Brussels, 21/10/2011
“The European Council must find solutions that first and foremost serve the people and jobs, not the wealthy and the banks. I find it scandalous that banks are again threatening to stop lending to the real economy, in particular to small and medium sized enterprises, when faced with demands for higher contingency capital. It is true that banks, especially the big ones, must reduce their balance sheets. But deleveraging should be done in a way that is beneficial for jobs and growth, not for speculators. The Council and the European Supervisory Authorities must intervene in the banking business and make sure that asset reduction targets the speculative part not the loans in their portfolios.”
The ETUC is open to forms of economic solidarity, like the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) issuing bonds or guaranteeing loans. But another round of bank bail-outs at the expense of public budgets, and ultimately private households, could lead to public outrage against Europe, Ms Ségol warned in view of the negotiations on a European rescue plan at the upcoming Summit. “Once again, we must ask who governs, democratically elected governments or financial markets”, said Ms Ségol.
- ETUC Declaration on the current economic situation : http://www.etuc.org/a/9124
- ETUC letter: http://www.etuc.org/IMG/pdf/201011_ECON_23_Oct_11.pdf