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The single market is looking wobbly

economist.com

11–20 of 97 posts

Re: The single market is looking wobbly

#11
Another round of blaming Germany!

I guess after the Nord Stream sabotage they need another issue. The whole of Europe took gas from Russia, but Nord Stream was the incarnation of evil. The press was full of Nord Stream articles and never mentioned the other pipelines.

Poland took gas well into May 2022, and only stopped after Russia demanded payment in rubles. The Yamal pipeline is still standing. Europe still gets Russian gas via the Ukraine transit pipelines.

So apparently the issue is that there must not be a direct connection between Germany and Russia, so the transit states have leverage.

What does Poland do itself? It routes the new pipeline from Norway via Denmark and the sea, avoiding transit via Germany.

Perhaps Germany should leave the EU like Britain if it is so horrible.

Re: The single market is looking wobbly

#13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And?

I wonder what motivation the British could have for saying that the EU's single market is looking wobbly?

I don't know about the economist but there's certain stipulations that went into the foundation of the single currency that favored Germany heavily, and Germany behaved the whole time like it didn't happen.

Most of the european resentment comes from that fact. Most southern european countries were taken for a ride during those negotiations, and have paid (and continue to) a steep price.

I was a strong believer in the common currency but after reading about it for a while I'm not convinced it was a good idea anymore - if you're anyone except Germany or France.

Paul Krugman wrote at length about why that was a mistake, and he was 100% right about it.

Re: The single market is looking wobbly

#15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wonder what motivation the British could have for saying that the EU's single market is looking wobbly?

The Economist isn't a mouthpiece for the UK government.

Or the majority of the voters

Re: The single market is looking wobbly

#16

“In case anyone felt their nose insufficiently rubbed in German success” All good things come to an end. Also it feels like if the weather will suck tomorrow it will be blamed on germany. Where are the other countries in all this? Taking a nap?

Germany was a huge winner from introduction of the Euro. Some other countries, especially the Latin bloc, cannot cope with the common currency.

(Ironically, it was the German economists who used to be very skeptical against the common currency and were loud about it.)

At the end of the day, the single market will only be popular if growth and prosperity are shared across the continent. If the economic periphery plagued by anemic growth and high debt burden expands, so will populist sentiments. And the economic periphery of the EU is already rather sizeable - even the former GDR could be counted in it, at least when looking at the structural unemployment and migration patterns of young qualified people.

In the US, Trump won his mandate riding on a wave of such populist sentiments from the Rust Belt. In Europe, ethno-national differences run much deeper than interstate differences in America, so the end result may be a fatal split in the Union.

Re: The single market is looking wobbly

#17
post #11

Another round of blaming Germany! I guess after the Nord Stream sabotage they need another issue. The whole of Europe took gas from Russia, but Nord Stream was the incarnation of evil. The press was full of Nord Stream articles and never mentioned the other pipelines. Poland took gas well into May 2022, and only stopped after Russia demanded payment in rubles. The Yamal pipeline is still standing. Europe still gets R…

No post body was provided.

Re: The single market is looking wobbly

#18
post #14

If I had one euro for every time The Economist has said that the Euro/EU were wobbly/breaking/etc I could balance Liz Truss'es budget and have money left for some fish'n'chips.

This kind of ad-hominem happens on every Economist thread here. First order of business is to take a jab at the Economist.

That just means factual things are being reported and people don't want to confront reality.

Re: The single market is looking wobbly

#19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And?

I wonder what motivation the British could have for saying that the EU's single market is looking wobbly?

This seems suspiciously close to an ad-hominem argument. The Economist is pro single market and advocated for remain (https://www.economist.com/briefing/2016/02/27/the-brexit-del...)

Re: The single market is looking wobbly

#20
post #14

If I had one euro for every time The Economist has said that the Euro/EU were wobbly/breaking/etc I could balance Liz Truss'es budget and have money left for some fish'n'chips.

This kind of ad-hominem happens on every Economist thread here. First order of business is to take a jab at the Economist. That just means factual things are being reported and people don't want to confront reality.

The Economist lost a lot of credibility with some of us around the turn of the century, when it fatally misunderstood US politics and wrote columns addressing people like Karl Rove and asking them to follow their better nature. (Karl Rove does not have a better nature.)
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