By Kate Connolly, Ian Traynor and Siobhan Dowling – Leipzig is one of the success stories of reunification. New roads, rail links and a redeveloped airport have sucked in investment and international companies. But none of it would have happened without a colossal 20-year bailout that has already cost the west €1.3tn. “Without the transfers from the west, it would not have been possible.”
The German merger model is not a template that can be applied on a European scale. When the euro was being created 25 years ago, the then chancellor, Helmut Kohl, used to argue that German and European unification were two sides of the same coin. The euro crisis has punctured that notion. more> http://tinyurl.com/984eslh
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- “The Euro Crisis May Last 20 Years” – The European Headlines Are Back (zerohedge.com)
- Bernhard Schlink: being German is a huge burden, Kate Connolly, guardian.co.uk
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