Excellent article on euro-zone, Keeble
Dear Editor,
Although it is certainly not my job to grade articles in the opinion section of Jamaican newspapers, let me congratulate Keeble McFarlane on his excellent article, “Jitters abound as the euro-zone faces uncertainty”, in the Observer of November 5.
I was very impressed by his summary, but very knowledgeable, description of the process of European unification. This includes his description of the origin of European unification out of the “wreckage and carnage of the Second World War” with a particular German responsibility to the following and on-going very successful process of European unification leading to the adoption of the euro and recently to the great challenges the euro-zone has been facing.
As you know, right now Germany and France together with our euro-zone partners are working day and night to solve the underlying economic problems (unsustainable fiscal policies and lack of competitiveness in some countries). Also, with the support of the IMF and our international partners, it is critical to provide the necessary funds to stabilise the weakest euro-zone countries now and subsequently help them to solve their problems in an ongoing process.
In spite of the enormous challenges we are facing, I am optimistic that Europe will in the end once more be able as it has so often been in the past to turn an existential challenge into a major step ahead.
Josef Beck
Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany
10 Waterloo Road
Kingston 10
germanembassy.kingston@gmail.com