EU Implementing Border and Capital Controls to Stop People Fleeing With Their Money
Politics / Eurozone Debt Crisis Jun 08, 2012 - 07:20 AM GMTBy: Graham_Summers
The EU in its current form is finished. Done. Game Over. I’ve been saying this for months. But it’s a fact. Europe has literally run out of money. Indeed, the ECB’s interventions are now not only toxic for those participating in them (those banks taking money via the LTRO have been crushed in the credit market) but are losing their impact (LTRO bought only one month of market gains).
Again, the EU is finished. And the powers that be know this. Indeed, the following should give you an idea of how serious things are getting:
A Vote of No Confidence in Europe
Germany and France’s joint proposal to allow Schengen-zone countries to temporarily reintroduce border controls as a means of last resort might sound harmless. But doing so would damage one of the strongest symbols of European unity and perhaps even contribute to the EU’s demise.
Germany and France are serious this time. During next week’s meeting of European Union interior ministers, the two countries plan to start a discussion about reintroducing national border controls within the Schengen zone. According to the German daily Süddeutsche Zeitung, German Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich and his French counterpart, Claude Guéant, have formulated a letter to their colleagues in which they call for governments to once again be allowed to control their borders as “an ultima ratio” — that is, measure of last resort — “and for a limited period of time.” They reportedly go on to recommend 30-days for the period.
This story has been almost completely ignored by the mainstream media. Let me ask you this… do you think Germany and others are really concerned about an influx of migrants? Of course not, the whole idea is ridiculous. Italy was supposedly upset about 25,000 migrants from North Africa… Italy has a population of 65 MILLION!
No, the move to create border controls is about one thing only: stopping people from fleeing with their money when the collapse comes. The political elite in Europe are watching the bank runs in Spain and Greece and know that when the big Crash comes similar runs will occur throughout the EU.
Consider the following story and you’ll see what I mean:
Swiss eye capital controls if Greece goes
The Swiss National Bank is considering imposing capital controls on foreign deposits if Greece leaves the euro, as the franc comes under heavy demand from investors seeking a haven in Europe.
Speaking to Swiss media, Thomas Jordan, head of the Swiss central bank, said the Swiss government and the SNB were looking at ways of dealing with an expected flood of foreign money into the country in the event of a Greek exit from the eurozone.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/d7678676-a810-11e1-8fbb-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1wNKR2leW
Potential border controls in the EU and capital controls in safe haven Switzerland to stop inflows of funds? If that doesn’t tell you point blank that the political elite in the EU are scared stiff, nothing will.
Indeed, Germany has made a massive power grab to control most of Europe’s finances… but under one condition: it be given access to other members’ gold reserves as collateral.
Europe’s debtors must pawn their gold for Eurobond Redemption
Southern Europe’s debtor states must pledge their gold reserves and national treasure as collateral under a €2.3 trillion stabilisation plan gaining momentum in Germany.
The German scheme — known as the European Redemption Pact — offers a form of “Eurobonds Lite” that can be squared with the German constitution and breaks the political logjam. It is a highly creative way out of the debt crisis, but is not a soft option for Italy, Spain, Portugal, and other states in trouble.
The plan is drafted by the German Council of Economic Experts and inspired by Alexander Hamilton’s Sinking Fund in the United States — created in 1790 to clean up the morass of debts left by the Revolutionary War. Flourishing Virginia was comparable to Germany today…
The plan splits the public debts of EMU states. Anything up to the Maastricht limit of 60pc of GDP would remain sovereign. Anything over 60pc would be transfered gradually into the redemption fund. This would be covered by joint bonds.
Italy would switch €958bn, Germany €578bn, France €498bn, and so forth. The total was €2.326 trillion as of November but is rising fast as Europe’s slump corrupts debt dynamics. The sinking fund would slowly retire debt over twenty years, using designated tithes akin to Germany’s “Solidarity Surcharge”.
In effect, Germany would share its credit card to slash debt costs for Italy, Spain and others. Yet it is the exact opposition of fiscal union. While eurobonds are a federalising catalyst, the fund would be temporary and self-extinguishing. “The fund is a return to the discipline of Maastricht with sovereign control over budgets,” said Dr Benjamin Weigert, the Council of Experts’s general-secretary…
The fund implies a big sacrifice for Germany. Its interest costs on joint debt would be much higher than today’s safe-haven rate of 1.37pc on 10-year Bunds. Jefferies Fixed Income says it would cost 0.6pc of German GDP annually. The Council of Experts — or `Five Wise Men’ — argue that this would be modest compared to the growth adrenaline of rescusitating monetary union.
Yet it is not charity either. One official said a key motive is to relieve the European Central Bank of its duties as chief fire-fighter. “We have got to get the ECB out of the game of distributing money, and separate fiscal and monetary policy. Germany has only two votes on the ECB Council and has no way to control consolidation,” he said.
Germany would have a lockhold over the fund, able to enforce discipline. Each state would have to pledge 20pc of their debt as collateral. “The assets could be taken from the country’s currency and gold reserves. The collateral nominated would only be used in the event that a country does not meet its payment obligations,” said the proposal.
Folks, the EU End Game is now officially in play. Germany has played its hand: if you want us to foot the bill we want your Gold. This tells us:
1) Germany is aware that most EU Sovereign bonds and paper are garbage (this is confirmed by the fact that Germany has passed legislation allowing its own banks to dump EU Sovereign bonds into a bailout fund during a Crisis).
2) Germany will only put up more money if it’s granted fiscal control of the EU and Gold bullion as collateral.
3) Germany is the REAL monetary power in Europe (not the ECB).
I believe this is Germany’s final push for EU control. If this fails and Germany ceases to offer additional bailout funds in some form then the EU will collapse (as noted earlier, the ECB, IMF, and US Fed cannot prop the EU up nor will the ESM mega bailout fund work). Spain’s literally on the verge of seeing a bank holiday. Germany is the only one who might have the funds to prop it up. And Germany wants gold.
In plain terms, the EU will likely not last through the summer. It’s literally GAME OVER time. Various proposals will crop up (such as Germany’s “cash for Gold” program), but no one (not even Germany) actually has the funds to support the avalanche of banking failures that is coming.
THIS is why various countries are moving to put border and capital controls in place. They know the game is up. It’s now just a matter of time before things go from ugly to truly disastrous.
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Good Investing!
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Previously, Graham worked as a Senior Financial Analyst covering global markets for several investment firms in the Mid-Atlantic region. He’s lived and performed research in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and the United States.
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