With the continuation of violence in the middle east and the tragic events in Japan taking most of the headline space, it may be tempting to think that the Eurozone debt crisis had been solved. It hasn’t. Even after today’s European Central Bank’s call to support a draft making the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) a permanent fixture, the matter of Eurozone debt is far from settled.
The ECB issued a statement urging EU countries to support the ESM’s stated goal of providing “temporary financial support to Member States whose currency is the euro experiencing impaired access to market financingâ€.
The call for support comes just days after ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet argued for greater punitive sanctions against Eurozone debtor nations.
“Member states should need to make a payment following the first violation of the criteria, and face a penalty for repeat offences,†Trichet told Der Spiegel. “We will not do this for ever. This measure is, like all our extraordinary measures, temporary.â€
