Apart from David Cameron?s glorious Charge of the Light Brigade, what else happened at this umpteenth serious critical summit in Brussels? Well? nothing much really.
Okay, so somewhere down the line the Maastricht requirements for economic ratios shall be imposed more strictly. Yes. Though not quite as strictly as the Frau wanted. And the member states have undertaken to enshrine the golden rule pertaining to balanced budgets in their Constitutions. Okay. For what that?s worth. And?? Well that seems to be about it.
No Eurobond issue. No quantitative easing. No provisions for growth of any kind. Nothing at all that might help with the immediate problem facing indebted European countries (which is most of them, including Germany whose debt is above the Maastricht ratio too).
Regardless of the time span needed to implement any of this (Ireland for one needs a referendum! Watch this space.) what on earth does our splendid European leadership hope to achieve by this? Reassure The Markets? Lower the spreads? Reduce sovereign debt? Hmm?
At the risk of sounding horribly boring, if there is no growth, there is no money, if there is no money, there is no debt reduction, if there is no debt reduction, there is no deficit reduction either?
Oh dear. Rather than enshrining golden rules pertaining to balancing budgets in our respective Constitutions, wouldn?t it be more productive to enshrine a commitment to growth in them? Leaving quite aside the idiocy of wanting to solve the economic crisis through legal means anyway!
Oh Merkel and Sarkozy with the spine impediment. You?ve done it again! Congratulations! And can you even blame poor David now?