From Dollars to Euros

Newsletter 2008/11/10 - From Dollars to Euros

(II)BERLIN/WASHINGTON (Own report) -
Reaffirming their desire for a position of global leadership, Berlin and Brussels have put forward their first demands to the incoming US administration. After last week's informal EU summit, European leaders stated that the EU would like to be a trail-blazer in overcoming the world's financial crisis. Concrete proposals have been elaborated for next weekend's World Financial Summit, which could provoke a power struggle with the United States, because they are diametrically opposed to US priorities and are seeking to weaken the US position in the global financial system. The days of the dollar's uncontested predominance are over, and it is about time that the Euro's growing importance is reflected in the rules of the world's financial exchanges, French President Sarkozy declared in the name of the EU. German government advisors see acertain risk: if the EU surges ahead, it would likely end in failure.The German government is attempting to camouflage its German-European offensive for gaining influence as a transatlantic alliance "renewal" proposal, supplemented with proclamations of sympathy forPresident-elect Barack Obama.
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http://www.german-foreign-policy.com/en/fulltext/56200