Taxpayer suffers to support bloated EU

NEWS that the EU mandarins have again circumvented EU treaties in order to allow the ECB lend to EU governments does not come as any surprise.

The near €500bn lent by the ECB to EU banks at 1% while those banks lend on as bondholders to EU governments at nearly 7%, is yet another gift to the banks at the expense of the EU taxpayer.

The tragedy is that the banks are not lending this cheap funding to viable businesses to fuel the economy which pays for the continuing bank gravy train. Such ECB funding is plainly delinquent in itself apart altogether from the moral hazard it fosters in delinquent banking.

The near 6% profit, or €25 billion annually, would, if lent directly to EU Governments, allow them pay down their respective sovereign debts to manageable levels within a few years, thereby dramatically improving sovereign credit ratings and allowing them obtain ongoing funding at normal 1.5%-2.5% levels.

The figure could be doubled to €50bn representing a €1tn funding pool.

Equally if the €25bn annual funding was given directly to mortgage holders to write down/off unsustainable individual mortgages/debts, it would restore confidence that the debt mountain was being cleared at source and additionally allow Sean/Gunter/Pierre public spend freed-up cash to support the economy and achieve the elusive and much sought-after growth in the EU economy.

What is a surprise is that the EU so-called ‘experts’ appear intent at each turn on choosing about the worst possible solution to this ongoing financial crisis.

It is resulting in the largest-ever transfer (robbery) of wealth from Joe Citizen to the rich and better off in order to support a bloated and unviable financial sector. Perhaps this is not so surprising after all, turkeys and Christmas come to mind.

Kevin T Finn

Kingston Close

Mitchelstown

Co Cork