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[size=150:1io4w701]Bulgaria has decided to 'indefinitely' delay talks to join the euro

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Where does this leave the Leva being pegged against the Euro I wonder
Please read the bit about "
Things are so bad even Bulgaria won't join"

Of course pro EU Cameron and Co will hand over billions more to shore up their beloved euro. They did it before and got away with it, and will do it again. Cameron is as hard faced as they make them, and will not bat an eyelid at the objections. He knows he can do what he likes and use that slick mouth of his to spin his way along. We have no chance whatsoever of ever being paid back those billions. It is daylight robbery and somebody should step forward and put a stop to it, but they wont, will they, because Cameron and Co can do what the hell they like with the tax payers money, and get away with it. The truth is that Europe, like the rest of the world is broke, bankrupt, skint, how on earth has some establishment found billions of Euros to help the Spanish banks out of a very big problem, no work, no industry, only a great tourist industry, which relies on overseas visitors to their shores, the very same tourist that are in the same predicament as the Spanish people, I think at the end of the day we will have to rely on the businesses that can diversify to commodities that will make money, whatever that may be. I also believe that Brussels will have to reduce their spending consumption especially on the salaries and perks of the Euro MPs. it really is obscene in the way they consume money like it was confetti. So who will be next to cry for help? it surely must be another bank or banks in Europe

So it has happened, see the following BBC News
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Anybody who thinks that 62 billion will save Spain knows nothing. If you take into account the debts that national and local government would prefer you not to know to know about, the final figure could be nearer 500 million. Even this may not be enough. Instead of pretending to find a solution the facts should be faced. Better to try and organise an orderly dismantling of this unworkable system than continue throwing TAXPAYERS money down the drain. Of course there will be serious consequences but this will only get worse if those in charge continue to bury their heads in the sand. Presumably they are only adopting delaying tactics to prolong drawing their excessive salaries and perks. Either way the end of the Euro in its present form is inevitable, and considering Spain makes a profit of 10 Euro out of every 12 then where has it all gone?

I think the euro will survive, but the Eurozone has to undergo through tough decisions. Technically, it depends more on the way debt is distributed than on its size. Spain`s problematic due to its high unemployment rate, house market`s crash and the fact they have not developed a stable solution on how to get out of this situation. Adopting shared instruments of financing ( like Eurozone bonds ) may help struggling economies like Greece, Portugal and Spain get a breath of fresh air but will slow down growth in countries like Germany and Poland for example. Easing is necessary and I think we might see the first tranche by the end of the year.

The Economist Asks

Will the euro survive 2012 intact?

MOST people are assuming that, in the end, European leaders will do whatever it takes to save the single currency. That is because the consequences of the euro’s destruction are so catastrophic that no sensible policymaker could stand by and let it happen. But so far, they do not seem prepared to pay the price. Will the euro survive 2012 intact?

Current total votes: 88828
66% said YES, 34% said NO

Voting opened on Dec 26th 2011

It seems to me that no matter what the state of the euro the world leaders will make sure it's here to stay? but why I can not begin to imagine.

I think you have hit the nail on the head BS. Germany's bubble is about to burst BIG time. They are the country who is giving the Euro an unrealistic exchange rate. Meaning they can manufacture all their Mercedes, Porsche's, Audi's, BMW's and other supremely engineered products at cheap rates whilst paying their workers unreasonably low rates citing the strength of the Euro. Germany are the ones that HAVE to leave the Euro not Greece, Portugal, Italy, Spain or Ireland only then will these countries have a chance. It is probably way too late for this however and Germany once again will be the destruction of Europe. All of Europe including the U.K are on their knees whilst Germany dominate trade built on a false economy akin to what China, Japan and somewhat the U.S have done. I for 1 hope the break up of the Euro happens sooner rather than later, this cannot continue. 1 country causing so many countries so much pain and hardship!

Merkel wants strict austerity and at the same time high growth, the IMF want growth via fiscal stimulus but without strict austerity they won't give you any stimulus. Doesn't sound like a very good plan to me, Germany was the driving force behind the Euro, Germany let Greece, Italy, Spain and everyone and anyone join, turning a blind eye to the running of their wild cat economies beause once in the Euro German business could set up shop anywhere with the Euro as currency enjoying cheap labour whilst sending the profits back to Germany. The countries borrowed and borrowed as prices went up because of the Euro and Germany sat back and enjoyed vast economic growth well above the European average, now its time for Germany to pay for the fall out from all those years. NOT US! NOT the IMF!

If the Germans wanted the Euro, then they have to accept the consequences of it. They have benefited hugely from the lower interest rates, and they have to pay the ferryman. If they didn't want the weaker countries to join the Euro, then the time to object was then, not now. Merkel can talk all she likes, at the end of the day, it will eventually catch up with Germany, one way or another.

Is the answer here. Reading the article in today's Daily Mail, it's looking very grim. in fact our poll on this topic (80% have voted that it won't survive) is looking more like a reality:-
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Half the problems of the Spanish, Italian, and Greek governments are the makings of their own governments, rich elite, and the bankers. You can't spend your way out of debt, but neither can you promote growth by giving away money to banks and private companies( by way of government contracts they don't deliver on) which is what seems to be the present governments policy. You need a balance and you need to cut waste most of which appears to involve giving millions of pounds of our money in the way of government contracts which then fail to deliver. If any of us don't meet our part of a contract of employment we don't get paid, get a government contract awarded to your company and you get paid for doing nothing. Governments all over Europe are just as guilty of handing out money to incompetent private companies, government should be run as a first class business - don't deliver don't get paid.

I remain more than a little amazed that the entire EU 'circus' has actually got as far as it has. The EU, formerly the EEC is a hopelessly flawed concept, which whilst appearing to work on paper, in reality, takes no account of so many factors which will destroy it, not least the fact that most of Europe despises the Germans and is loathe to be involved with them in anything, let alone be dictated to by Frau Merkel on how they should run their nations, then have to accept German diktats when funds are issued to 'bail them out'....Both Greece and Ireland are in a terrible mess financially, and will be for many generations to come. Spain teeters on disaster, and Italy is very, very close behind. When Italy falls, the EU will die, and along with it, their stupid silly currency. I have for long advocated keeping Sterling. Britain would never receive any help from these countries,they would laugh at Britain's demise...Are they willingly taking Britain to misery and poverty ,like Thatcher did? Thanks to a Labor government, and to a very large extent the unions, in the late 1970s Britain was broke and went cap-in-hand to the IMF for a bail out. Mrs Thatcher, far from taking Britain into poverty, rescued the economy and the country from the ever more fanatic stranglehold of the militant trade unions. These trade unions were intent upon destroying everything;
just as they had been instrumental in bringing down their own Labor government! Before Thatcher, Britain was looked upon as the fag-end of Europe;
economically a hopeless basket case! After Thatcher's election the country went from strength to strength. Even Blair recognised the great contribution Mrs Thatcher made to the economic health of Britain.

Why does the Prime Minister of the UK keep expressing his support for the Eurozone? The UK isn't a part of it and those who are, are failing the EU by not agreeing to the obvious fixes that would save the Euro, mostly because it would mean handing over sovereign control of their finances to a Europe wide single fiscal policy. If they're not prepared to do that then surely the whole European Union experiment is a failure anyway because no one country is committed to it. The very fact that the whole world seems to be calling the Union an experiment shows complete contempt for the idea anyhow, and with the history of the continent who can blame them? As a free trading union it could work amazingly but is that not what the World Trade Organisation is for? This whole thing is about power and control, the reason why it is failing is because the people of Europe wish to be free to govern themselves via their countries constitutions, not the EU's dictations.

I reckon you hit the nail squarely on the head my friend. I seem to recall saying to some Brit friends back in 2003 or so, that the UK might live to regret the day they got mixed up with this business. Possibly I was right.

When the markets in the world contract and China's manufacturing goes into slowdown then you will see a knock on effect in Germany as their industry starts to a slow down and lay offs become the norm. We are coming to a very dangerous time in that unrest on the streets of Europe will be the product of this ill thought out Ponzi Scheme. Food prices are going up and the demand is getting greater, the whether hasn't helped, the middle east is boiling up.........were all dooooomed.