Roberto Abraham Scaruffi

Monday 27 August 2012


SPIEGEL ONLINE INTERNATIONAL NEWSLETTER
Compiled on August 27, 2012, 06:07 PM CET
The Bundesbank against the World

German Central Bank Opposes Euro Strategy

The European Central Bank plans to resume buying the bonds of crisis-hit countries on a large scale. Jens Weidmann, head of the German central bank, is firmly opposed to the idea, arguing that it will lead to inflation and lessen pressure on governments to carry out reforms. But he is becoming increasingly isolated within the ECB and in the political world.

'Weigh Words Very Carefully'

Merkel Says Aggressive Euro Rhetoric Must Stop

German Chancellor Angela Merkel told members of her coalition on Sunday to curb their rhetoric in the euro crisis. A member of the CSU party had said Greece would be out of the euro in 2013 and that the head of the European Central Bank was on his way to becoming the "currency forger of Europe."

Grexit Showdown

Greece's Fate to Be Decided at October EU Summit

European leaders are unconvinced that the Greek government's austerity efforts will produce quick results. Greece's fate is now likely to be decided at the EU summit in October. The country's European partners will have to choose among a number of equally unattractive alternatives.

The Future of Europe

Merkel Pushes for Convention to Draft New EU Treaty

Chancellor Angela Merkel's plans for a new treaty governing the European Union are becoming more concrete. SPIEGEL has learned that the German leader wants the EU to begin working on a draft this year, with the aim of providing Brussels with greater power to monitor budgets. But many countries are deeply opposed to the idea.

'Poverty Returning'

Unilever Cuts Package Sizes in Euro Crisis

Consumer goods giant Unilever is now offering smaller packages to keep pace with the thinner wallets of its European customers. The company says the strategy comes from the developing economies in Asia and is vital now that "poverty is returning to Europe," as one manager says.

Exporting a Success Story

Germany to Help Train Europe's Jobless Youth 

Germany's national employment agency plans to help young people in ailing euro-zone states to secure vocational training and jobs in their own countries and in Germany. It plans to hold a conference with agencies from Greece, Spain, Italy, Portugal and eastern EU members in January to find areas for cooperation.

Twenty Years of Failure

Why Germany Isn't Rooting Out its Neo-Nazis

Far-right violence against immigrants has become endemic in parts of Germany and that won't change anytime soon. The public and the police are too often indifferent to extremism, despite the risk it poses to the country's reputation. Deep down, Germany still hasn't grasped that it needs to embrace its minorities.

The World from Berlin

German President Demands 'Courage' in Face of Racism

German President Joachim Gauck on Sunday demanded courage from civilians and more action from officials to prevent a repeat of the orgy of racist violence that shook Rostock two decades ago. Commentators say the speech said too little on the amount of racism still prevalent in German society.

Go Trabi Go!

German Show Gives Stage to Communist-Era Cars

A show over the weekend in Saxony offered a glimpse at around 550 vintage cars produced between 1949 and 1990 in socialist countries in Eastern Europe. The event offered an increasingly rare glimpse of life 20 years ago.

Picture This

Purple Haze