Euro and dollar” “seen by someone in the EU and someone about” “to join it” “
In the short time of its existence, the Euro has generated a series of emotional highs and lows for the Europeans, especially over the last few months, ever since it became the single currency in the countries of the Euro zone.For some days now, the Euro and the dollar have had the same value. But does the same go for the two different economies? The analysts are agreed on the fact that the current Euro-dollar parity is especially due to a weakness of the dollar, and consequently to a weakness of the US economy, rather than to the power of the European economy. The interdependence of the European economic area with that of the USA is revealed also in this.The current tendency, and its repercussions on the European currency, completely ignores the need to reform the European economies. Let us not be deceived by monetary rates of exchange; the objectives hitherto ignored from the structural reforms in pension systems to the labour market to obtain a greater growth and hence higher employment, especially in the larger member countries such as Germany and Italy, must be pursued and achieved as a matter of urgency. The economies of Europe and the USA are interlinked and each must simultaneously take its own responsibilities in terms of growth and employment. That also goes from a political viewpoint. Of course, the transoceanic link between the European states and the USA represents a mainstay for the global order. It has underwritten the maintenance of peace since 1945 and continues to do so in reunited Europe. For this we can be grateful to the Americans. Perhaps this impression is particularly strong in the central and eastern European states that combine their own desire to enter NATO with the hope of becoming in future protagonists with equal rights of the maintenance of transatlantic peace, of the order that has guaranteed the states of Western Europe some sixty years of peace, freedom and democracy. At the same time, however, it is predictable that Europe should increasingly assume her own responsibilities in the world, as she did in contributing to the peace process in the Balkans. That does not mean that Europe ought to have the role of a new superpower, almost in competition with the USA. It means that Europe has a new responsibility to commit herself as far as she is able to do so to the cause of peace, freedom, democracy and human rights in Europe and in the world. Their shared history and shared values ensure that the USA and the European states are friends and allies. Their common commitment to human rights, peace, security and democracy is the factor that unites this transoceanic partnership. By comparison, the monetary exchange rates and the trade wars have a far lesser impact.Thomas Wallenhorst expert church and society sector German Episcopal ConferenceThe consequences of the parity between the dollar and the euro for the countries of Eastern Europe will depend on how long this trend will continue and on whether the euro becomes even stronger. If it remains at this level, no radical changes can be foreseen. The Western Europeans are concerned by the consequences of the strength of the euro in relation to the dollar, only for a question of prestige, and in this they exaggerate a bit. At the beginning people said that the US economy was strong and the European economy weak. But after September 11 everything has changed. Now the European economy is in better shape, and that is important. Also at the time of the introduction of the Euro people were not happy; it has taken time for this attitude to change. We therefore need to wait for people to become used to it. The euro means not having foreign exchange problems; it means having easier economic contacts. People must progressively increase their confidence in the new currency.Cesar Krolak expert in economics and finance of polish state radio (polskie radio)
