Markets Unimpressed by France-Germany Euro Plans

 　　The European Commission supports the proposals made by France and Germany on Tuesday to shore up the eurozone, its spokesperson said Wednesday. The markets, however, have not reacted so favorably.

　　Olivier Bailly, the EU spokesperson, said the commission supports the objectives put forward by French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor¹ Angela Merkel on Tuesday.

　　"We already mentioned the need to strengthen the economic part of the economic and monetary² union," Bailly said. "What is happening now since the beginning of the crisis, and what has been announced yesterday as a proposal by France and Germany, go exactly in this direction.”

　　Sarkozy and Merkel held emergency talks Tuesday to discuss Europe’s sovereign debt crisis.

　　Following the talks, they said closer economic integration³ in Europe is needed. Sarkozy called for a “new economic government” that would be formed of the 17 eurozone government leaders. He said it should meet twice yearly and be led by European President Herman Van Rompuy.

　　France and Germany also called for constitutional amendments⁴ across the eurozone that would require governments to balance their budgets.

　　The leaders backed away from the idea of issuing “eurobonds” - bonds that would be issued by the eurozone as a whole rather than by individual countries. Some analysts⁵, investors⁶, and European politicians think eurobonds would be the best way to restore faith in European debt and calm volatile⁷ markets.

　　Bailly said Wednesday that eurobonds are an interesting idea but are not on the agenda right now.

　　"We don't think that this is a solution for today's problem and we don't think that there is a political consensus⁸ within Europe to move forward today with this idea," said Bailly.

　　Overall the market reaction to the new plans was not positive, with shares falling early in the trading day Wednesday, followed by a slight recovery.

　　Dominique Dequidt, an Asset Manager at KBL Richelieu in France, said the market reaction is uncertain because the decisions made Tuesday were not as bold as the markets were expecting.

　　France and Germany said they don’t want to increase the size of the European Union’s rescue fund, which is worth hundreds of billions of dollars. Some investors say it needs to value at least $2 trillion to be effective.

　　Iain Begg, a European economics expert with the London-based research group Chatham House, said Sarkozy and Merkel haven’t put “enough meat on the bones” of their proposal. He said that’s important because economic integration in Europe is vital.

　　When VOA asked him why, he replied, "Well, because it enables a much stronger defensive⁹ bulwark¹⁰ to be created to oppose the market's pressures, which have been so devastating¹¹ over the last 18 months. And it's also the sort of structure that is going to be more enduring in exactly the same way as in the U.S., where having a single treasury¹² bond is a very significant source of strength for the American economy."

　　But Begg said the process of integration is inevitably¹³ slow, not least because it often lacks popular support. He said, for example, that when it comes to doling¹⁴ out money, the population of Europe’s largest economy is hesitant.

　　"In Germany, for example, there is clearly strong opposition¹⁵ to the idea of their tax base somehow being responsible for the debts of other countries," he said. "In other countries you might find support for integration across something like the military sphere, and still they will look for closer integration on social issues. So you have to look at it dossier by dossier to find out what populations are really in favor of or opposed to."

　　Merkel and Sarkozy put forward a plan Tuesday for a Europe-wide tax on financial transactions.

1 chancellor   

n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长

参考例句：

• They submitted their reports to the Chancellor yesterday.他们昨天向财政大臣递交了报告。
• He was regarded as the most successful Chancellor of modern times.他被认为是现代最成功的财政大臣。

2 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

3 integration   

n.一体化，联合，结合

参考例句：

• We are working to bring about closer political integration in the EU.我们正在努力实现欧盟內部更加紧密的政治一体化。
• This was the greatest event in the annals of European integration.这是欧洲统一史上最重大的事件。

4 amendments   

（法律、文件的）改动( amendment的名词复数 )； 修正案； 修改； （美国宪法的）修正案

参考例句：

• The committee does not adequately consult others when drafting amendments. 委员会在起草修正案时没有充分征求他人的意见。
• Please propose amendments and addenda to the first draft of the document. 请对这个文件的初稿提出修改和补充意见。

5 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

6 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

7 volatile   

adj.反复无常的，挥发性的，稍纵即逝的，脾气火爆的；n.挥发性物质

参考例句：

• With the markets being so volatile,investments are at great risk.由于市场那么变化不定，投资冒着很大的风险。
• His character was weak and volatile.他这个人意志薄弱，喜怒无常。

8 consensus   

n.(意见等的)一致，一致同意，共识

参考例句：

• Can we reach a consensus on this issue?我们能在这个问题上取得一致意见吗？
• What is the consensus of opinion at the afternoon meeting?下午会议上一致的意见是什么？

9 defensive   

adj.防御的；防卫的；防守的

参考例句：

• Their questions about the money put her on the defensive.他们问到钱的问题，使她警觉起来。
• The Government hastily organized defensive measures against the raids.政府急忙布置了防卫措施抵御空袭。

10 bulwark   

n.堡垒，保障，防御

参考例句：

• That country is a bulwark of freedom.那个国家是自由的堡垒。
• Law and morality are the bulwark of society.法律和道德是社会的防御工具。

11 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

12 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

13 inevitably   

adv.不可避免地；必然发生地

参考例句：

• In the way you go on,you are inevitably coming apart.照你们这样下去，毫无疑问是会散伙的。
• Technological changes will inevitably lead to unemployment.技术变革必然会导致失业。

14 doling   

救济物( dole的现在分词 )； 失业救济金

参考例句：

• "What are you doling?'she once demanded over the intercom. 有一次他母亲通过对讲机问他：“你在干什么？ 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史
• Many scrollbars are quite parsimonious in doling out information to users. 很多滚动条都很吝啬，给用户传递的信息太少。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

15 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。