Talk to the shovel

The levy on savers in Cyprus banks is a worrying new development in the Eurozone crisis. Supposedly to teach savers not to save with dodgy banks, instead it is punishing ordinary people by relieving them of at least 6.75% of their savings in return for shares in those dodgy banks. The natural result is that they are all rushing to withdraw their money, with the help of a JCB in one case. If the ECB thinks that savers in other Eurozone countries will not be following suit and stuffing money under their mattresses, they are extremely naive. And if the Germans think that their insistence on this measure will not fan already smoldering resentment against them into roaring flames, they are mad. They have picked on Cyprus, rather than the PIGS, because it is small, weak and has reportedly been a sink for laundered money. Now the plug has been well and truly pulled, the dirty money will go elsewhere and honest savers will be the poorer. The Germans seem to think that is a price worth paying in order to send a tough message to feckless economies - their Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble called the levy part of the "fair" distribution of the bailout's burden. Try telling that to the JCB driver.

Tell them where to go Dave!

Oh great. Yesterday the Americans were expressing concern over our possible exit from the EU. Now we have the Germans weighing in and telling us we're better off in Europe. Well they would say that, wouldn't they! They don't want to lose one of the few net contributors to the project. Unemployment in Spain is around 25%, Greece is an economic ruin and yet we're supposed to believe that being a part of the EU is economically beneficial. What rot. We've clearly got the Germans worried, judging by their scare-mongering tactics, but they have a cheek to tell us we can't renegotiate treaties when they are busy rewriting the rules of the Eurozone, with an impact on all member countries of the EU. Calton's German does not extend to the equivalent of "butt out" but that is definitely what Dave should be saying to Angela. Schnell!

Staying in the EU is nonsense

It just does not make sense for the SNP to keep complaining that, as part of the UK, they do not have all the fiscal levers needed to help the economy, while all the while they are determined to stay/become part of the EU if Scotland becomes independent, especially in the light of Frau Merkel's most recent comments in which she stated that the EU should have "real rights to intervene in national budgets". Which of those seven rather frightening words does Alex Salmond not understand? Is it only unacceptable to the SNP when England intervenes in Scottish affairs but it's OK if Europe does it? Who would you rather have sticking an oar into our budget - England or Germany? Calton would rather have the former any day of the week. If our First Minister truly wants independence he needs to go for our own bank and our own currency and stay out of the EU. Anything else is just nonsense.

Out of the Eurozone

Anyone who still thinks that joining the Eurozone is not a one-way ticket to loss of sovereignty must have their head stuck so far in the sand it's popping up in New Zealand. EU Council President Herman Van Rompuy, the man responsible for providing the EU's political direction, has made it clear that the single currency is irreversible. So much for Greece being able to bail out. And so much for German posturing about not being responsible for southern Europe's debts. When push comes to shove, as it did last night, preservation of the Euro comes out top and the Eurozone is one step further along the road to political, as well as financial, integration. Which is exactly where Van Rompuy, a fan of global governance, wants it. Calton can feel a Farage-style rant coming on when he considers that this Belgian unknown, who has just been chosen for another 30 month term not by the people of Europe but only by the 27 heads of the EU member states, can wield so much power behind the scenes. If Salmond doesn't want to become a puppet, he will follow the Great Broon's lead and keep well out of the Eurozone.

Winning independence only to lose sovereignty?

If Angela Merkel's comments on European integration were not frightening enough, we now have the president of the German Bundesbank, Jens Weidmann, saying that "In the event of a country not abiding by the budgetary rules, national sovereignty would be automatically transferred to the European level on a scale that can ensure compliance with the objectives." What exactly he means by the 'European level' is unclear, however what is totally clear is that, in return for Germany propping them up financially, Eurozone countries will have to toe the German line with regard to their spending or else face losing their financial sovereignty. Now, given that the SNP want Scotland to be an independent nation in order to have control (ie sovereignty) over her own financial affairs, does it make sense to consider even for one moment becoming part of the Eurozone? Of course it doesn't. Unless, of course, the SNP have got so used to being able to blame someone else for not allowing them all the fiscal levers they need to manage Scotland's economy that they can't cope with the responsibility which sovereignty would bring.

No to the EU - yes to the Groat

Calton has long been saying that if we truly want independence, we need to have our own currency. Better Nation agrees with this in a recent post. Where Calton differs with them is in their view that it would be unthinkable for Scotland to be outside of the EU. Why? Do they really think that a small nation like Scotland is going to have much of a voice in an EU increasingly dominated by Germany? Why should Scots vote Yes to independence from the rest of the UK simply to be part of a larger union? It doesn't make sense. What does make sense to Calton is an independent Scotland, with its own currency, outside the EU. If the SNP can't offer that, we'd be better off voting No.

Willie Rennie gets it

When, oh when, are the SNP going to realise that they will not have the full range of fiscal powers that they want if Scotland does not have its own currency? John Swinney is talking through his hat. If he wants 'real independence' he needs to go the whole hog and cut loose from both Westminster and Brussels. We can't have an independent monetary or fiscal policy while tied to sterling or the euro. It just doesn't work. Sharing a currency with another country means agreeing on spending limits, interest rates, acceptable inflation and so on and so on (if we are lucky). If we are unlucky it means having our fiscal policy dictated to us by Germany. If Willie Rennie can grasp that then surely the Finance Secretary can grasp it. No?

Information on the EU

For those who wish to know why Calton is not a fan of the EU, read this report by Stratfor.

Frau Merkel wants to have her kuchen and eat it

Calton makes no apology for once again commenting on events beyond the borders of Scotland because, with our First Minister's avowed desire to see Scotland at the top table in Europe, we ignore what is happening there at our peril. Today the European Central Bank gave out 489bn Euros-worth of 3-year loans to European banks at 1% interest and with lower collateral requirements which is the equivalent of your bank lending you £2000 at 1% for a clapped out old car. The hope is that the banks will use the money to buy up the debt of the likes of Spain and Italy, thus making the ECB a lender to sovereign nations at one remove. In other words, we are only one step away from seeing the ECB become a national bank for the nation of Eurozone, ie fiscal union. And fiscal union means political union. As Angela Merkel said to the Bundestag early this month - "We have started a new phase in European integration ... we aren't just talking about a fiscal union, rather, we have begun creating one." However in the same speech, she also said "A joint liability for others' debts is not acceptable", reiterating the German opposition to the introduction of Eurobonds. This is because, while the Germans want fiscal union, they don't want to be responsible for the debts of other nations like Greece and Spain. A case of the Germans wanting to have their cake and eat it then.

(See also Stephanie Flanders on the BBC News website.)

Wohnen Sie Deutsch sprechen?

Calton must be getting clairvoyant. Yesterday he posted about a Greater Germany and, lo, today the German Foreign Minister is quoted on the BBC news website as saying "For us, Europe is not only our destiny but also our desire. It is the lesson we learnt. Please understand for us Europe is much more than a currency or a single market... It is a political union we want." If that doesn't strike fear into your heart it's hard to imagine what would. Calton kann Deutsch sprechen enough to buy a beer in Munchen but he doesn't want to see it become Scotland's national language!

Something fishy in the state of Europe

Calton has always thought that 'independence in Europe' is a contradiction in terms. Why cut loose from a democratically elected parliament in Westminster only to submit to an unelected bureaucracy in Brussels? Do we really want to become part of a Greater Germany, the creation of which is the only way forward if the Euro is to survive? David Cameron has very sensibly told Merkozy where to go, in order to protect the City of London. Would that someone would do the same to protect what's left of the Scottish fishing industry!