Thread: German Politician: Euro Downgrade Is an American Plot

German Politician: Euro Downgrade Is an American Plot

2:32 PM, Dec 7, 2011 • By JOHN ROSENTHAL

Standard & Poor’s warning that no less than fifteen eurozone states, including Germany, could lose their AAA credit rating has been met with howls of protest from leading German politicians. The general secretary of the Social Democratic party (SPD), Andrea Nahles, described the Standard and Poor’s announcement as “shameless.â€

Merkel, Sarkozy to Europe: shelve your sovereignty, save the euro

The plan put forth from the German and French leaders to save the euro amounts to a call for European states to give up full control over their own spending.

By Dan Murphy, Staff writer / December 8, 2011


French President Nicolas Sarkozy smiles as he greets German Chancellor Angela Merkel prior to their meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, on Dec. 5 / Remy de la Mauviniere/AP

An end to sovereign control over European budgets. That was the big idea that Germany's Angela Merkel and France's Nicolas Sarkozy outlined in a letter to European Council President Herman Van Rompuy Wednesday.

The call for bracing, immediate change should lead to a fascinating day today, when European leaders gather in Brussels to discuss ways out of the euro crisis.

The Daily Telegraph is also reporting that Mr. Van Rompuy has written a paper to be discussed tomorrow on fiscal union, which calls for a "higher degree of surveillance and discipline in the conduct of national policies.â€