The U.K. Telelgraph claims that a 6 pp German Foreign Office memo has been leaked that claims Germans should be able to control how other EU countries run their finances. They call it a “Stability Union” that leans toward a political union with spending and tax plans set in Brussels. The European Stability Fund should turn into the IMF run by the U.S. Only this one would be run by Germany. It would grant Germany and people like Wolfgang Schauble the power to take full control of an errant country like Greece. If countries don’t obey, they could get permission to intervene from the European Court of Justice. Germany could impose fines to protect the euro, which is really the mark.
If this is true, it is short-sighted. They think they have teeth if they go to the European Court of Justice. But what if the Greeks still don’t obey? What if it goes beyond violent protests in the streets of Athens? What if civil war erupts in Greece over whether foreigners should be in charge. Is Germany prepared to send in the troops?