Jim Flaherty lambastes European leaders for “wasted” time
Germany dampened investors’ hopes on Monday that an upcoming meeting of EU leaders would bring a comprehensive solution to the euro zone’s sovereign debt woes. “We won’t have a definitive solution this weekend,” German finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said in Duesseldorf today, in reference to the October 23 EU summit. The remark softened a rally in the financial markets that had pushed the euro to a new one-month high against the dollar and European stocks to a 10-week peak. A plan that will address not only Greece’s crisis but the full scope of the euro zone’s woes is what private European banks are demanding from policymakers in exchange for accepting steep losses tied to a planned restructuring of Athens’ debt. Meanwhile, Canada’s Finance Minister Jim Flaherty warned in a speech on Monday that “time is running out” on dithering European leaders. “What will it take for Europe to take decisive action and put an end to this crisis, once and for all?” Flaherty said. “Too much time has been wasted, too many opportunities have been missed.”