HispanicBusiness

There are not just negative things in the euro crisis, because it is pushing Europe into making a new leap forward, just as in the days of the birth of the single currency.

The EU Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs between 2004 and 2010, and now [the Commissioner] responsible for Competition, Spain's Joaquin Almunia is at the centre of the debt- banks cyclone. And he insisted that it is necessary to interrupt, as soon as possible, the perverse circle that unites them. It will take time, but the Brussels summit made the right decisions.

[Cerretelli] After a decade of successes, the euro now finds itself placed on the ropes by a smaller-scale crisis, the Greek crisis. Why is this?

[Almunia] The debt crisis has had a very major impact in Greece. But it has also had two consequences. The contagion effect that first involved Ireland and Portugal, and that is now affecting Spain and Italy. Also, it showed the shortcomings of monetary union: We knew that it lacked instruments, but not that it was so important to complete the tool-kit with banking union and fiscal union. Thus in the end we return to the point where we started. Monetary union began life from a strong political decision, the same decision which today is necessary to refound it.

[Cerretelli] What do you mean, in concrete terms?

[Almunia] The governments have to explain to ordinary members of the public that the decisions which in the past used to belong to the national sphere must be transferred to the eurozone, or to Europe. It is a different way of sharing sovereignty, due to the dynamic of European integration. What was true for centuries, namely that the best way to protect one's interests is to keep decisions at the national level, is now no longer true.

[Cerretelli] Nobody was under any illusion that the implementation of the decisions made at the recent summit in Brussels was all downhill. But the immediate guerrilla warfare...

[Almunia] The European summit succeeded in adopting important decisions. The urgent decisions relating to the capital and debt market, and the banks, with the intention of severing the link between the debt crisis and banks' finances. And the medium-to long- term decisions, in line with the plan by the four Presidents, the Presidents of the [European] Commission, the EU Council, the ECB, and the Eurogroup, who will explain their ideas at the October summit. I hope that this political will becomes stronger in the future. Because we have to make progress at every summit, without running aground on the obstacles.

[Cerretelli] But on the anti-spread shield, one of the short- term anti-crisis measures, strong reticence is taking shape.

[Almunia] The accord was adopted by everyone at the summit. I don't see how it can be disputed at a lower political level than that of heads of government. Now the Eurogroup and the ECB must implement it. But there is no point concealing the difficulties which lie in the details.

[Cerretelli] If one looks at the fundamentals and compares them to those of Britain, the United States, and Japan, the eurozone's economy is in no way worse on the question of deficit and debt. Why are the markets persecuting Europe?

[Almunia] Owing to uncertainty over the ability of monetary union to get stronger compared to Maastricht. Owing to the scant