06-09-2003 08:30									#1
	The Italians are a sensible people Support Apolyton, buy Call to Power 2

quote: France, Germany 'should be fined' MILAN, Italy (Reuters) -- France and Germany should be fined if they cannot bring their 2004 budget deficits under the EU's limit of three percent of gross domestic product, EU Competition Commissioner Mario Monti said in an interview on Friday. Monti, speaking to Italian business daily Il Sole 24 Ore, said sanctions on the EU's two largest economies, in accordance with provisions outlined in the bloc's Stability and Growth Pact, would not weigh on European growth. "When there are rules, they must be applied correctly and equally to all, to big countries and little countries,'' Monti was quoted as saying. "If the objective conditions are there...sanctions will be triggered.'' Germany told the EU last week it expected its 2003 budget deficit would reach 3.8 percent of GDP after 3.5 percent in 2002, although many private forecasters expect the deficit to exceed four percent this year. France has already said it expects to break the stability pact's limit on deficits of three percent of GDP for the second year running this year, and on Tuesday raised the prospect of busting the limit again in 2004. Monti said sanctions would be a strong signal to European countries, both inside and outside the budget deficit cap. "(Sanctions) would not have a heavy financial effect, so they would not slow growth,'' Monti said. "It would maintain confidence in the euro without having a recessionary backlash on the economy.'' Monti added Italy's attempts to overhaul its pension system could help it encourage economic growth by removing a "sword of Damocles'' from over the heads of workers and pensioners. "This should remove a brake on consumption,'' he said, but added sufficient competition was still lacking in Italy. "It seems to me that Italian life is characterised by great bitterness in the relations between political parties, taking attention away from the things considered necessary, this is to say the creation of a system capable of carrying forward new initiatives.''

http://edition.cnn.com/2003/BUSINES...reut/index.html

Wow, first Berlusconi and now this guy. Italy is turning out some very intelligent statesmen.

Godspeed, Mario Monti! All those who believe in fairness and justice stand behind you.

	06-09-2003 08:34									#3
	Support Apolyton, buy Galactic Civilizations: Deluxe Edition

Any praise for Berlusconi is more than he deserves.

	06-09-2003 08:35									#4
	The Italians are a sensible people Support Apolyton, buy Galactic Civilizations: Deluxe Edition

Ma certo.

	06-09-2003 08:39									#5
	Avatar Enlargement: We've got the solution

quote: Any praise for Berlusconi is more than he deserves.

What can I say? I'm a generous man.

	06-09-2003 08:48									#6
	Suffering from ads?

Here here!

The Italians are smart! Or getting smarter:

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tm...urope_america_1

"The war has made the trans-Atlantic disconnect so significant that large chunks of public opinion in France (70 percent), Germany and Italy (both 50 percent), Portugal (44 percent) now see U.S leadership as undesirable, the poll showed."

...

"The American president polled a 40-percent support level in Italy (down from 57 percent), 58 percent in Poland (down from 62 percent) and 41 percent in Portugal which was not polled in 2002, according to the survey."

	06-09-2003 10:16									#7
	Re: The Italians are a sensible people Support Apolyton, buy Call to Power 2

quote: Originally posted by Drake Tungsten Godspeed, Mario Monti! All those who believe in fairness and justice stand behind you.

	06-09-2003 10:17									#8
	Tired of ads?

Ummm, what's the point of suing someone because they have too much debt?

	06-09-2003 10:18									#9
	Lose 30 kilos (of popups)

More proof that a European Superpower will never exist.

	06-09-2003 12:11									#10
	Inflate your Upload Space

this thread title is racist.

you cannot generalize an entire race of people- even if it is postively. For instance, it is wrong to say black men have large penises.

	06-09-2003 12:24									#11
	Support Apolyton buy from Amazon

"Italian" isn't a race.

	06-09-2003 12:25									#12
	Browse Apolyton AD-FREE

quote: Originally posted by Comrade Tassadar More proof that a European Superpower will never exist.

We Americans have known that since the end of World War II.

	06-09-2003 12:26									#13
	Support Apolyton

quote: Originally posted by Dissident For instance, it is wrong to say black men have large penises.

MING!!!! DISSIDENT JUST SAID......

	06-09-2003 12:35									#14
	Remove this text

sure Italians are a race. Why wouldn't they be?

	06-09-2003 12:39									#15
	Inflate your Upload Space

quote: sure Italians are a race. Why wouldn't they be?

"Italian" is a nationality, not a race. Racism is bad, but nationalism is fun.

For example, I think that all Russians are ignorant drunks who secretly lust after Mormon women.

That's not racism, it's pure fun!

	06-09-2003 12:40									#16
	Support Apolyton buy from Amazon

hey I'm a drunk who lusts after mormon women.

You should go to Utah. Their women look so pristine, so pure. Makes you just want to do naughty sex acts with them.

	06-09-2003 12:45									#17
	Lose 30 kilos (of popups)

quote: Originally posted by Drake Tungsten quote: sure Italians are a race. Why wouldn't they be? "Italian" is a nationality, not a race. Racism is bad, but nationalism is fun. For example, I think that all Russians are ignorant drunks who secretly lust after Mormon women. That's not racism, it's pure fun!

OMFG HARDCORE LDS PR0N!!!!

	06-09-2003 13:20									#18
	How eloquent Support Apolyton buy from Amazon

quote: Originally posted by elijah

WOW!

	06-09-2003 15:59									#19
	Put an end to popups!

That is not really a big deal. LOL.

We agreed to the rules, so if we break them we must face a consequence, that ´s how it works in the EU. Many in Germany were expecting sanctions because of our deficit much earlier.

The diff. to Berlusconi is that Monti has a point, while our good Silvio was talking out of his ass.

	06-09-2003 16:03									#20
	Increase the size of your Attachments

I think Monti, Prodi & Berlusconi are the divine Trinity of European politics. God bless them.

	06-09-2003 16:07									#21
	Avatar Enlargement: We've got the solution

Yeah, Berlusconi will need all the help he can get.

	06-09-2003 16:41									#22
	Support Apolyton, buy Civilization: The Boardgame

france and germany are everyday proving why we are better off out of the euro

	06-09-2003 17:48									#23
	Full PM-box? Change here!

The Stability Pact is a farce. Basically, the EU countries agreed on a figure out of their asses, and made it a god-holy rule. Now, they're too immature to change the rule now that the international economic environment has changed, and they're busy booing states that don't respect it.

When France and Germany will eventually respect the Pact, they'll be the ones suing some other States for not respecting the inadapted rule

	06-09-2003 19:00									#24
	Put an end to popups!

I still don't understand how fining people because they're in debt isn't counterproductive.

	06-09-2003 19:02									#25
	Support Apolyton buy from Amazon

Well, it´s not that Germany or France will become poor countries due to that - just a tool to generate pressure on countries who do not enough to deal wih their financial problems.

	07-09-2003 04:10									#26
	Support Apolyton

quote: Originally posted by skywalker I still don't understand how fining people because they're in debt isn't counterproductive.

Same reasoning behind raising personal interest rates because you can't make your payments on time, I think...