Hurry up Europe - The Clock is Ticking

I'm sitting in Brussels today for the EU Summit and it feels like the eyes of the world are on this city... and they are.

I'm sitting in Brussels today for the EU Summit and it feels like the eyes of the world are on this city... and they are.

This morning I logged onto the New York Times and the US edition has the Summit as its lead story. After months and months of this Greek tragedy playing out, US editors have decided this is now breakfast table reading for middle America.

Cicero's Washington team watched as policymakers testified before US Congress yesterday. It is particularly worth reading Brooking's fellow Douglas Elliott's testimony. He highlights US jobs and growth being at risk to the tune of $400bn in bilateral trade with Europe.

Politicians in Washington are getting worried. President Obama does not want to turn up at the G20 in Cannes in 10 days time with continued vacillation from EU leaders. This will only play badly for the President at home. No sign of leadership on the domestic front and no move by the US to intervene to solve an international crisis - the American electorate usually expects that.

So the Ecofin meeting of finance ministers has been cancelled and the blame game has already started before the EU leaders have even arrived here for tonight's meetings. The lack of detail in any deal remains astounding.

Late last night the EU Commission was insisting on #newsnight that a deal would be done today. While the final communique might present yet another political 'roadmap' - what markets want to see is the real economic detail. Financial institutions are not going to sign up to fuzzy, open-ended commitments. Perhaps it is time for the IMF or the G20 to take charge and lead the way.

Hurry up Europe - the clock continues to tick.

Close

What's Hot