Roemer on the ECB: 'If the cap guns don’t work, you have to bring out the cannon'
Roemer on the ECB: 'If the cap guns don’t work, you have to bring out the cannon'
The European Central Bank’s decision to buy up unlimited quantities of state bonds comes as no surprise to SP leader Emile Roemer: 'It’s good that the ECB is now getting out its heavy artillery to tackle the speculators who are trying to destroy the euro,’ he says. ‘They are doing what I have long proposed. A question of sound judgement and of listening to what the international economists are saying. It’s a pity that the rest of the Dutch political parties never bother to look beyond our shores and prefer to rubbish my proposal. Next time they should think before they speak. A bit of friendly advice for our colleagues.’
According to Roemer the ECB’s decision to buy up unlimited quantities of state bonds is a step in the right direction in calling a halt to the speculators. ‘But we should be going further,’ he adds, ‘and subjecting the financial markets to effective restraint. That’s the source of the crisis. If we do this, we can also start working for a social Europe, in which we don’t destroy everything through cuts but instead invest as well in jobs and in growth.’