It was something of a mystery. Emergency conference calls about the future of the
Eurozone were being made yesterday, but there was no news of those discussions. As it turned out, this was
for the best of all possible reasons: there was no news to report. Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy announced no new measures to alleviate the sovereign debt crisis; rather, they merely declared
“solidarity” with Greece and assured the markets that
Greece would not be forced from the single currency.
Their words seem to have assuaged the markets for the moment, but only the most brazen optimist would bet on the rally being long lived. Tests of confidence will come later today when troubled Spain holds a debt auction and the EU’s interim economic forecasts are expected to be downgraded. As John Redwood notes, none of Europe’s underlying weaknesses have been resolved by this quick phone.
Get Britain's best politics newsletters
Register to get The Spectator's insight and opinion straight to your inbox. You can then read two free articles each week.
Already a subscriber? Log in
Comments
Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just $5 for 3 monthsAlready a subscriber? Log in