ETUC stresses need for European solidarity to fight the crisis and financial speculation
Yesterday’s European Summit decided to assist central and eastern European Member States in dealing with the financial crisis on a case by case basis. The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) fears that such a step by step approach will be insufficient.
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’.
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