MADRID | July 16, 2015 | By Fernando G. Urbaneja | To doubt German solidarity is to deny the evidence. To do it from Spain shows ignorance or bad faith. Merkel has proven she wants and can support the welfare state, firmly established in Germany for decades.
MADRID |The Corner | After a meeting between Mariano Rajoy and Angela Merkel in Santiago de Compostela, the German chancellor gave her support to the candidature of the Spanish Economy Minister, Luis de Guindos, to succeed Jeroen Dijsselbloem as President of the Eurogroup. As Barclays analysts comment, “with Italy’s and France’s leftwing governments and UK in or out of the EU, Spain is now a more attractive partner.” Regarding Germany, Angela Merkel recognised that the crisis in Ukraine is damaging the German economy. Nevertheless, Merkel affirmed that she forecasts a good annual growth if nothing dramatic happens.
The Corner Analysis | In the grim day in which the French National Front victory broke the expectations of a more united and strong Europe, Spaniards broke the bipartisan establishment for the first time in 35 years. Podemos, born from the Indignados (outraged) movement, was the biggest surprise in the political arena. Voters weary of austerity measures and corruption also punished the political establishment in Greece. Eurosceptics and xenophobe movements dangerously gained strenght in Denmark, Austria, Finland and the UK.
BERLIN | By Alberto Lozano | The German ambitious switch from nuclear and carbon-based energy toward renewables remains the biggest challenge for the first EU economy. The country’s industrial sector and consumers are worried about how much they will have to pay in terms of prices, competitiveness and jobs.
MADRID | By El País | A total of €6bn for 6 million unemployed young Europeans. The plan presented by Germany and France is a response to an absolute emergency. But for it to work, it must be supported by a collective will.
MADRID | By JP Marín Arrese | Those longing for a growth strategy to invigorate their ailing economies delude themselves in thinking that Ms Merkel might prove to be more tractable once she is re-elected.
MADRID | Ignoring that Italians have given support to political programmes contrary to current austerity policies would be a temerity.
MADRID | In Italy, as in other southern eurozone countries, citizens cannot believe there will be light at the end of the austerity tunnel.
By Miguel Ángel Rodríguez, analyst at XTB | For all the noise these scandals bring about, the pressure on Merkel should not abate. The eurozone needs that Germany relaxes its stand on public investment cuts, and efficient measures to deal with sovereign debt should be agreed by core country members.
China is willing to help, but everyone has limits. Premier Wen Jiabao told visiting German Chancellor Angela Merkel at a state visit in Beijing on Thursday that Beijing plans to continue buying European sovereign debt, the strongest sign of support for its biggest trading partner in months, although it urged further measures to be taken. “The European debt crisis has continued to worsen, giving rise to serious concerns in the…