Has the euro been a disaster?

The EU is a catastrophe, has no long term future, and needs a wholesale rethink. So says Ian Baxter of Baxter Freight

Transcript

European CEO speaks with Ian Baxter of Baxter Freight on Europe and the EU referendum

European CEO: Ian, looking at the issue of Europe and the EU Referendum, you’re in a unique position, because you’ve worked throughout the continent, so what do you make of this?

Ian Baxter: I am sceptical about many of the things that the European Union is today and many of the things that the European Union has done. I’m, particularly, against the euro itself. I think that’s a catastrophe for Europe and cannot work in the longer term and, therefore, will somehow – and I don’t know how, nobody knows how – have to be unwound at some point.

However, I’m also not somebody who looks at this, just from Britain’s narrow interest perspective. My view is that we should engage with the idea of redefining what Europe is, what it can be in our interest, but also in the interests of the wider peoples of Europe.

European CEO: You said the euro was a catastrophe, what did you mean by this?

Ian Baxter:  It’s very clear, whether you look at Greece or Germany, that neither country can live within the eurozone. In the case of Germany, they’ve had some benefits. They’ve had a lower exchange rate. They’ve had a big domestic market, but the problem is that they’ve also got an implicit obligation to support other, less successful countries and at some point they’re going to have to pay up on that.

So they’ve got the worry and the stress and, ultimately, the financial obligation of supporting weaker countries, which will be very difficult to sell politically. If you look at Greece, well Greece doesn’t control the levers in its own economy, so it’s got itself into a terrible state and it can’t get out of it. All it can do is beg for debt forgiveness or debt postponement or something like that.

They’ve got something like 50 percent youth unemployment. If that’s not a disaster, then I don’t know what is. We, absolutely, need to see young people around the European Union getting into work and having a proper strong future. The Euro, unfortunately, doesn’t give that. The fact is, these disparate countries cannot live with one exchange rate, one interest rate and they need to have the flexibility to deal with their own economies, and that’s why I think the euro is a disaster.