• Home
  • About
  • Subscribe
  • LATIF
  • Conferences
  • Dashboard
  • Edit My Profile
  • Log In
  • Logout
  • Register
  • Edit this post

Room 151

  • 151 BRIEF

    What's New?

  • Slough welcomes commitment that Office for Local Government ‘will not be a burden’

    June 30, 2022

  • Homes England agrees strategic partnership with two authorities

    June 29, 2022

  • Soaring inflation and pay pressures to add £3.6bn to council budgets

    June 28, 2022

  • Underfunded social care reforms could ‘exacerbate workforce pressures’

    June 27, 2022

  • Nottingham City Council leader labels proposed intervention as ‘disappointing’

    June 27, 2022

  • Government preparing to intervene in Nottingham City Council

    June 23, 2022

  • Treasury
  • Technical
  • Funding
  • Resources
  • LGPS
  • Development
  • 151 News
  • Blogs
    • David Green
    • Agent 151
    • Dan Bates
    • Richard Harbord
    • Stephen Sheen
    • James Bevan
    • Steve Bishop
    • Cllr John Clancy
    • David Crum
    • Graham Liddell
    • Ian O’Donnell
    • Jackie Shute
  • Interviews
  • Briefs

A European pantomime

0
  • by David Green
  • in Blogs · David Green · Recent Posts
  • — 16 Dec, 2011

It’s mid December and we are well and truly into Pantomime season.  Those of us who didn’t get to the local theatre to see Jack and the Beanstalk last weekend were treated instead to the farce of Europe’s leaders trying once more to solve the Eurozone crisis.

Much attention has been focused on David Cameron (dressed as Dick Whittington, maybe) claiming that the streets of London are paved with gold and demanding safeguards for the City’s financial services industry.  “I’ll veto your treaty if I don’t get my way”, he shouted to the audience.  “Oh no you won’t”, they replied.  “Oh yes I will”, countered Dave, and promptly did so.

But the real storyline is how little was achieved at the summit and how quickly even that is unravelling.  Like Peter Pan, the boy who never grew up, many of the main actors are living in Neverland and looking for the Goldilocks solution.  Daddy Bear’s idea of letting the ECB buy unlimited quantities of peripheral government debt is too hot for Germans to stomach, while Mummy Bear’s proposal for central oversight of national budgets is too cold for the French.  We’re all waiting on the edge of our seats for the one that’s “just right”.

Contrary to initial reports, Britain was not the only ugly sister at the ball − other non-eurozone countries including the Czech Republic, Hungary, Sweden and Denmark all agreed in principle to the inter-governmental treaty last week, but are now retreating slowly. Many are worried that they might end up surrendering too much sovereignty to the European Commission’s big bad wolf.

And let’s not forget that many of the proposals on budget deficits in the latest accord are already enshrined in the 1992 Maastrict Treaty.  This time round they are just coming with slightly firmer promises to actually follow the rules.

Another hurdle in the yellow brick road leading to the final solution is the question of whether the EU’s institutions can be used to develop and then monitor this proposed non-EU treaty.  If it does all come crashing down at their feet, you know who will get the blame − it will be “fee fi fo fum, I smell the blood of an Englishman”.

David Green is the Head of Sterling Consultancy Services, a provider of treasury management advice to local authorities and other not for profit organisations.  This is the writer’s personal opinion and does not constitute investment advice.  It should not be relied upon when making investment decisions.

Share

You may also like...

  • New realities of investing cash and liquidity: “What to do now?” 13th Jan, 2021
  • Room151’s 10th Anniversary: A decade has seen systemic change to funding while core values are more important than ever 8th Nov, 2021
  • Prudential Code brings ‘clarity’ to investment strategies 14th Jan, 2022
  • Room151’s 10th Anniversary: A treasury decade that saw borrowing double and investments transformed 25th Nov, 2021

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

  • 151 BRIEFS – WHAT’s NEW?

    • Homes England agrees strategic partnership with two authorities
    • Soaring inflation and pay pressures to add £3.6bn to council budgets
    • Underfunded social care reforms could ‘exacerbate workforce pressures’
    • Nottingham City Council leader labels proposed intervention as ‘disappointing’
    • Government preparing to intervene in Nottingham City Council
  • Room151’s LGPS Roundtables

    Biodiversity
    Valuations & Risk
    LGPS Women

  • Room151’s LGPS Roundtables

    Biodiversity
    LGPS Women
    Valuations & Risk
  • Latest tweets

    Room151 4 days ago

    Hillier confirmed as keynote speaker for LATIF/FDs’ Summit: Dame Meg Hillier, chair of the Public Accounts Committee, has been confirmed as a keynote speaker for Room151’s combined Local Authority Treasurers Investment Forum (LATIF) and FDs Summit. The… dlvr.it/ST70F7 pic.twitter.com/hxV676Iley

    Room151 4 days ago

    Councils’ funding at risk due to ‘undercounting’ in census data: Population estimates in London and Manchester may have been significantly underestimated in the 2021 census potentially threatening government funding for frontline services in these… dlvr.it/ST707J pic.twitter.com/VncIyaXa01

    Room151 6 days ago

    Gove at LGA: councils to receive two-year financial settlement: Michael Gove has announced that councils will receive a two-year financial settlement from next year to provide authorities with “financial certainty” and allow them to plan ahead. The… dlvr.it/ST0kSV pic.twitter.com/wxL3UM4sGO

    Room151 6 days ago

    LGPS valuations: the digital journey: Rob Bilton explains how technology is helping to deliver one of the most complex data exercises in the world of public sector pensions. The 2022 valuations for LGPS funds in[...] dlvr.it/ST0kMq pic.twitter.com/VxjSPC2Uvo

    Room151 1 week ago

    Conrad Hall: ‘more sophisticated’ regulation needed for local government: The chair of the CIPFA/LASAAC Code Board has questioned the sophistication of financial regulation in local government and the continuing focus of the Department for Levelling Up,… dlvr.it/SSnPBV pic.twitter.com/G5d7JCWF8c

    Room151 2 weeks ago

    Slough Council approves plans to restructure finance department: Slough Borough Council has approved plans to restructure its finance department to enhance capacity and capability and to address a “significant weakness” in the function. The local… dlvr.it/SSf8DG pic.twitter.com/l5lmyHmkBg

  • Register to become a Room151 user

  • Previous story Warwickshire’s Phil Triggs enters Room151
  • Next story UK growth analysis

© Copyright 2022 Room 151. Typegrid Theme by WPBandit.

0 shares