A Modest Step for the Eurozone
www.cfr.org – April 4, 2012
Interview with Thomas Klau, European Council on Foreign Relations

“Eurozone finance ministers agreed last week to expand the capacity of the euro bailout funds to around €800 billion, or $1 trillion (NYT).”

He calls for stronger European governance to fix the horrible economic problems caused by the same institutions – problem, reaction, “solution”:

“This is an intermediate step on the long and difficult journey toward a sufficiently strong system of government for the eurozone,” Klau argues. In order for the eurozone to have a successful future, he says “it will have to acquire sooner rather than later further federal features, such as a treasury, a bigger federal budget, and new mechanisms for financial transfers…”

“Taken together, the mechanics of the eurozone’s new governance, including the fiscal compact, will not give the eurozone a sufficiently strong joint political authority,….