Brussels, 02/03/2009
To deal with a possible wave of financial market contagion spreading the crisis from one country to the next, ETUC calls for a major increase of the Commission’s balance of payment facility from its present level of 25 billion euro.
The ETUC also calls on the European Commission not to allow the International Monetary Fund to abuse currency crises by imposing lending conditionalities undermining the European Social Model.
Says Reiner Hoffmann, ETUC Deputy General Secretary: 'We cannot deliver jobs and social systems of many eastern European Member States to the irrationality of financial markets. Europe needs to give a strong signal that it stands ready to help all Member States to fight of speculative attacks and safeguard the European Social Model'.