Page 8 - ARUBA TODAY

A8 WORLD NEWS
Friday 20 april 2018
A willingness to fix the euro’s flaws is fading fast

By DAVID McHUGH meeting of parliament
AP Business Writer deputies from Merkel’s
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) Christian Democratic
— When Angela Merkel was Union. Merkel told law-
re-elected as Germany’s makers that upgrading the
leader in March, the way taxpayer-backed bailout
looked open for European fund, the European Stability
nations to finally patch the Mechanism, would require
remaining cracks in the amending the basic Euro-
euro — the structural flaws pean Union treaty, the dpa
that threatened to break news agency reported.
apart the shared currency That condition would likely
in 2010-12. kill the idea, since treaty
Suddenly, those prospects change would take years.
for far-reaching agree- Things looked quite dif-
ments are fading, as one ferent a few months ago.
proposal after another falls French President Emmanu-
by the wayside. el Macron won a resound-
The reason: longstand- ing victory in presiden-
ing German fears of being tial elections in June and
handed the bill for financial pushed strongly for new
profligacy in other member measures to strengthen the
countries. European Union generally,
A long-awaited European and the euro in particu- German Chancellor Angela Merkel leads the weekly cabinet meeting of the German govern-
Union summit June 28-29 lar, to overcome popular ment at the chancellery in Berlin, Wednesday, April 18, 2018.
may now produce vague discontent fuelling anti-EU Associated Press
agreements only on lim- populist parties and can- managing director Europe those risks before entering for crushing austerity: re-
ited parts of wide-ranging didates. Merkel cautiously for the Eurasia Group con- a new insurance program. strictions on government
proposals to strengthen the allowed the possibility of a sultancy. Rahman said the The other possible step is to spending.
way the euro is set up. The European finance minister June summit would likely let Europe’s new banking That policy delayed eco-
bigger ideas for deeper eu- and formed a government end with a vague promise authority tap the bailout nomic recovery and led
rozone integration, such as with the pro-EU Social Dem- on only two key reform pro- fund’s borrowing power. to higher taxes and lower
a common pot of money ocrats. posals. One would be to That would strengthen the pensions. Just as worrisome,
overseen by a European But the opening for change move ahead with deposit eurozone’s ability to coun- years of austerity helped
finance minister — an idea didn’t last. The Social Dem- insurance at the EU level, ter banking troubles. fuel anti-EU populism and
once allowed in principle ocrat’s choice for finance legislation proposed in 2015 Other ideas, such as reserv- drove political wedges be-
by Merkel — are off the minister, Olaf Scholz, made but still not enacted. ing part of the EU’s bud- tween member countries,
table. Prospects are also clear that not all Macron’s EU-wide deposit insurance get to bolster government as evidenced by Greek
uncertain for plans to up- ideas could be realized. would help make banks re- spending in countries hit by newspapers showing
grade a bailout fund cob- Macron and Merkel are to sistant to panics that might severe recessions or a crisis, Merkel in Nazi uniform. A
bled together during the meet Thursday in Berlin for overwhelm a single coun- face much tougher sled- group of prominent econo-
crisis to a full-fledged Euro- further discussions. try’s resources. The German ding, however. mists expressed concern
pean monetary fund to as- “The optimism was mis- position is that countries The solution pushed by that the eurozone “remains
sist troubled countries. placed... It’s clear Macron’s whose banks carrying lots Merkel and other northern fragile” and vulnerable to
German resistance bub- ambitions are in tatters,” of bad loans — notorious- European governments another crisis down the
bled up this week at a said Mujtaba Rahman, ly, Italy — need to remove was bailout loans in return road.q

U.K. mulls plan to ban plastic straws and cut waste

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s ance. launch a public consulta-
government wants to Officials say banning plas- tion for a potential bill ban-
take action to ban plas- tic straws in Britain would ning the sale of the single-
tic straws, drink stirrers and mean that billions of dis- use plastics in England.
cotton buds — and is urg- carded plastic straws If the public consultation
ing other Commonwealth would no longer pollute goes well, the plan could
nations to follow suit. oceans each year. be turned into legislation. It
Prime Minister Theresa May The British government will need to be debated in
said Thursday that “plastic also allocated 61.4 million Parliament in order for it to
waste is one of the great- pounds ($87.1 million) to become law.
est environmental chal- study new ways to clean The government says it will
lenges facing the world.” up and prevent plastic work with industrial compa-
She told Commonwealth waste. nies to help develop alter-
leaders meeting in London Environment Secretary Mi- natives to the use of single-
Thursday that protecting chael Gove called single- use plastics and will make
the ocean environment is use plastics “a scourge on sure there is “sufficient
“central to our agenda,” our seas and lethal to our time” to adapt before any
and urged the 53 member precious environment and new law takes force.
nations to sign up to the wildlife so it is vital we act Plastic straws used for med- In this Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2018 file photo, earthmovers push
mountains of garbage as seagulls fly over the country’s largest
newly formed Common- now.” ical reasons would not be landfill at Fyli on the outskirts of Athens.
wealth Clean Oceans Alli- Later this year officials will banned.q Associated Press