Should we contribute to the EURO disaster area?

[d9f1c7]

http://news.sky.com/h...ness/article/16212198
The Eurosceptics on monetary union have been proved correct, so far from comming clean the Europhiles just want us to pay for their folly.

[Gromit]

Good job Gordon Brown ignored those idiots at the CBI and kept us out of the Euro.

Unfortunately we have no option but to pay into the bailout fund. We are not in the Euro, but our customers are. It is not in our interest to see our customers bankrupted because they will stop buying our goods and we would soon be bankrupt.

[d9f1c7]

so they can buy our goods with our own money? I see, silly me!

[Philtaz]

We shouldn't........but we will.

[Gromit]

That is indeed how loans work. Without them, capitalism would fail.

[jno]

the idea is to lend money, not give it away free.

[Philtaz]

Must be me but I always thought that loans had to be repaid within a specific time.
These are just open ended IOU's that nobody reasonably expects to be recouped in our lifetime, nor our children's I'd wager.

[Gromit]

Not so philtaz. There is a clear debt repayment schedule and the countries involved are having to make server cuts to public spending in order to make the payments. They wouldn't be rioting if it was free money.

Debt Repayment Schedule:
http://mobile.bloombe...countries-table-.html

[anotheoldgit]

I admit that I don't possess much knowledge when it comes to such matters but art least I can ask.

If those countries chose to give up their own specific type of currency, then why can't they also choose to return to their own currency, thus making each country responsible for it's own financial affairs?

[bazwillrun]

"There is a clear debt repayment schedule and the countries involved are having to make server cuts to public spending in order to make the payments."

care to tell us when any of these countries are actually out of debt, or unless I'm mistaken its a continuos loop of endless borrowing.

the sooner the European experiment is terminated the better of we will all be

[Gromit]

AOG

It is not in their interest to do so. Whatever currency they use, these countries are still in the sh it. While they are on the Euro, they have 25 countries willing to help them. If they go it alone, they have no one.

[venator]

Gromit - you're a dependable socialist but The Labour Party has always wanted to get into all things Eu - Tony and Mandy in particular. ☺☺

Gordon the gutless sociopath didn't dare to join.

The Lib Dems would have us in up to our necks tomorrow if they could.

We are the biggest net contributors to the EU and have a large adverse balance of trade.

As a good socialist, would you borrow to throw bgood money after bad?

Yeah, course you would ☺

[Brenden]

How many countries can the EU support with bailouts, we already have Greece, also in trouble are Spain, Portugal, Italy and Belgium - is it feasible that we can give bailouts to all these countries.

[anotheoldgit]

Gromit

/// While they are on the Euro, they have 25 countries willing to help them. If they go it alone, they have no one. ///

What you mean like us?

So why should 'WE' help them?

[jake-the-peg]

You may remember the Irish "Bail out"

George Osbourne's despeate scramble to stuff fivers into Dublin.

This was because we could borrow money much cheaper than the Irish so we leant it to them at a rate that made us money!

No charity involved at all!

This one is more tricky - it's not such a safe investment.

Whether or not we should will depend on factors like the terms of the deal, the perceived risk weighed up against the damage that might happen to UK interests if there was a problem with the Spanish banks.

I doubt anyone here has anything close to the information to assess that.

I guess we just have to trust in George's competance


We're all Dooomed!

[bazwillrun]

"they have 25 countries willing to help them"

oh yes all very willing ?!

[Grizelda43]

The UK economy is already in parlous state, thanks to the profligacy of Gordon Brown. Why should we be responsible for bailing out the euro countries when the European Central Bank should be doing it? Oh!! I forgot!! Germany wont let them, because they are the net contributor to that organisation. The euro nations are sink holes, and we should not be encouraging them to yet more wasteful expenditure. Get rid of Strasbourg for a start. That would save them billions.

[Johnysid]

Well, it is not just monetary union that is hurting the UK, take a look at the article at the link. Media URL: http://pol-check.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11/laying-up-treasure-from-overseas.html
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[Johnysid]

It is not just the monetary side that is a problem, we have a trade deficit of £46 billion with the EU, its bankrupting us. Media URL: http://pol-check.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11/laying-up-treasure-from-overseas.html
Description:

[emmie]

Gromit i don't think that Gordon Brown always had that viewpoint of keeping us out of the Euro, there as period that he believed it would be a good thing, just like his boss at the time T Blair.

[Gromit]

No so em10.

Brown supported John Major's ERM venturebut was lucky enough to learn that lesson while in oppostion. While still in opposition he formulated his 5 tests which were designed to reign in Tony Blair's Pro Euro steamroller.

// Guided by his new protegee, Balls, shadow chancellor Brown decided that the euro project would be too restrictive and deliver stability only at the price of low growth and long dole queues. The shamelessly subjective "five tests" for British membership which the pair devised were also useful for reining in Tony Blair, who didn't do economics - while embarrassing the Tories as "Little Englanders".

As chancellor Brown rightly realised that eurozone rules would require him to slash his ambitious public spending plans and lower interest rates even further than was already happening inside an over-priced currency. Thanks to its financial sector the UK economy boomed for a decade, then crashed worse than the sluggish eurozone.

But Britain enjoys greater freedom of action to dig itself out of trouble, not least via its flexible exchange rate and labour market, denied to struggling eurozone members like Greece, Ireland and Portugal under deflationary pressure from their paymasters in Berlin. //