone, it would be committing "economic suicide". guardian.co.uk