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Finland backs Dutch euro crisis commissioner plan

Monday 26 September 2011

Finland supports the Dutch proposal for an independent EU commissioner in charge of budgetary discipline, Finnish prime minister Jyrki Katainen is quoted as saying on Monday.

Katainen made the comments following talks with Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte at Rutte’s official residence.

‘Stricter rules are at the core of our approach,’ the Financieele Dagblad quoted him as saying. 'That is why a plan to give an independent commissioner more power is a good one.’

The Netherlands also wants tougher sanctions for countries which break eurozone rules, with explusion as a last resort.

Central bank

Meanwhile, Dutch central bank chief Klaas Knot says in an article in the bank's quarterly magazine that countries which allow their debt to mount up or have a budget deficit which breaks eurozone rules should undergo a 'forced recovery programme'.

'This means the decision-making process should be removed from politicians and placed with an independent European budgetary authority, not the European central bank,' he says.

'The ECB is there to monitor eurozone price stability rather than buy up bad debts,' Knot says.

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Readers' comments

" 'This means the decision-making process should be removed from politicians and placed with an independent European budgetary authority, not the European central bank,' he says."
As far as i know, politicians after a democratic election by the people are the only persons with democratic rights to manage economic decision-making process on economic policy in a country. In a real democratic country, i mean.
What this man says fits perfectly for the former political system in the Soviet Union.

By zenplus | September 26, 2011 3:03 PM

@zenplus
Not exactly so. Soviet Economy was a "Planned economy", where government tried micromanaging the production of everything - from air-carriers to socks and milk production. Obviously, as far as general consumer goods go, it was far inferior to a marketing model, but it had it's benefits otherwise. China is another country which resembles that model.

By madjestic | September 27, 2011 8:59 AM

The only way out of the EU mess is if the European Bank GIVES some of it's money away for free and not profit to the countries in dire. This of course will never happen, it's the opposite of capitalism!

By The visitor | September 27, 2011 6:23 PM

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