Europe’s four major powers have vowed to do all they could to prevent Wall Street’s turmoil from destabilizing their banking systems — even as a 35 billion euros (US$48 billion) plan to save a German lender fell apart.
But aside from vague statements of intent and calls for tighter regulation, the leaders of Germany, France, Britain and Italy shied away on Saturday from the sort of massive bailout passed by the US Congress a day earlier.
Europe’s four largest economies pledged to coordinate national responses to help banks in distress, but their failure to agree an EU-wide plan reflects divisions in Europe on how to deal with the crisis washing up on the continent’s shores from the US.
France had mooted a multi-billion-dollar EU-wide government bailout plan, but backed off after Germany said banks must find their own way out.
The EU’s failure during the past week to pull together on dealing with the crisis has caused worry. Both Ireland and Greece angered their EU neighbors by acting independently and guaranteeing to protect all savings.
The Saturday afternoon summit was arranged hastily with the aim of reassuring jittery markets and investors. On Friday, US legislators approved a US$700 billion government plan to buy up bad debt from banks and help unfreeze lending.
The four leaders — French President Nicolas Sarkozy, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi — vowed to ensure the soundness and stability of Europe’s banking and financial system, but they gave few specifics.
Instead, they took a swipe at European subsidy rules designed to ensure fair competition by preventing governments propping up failing companies.
Given the “exceptional circumstances,” they said, EU regulators should be flexible on laws that restrict how much governments can give companies in trouble.
‘UPHOLDING PEACE’: Taiwan’s foreign minister thanked the US Congress for using a ‘creative and effective way’ to deter Chinese military aggression toward the nation The US House of Representatives on Monday passed the Taiwan Conflict Deterrence Act, aimed at deterring Chinese aggression toward Taiwan by threatening to publish information about Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials’ “illicit” financial assets if Beijing were to attack. The act would also “restrict financial services for certain immediate family of such officials,” the text of the legislation says. The bill was introduced in January last year by US representatives French Hill and Brad Sherman. After remarks from several members, it passed unanimously. “If China chooses to attack the free people of Taiwan, [the bill] requires the Treasury secretary to publish the illicit
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
A senior US military official yesterday warned his Chinese counterpart against Beijing’s “dangerous” moves in the South China Sea during the first talks of their kind between the commanders. Washington and Beijing remain at odds on issues from trade to the status of Taiwan and China’s increasingly assertive approach in disputed maritime regions, but they have sought to re-establish regular military-to-military talks in a bid to prevent flashpoint disputes from spinning out of control. Samuel Paparo, commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, and Wu Yanan (吳亞男), head of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Southern Theater Command, talked via videoconference. Paparo “underscored the importance
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said