There are three alternatives for fixing economic problems in the Eurozone area, according to Maxime Sbaihi, Eurzone Economist for Bloomberg. Sbaihi said the first option is to introduce the possibility for member states to restructure their debt. He notes that while debt restructuring isn’t banned by any treaties, it remains taboo. But Sbaihi pointed out it offers an alternative to prolonged austerity, while lifting the ambiguity that led to the mispricing of sovereign risk prior to the crisis. He said the trick is to alleviate some of the public debt burden in an orderly way, avoiding financial disruptions or moral hazard. Sbaihi also suggested that Europe fulfill the Capital Markets Union, which was launched by the European Commission last year. The union would create extra lending capacity to complement the banking union. Finally, Sbaihi supported the idea of creating competitiveness councils, which would result in a new oversight body in each member state. Its role would be to monitor competitiveness indicators, compare them with peers and eventually formulate wage proposals to employers and employee representatives. He said these non-binding recommendations would provide a valuable public touchstone for wage negotiations, which vary from one member state to another.
Subscribe to TheStreetTV on YouTube:
For more content from TheStreet visit:
Check out all our videos:
Follow TheStreet on Twitter:
Like TheStreet on Facebook:
Follow TheStreet on LinkedIn:
Follow TheStreet on Google+:
source
