McDermott, Verde, Laing and Mejean take on Lomborg in the Financial Times.
As I have argued before, Lomborg plays a useful role in cooling down the overly ambitious climate policies promoted by European leaders — but he also tends to get his details wrong.
The other day in the FT, Klaus Regling suggested that it was ignorant ‘outside “experts”‘ — Americans, one presumes — who are the most pessimistic in their assessment of whether the euro will survive. On the contrary: knowledgeable Europeans, and especially those of a pro-EMU bent, are among the most alarmed right now, since they can see what way this thing is heading if Europe’s leaders continue to muddle through, kicking cans down the road, and erecting firebreaks around burning bushes (to use Olli Rehn’s unintentionally brilliant metaphor).*
Here is Wolfgang Münchau’s take on the summit, and here is a round-up of reaction on the Eurointelligence website.
* Rehn is so fond of this metaphor that he has now used it twice: first in May, when discussing Greece, and second in November, when discussing Ireland. If you’re living in a burning bush, you don’t need a firebreak. How far will the fire have to spread before the fire brigade gets called in?
The ECB have issued a legal opinion on Credit Institutions (Stabilisation) Bill 2010 (documents here). One highlight: “these emergency powers interfere significantly with the property rights of institutions’ shareholders and creditors. Thus it is important for any regime to properly balance these fundamental rights with the general interest in the financial system’s stability.”
The festive season is almost upon us and we all need a bit of cheering up. I have always found Swiss trade policy to be good for a giggle myself, and apparently their Finance Minister agrees with me. Bündnerfleisch: an old one but a good one.
Colm has an article in today’s Sunday Independent which is well worth reading.