Crise financière : trois échappatoires pour l'Europe

Si l’Europe veut parvenir à trouver une échappatoire à la crise financière, la zone euro a besoin de trois réformes urgentes, écrit l’ancien Premier ministre belge Guy Verhofstadt pour la Bertelsmann Stiftung.

Verhofstadt calls for the establishment of: 

• A single European financial regulator belonging to a global network of regulators, all bound by the same rules and standards; 
• An institution whose tasks would include issuing clearances for interbank loan requests, and; 
• A eurozone government responsible for pursuing a policy of socio-economic convergence.

The last of these recommendations, argues Verhofstadt, is an « acknowledgement of the fact that the financial crisis will inevitably bring with it a general economic slowdown over the next few years ». He believes such a slowdown may well « herald the definitive rise of countries like China, Brazil and India ». 

Indeed, by 2050, China is « expected to be number one, with a GDP around twice that of the United States, India will be third, Brazil fourth and Russia sixth, » the former prime minister maintains. 

« This will force Western economies to make drastic changes in the economic sphere, but not by jumping on the regulation bandwagon, » Verhofstadt writes. On the contrary, he says that « increased regulation in the financial sphere will need to be combined with increased liberalisation in the field of general economic policy ».

However, the former Belgian PM admits « it is worrying to note that the need for budget balance is now being called into question with the same ease as the need for nationalisation is being defended, » adding that « to suppose that the recession can be beaten by deficit spending is no less of an illusion ». 

« The misgivings of savers and consumers will only be overcome by tackling the causes of the financial crisis itself in a credible, that is to say drastic, manner, and not by artificially injecting purchasing power into households’ purses, » Verhofstadt contends. 

Beyond this, the main question is whether « Europe will be able, or willing, to play a part in this multipolar world, » the former PM states. He admits that Europe is « suffering from cold feet, » stating: « While the financial crisis triggered a string of national interventions from individual member states, the EU’s reaction […] largely confined to a number of well-meaning conclusions ». 

Verhofstadt concludes that the « current financial crisis is not a disaster but rather a golden opportunity for the future, » declaring that Europe’s only option is to take « a bold and decisive new step [forward] in the integration process ».