The UK’s Daily Express daily feeds Brexiteers with eye-popping revelations about the imminent implosion of the EU . One soon learns not to put one’s money on those. But the unearthing of a 2year old CEP report caught my attention. It’s got some eye-popping numbers relevant to Germany’s idea of it’s position in Europe : The paymaster. But without the control.
manager-magazin.de 2009 Deutsche Milliarden für die EU
kurier.at 2012 Merkel bleibt standhaft : Kein Geld ohne strenge Auflagen.
npd-rhein-neckar.de 2012 „Wir wollen nicht Zahlmeister Europas sein“
halle-leaks.de 2017 Raus aus der korrupten Transferunion
As every other German knows, the hard working Exportweltmeister has been Europe’s generous Zahlmeister paying through its nose for Europe, sacrificing hard earned savings to prop up the inefficiency and incontinence of all but Holland, really.
ft.com 2020 Dutch resistance
I say every other German, as not all Sparbürger are in the habit of flattering themselves with the Zahlmeister’s Milchmädchenrechnung. Some are acutely aware how embarrassing is the idea that Germany is net-subsidising anyone and could be the biggest loser of the Euro game.
The Plague means : needs must and one is reluctantly “paying” for now. But the mercantilist drumbeat of sound money remains a potent force on course to sabotage the Euro. After all, one did not want it in the first place. And to be fair, it never made much sense as a currency. Perhaps understandably one would rather fulfil one’s true destiny and become a monolingual Switzerland?
Just follow the money…
or go digging below.
gaiamoney 2021 The Economist : Korsett der Schwarzen Null raubt der Ampel den Atem
gaiamoney 2020 schwarze-null-vergiftet-europa
gaiamoney HETERO MACRO schwarze-null-widerstand : Deutsche Heteros
gaiamoney “Stupid German Money” – Metallist Black Zero Fetisch
https://gaiageld.com/stupid-german-money/
Exportweltmeister = Zahlmeister ? articles
https://www.welt.de 2011 Deutschland wird zum Zahlmeister Europas Von J. Dams, M. Greive, J. Hildebrand
saechsische.de 2010 Zahlt Deutschland für halb Europa die Zeche? Der EU-Gipfel in Brüssel hat einen dauerhaften Auffangschirm gegen die Pleite einzelner Staaten beschlossen. Die SZ analysiert die Folgen. Von Detlef Drewes
https://www.badische-zeitung.de 2019 Freiburger Forscher kalkulieren Kosten der EU – 137 Milliarden Euro aus Deutschland für Europa Von Daniela Weingärtner – Wenn man alles zusammen nimmt, ist Deutschland der größte Finanzier der Europäischen Union. Die höchsten Summen fließen nach Griechenland und Polen.
https://www.focus.de 2021 Die Deutschen könnten die großen Verlierer dieses Spiels werden – Wir nähern uns dem Ende eines langen Weges immer höherer Schulden und Versprechen. Wie stets in solchen Situationen wird es zu einer Lösung kommen, die zu Verlusten führt. Aber wer wird die Verluste tragen? Bis jetzt sieht es danach aus, dass wir Deutschen die großen Verlierer dieses Spiels sein dürften.
nw.de 2019 Zahlmeister und Profiteur: So viel kostet und bringt Deutschland die EU – Geld wird bald das große Streitthema in Europa: Was darf die EU kosten – und wer zahlt die Rechnung? Christian Kerl
bundesregierung.de 2015 Ist Deutschland der “Zahlmeister” der EU? Wenn man die absoluten Zahlen betrachtet, führt kein Mitgliedstaat so viel Geld an Brüssel ab wie Deutschland. Im Haushaltsjahr 2014 waren es rund 26 Milliarden Euro, also rund ein Fünftel des EU-Gesamtbudgets. Wichtig zu wissen: Davon flossen rund zwölf Milliarden Euro wieder nach Deutschland zurück – als Hilfe für strukturschwache Regionen, für die Landwirtschaft sowie für zahlreiche Ausbildungs- und Beschäftigungsprogramme. Umgelegt auf die Kosten pro Einwohner liegt Deutschland nur auf Rang Vier der Nettozahler – hinter den Niederlanden, Schweden und Großbritannien. Richtig ist auch: Keine andere europäische Volkswirtschaft profitiert so sehr vom EU-Binnenmarkt wie die deutsche. Fast zwei Drittel der deutschen Ausfuhren gehen in EU-Länder, und der Export in die neuen Mitgliedstaaten Mittel- und Osteuropas hat sich weitaus schneller entwickelt als die Ausfuhren in den Rest der Welt. Deutschland zahlt viel Geld in die EU ein, profitiert aber noch mehr von ihr.
ec.europa.eu 2019 Mythos: „Wir Deutsche zahlen für den Rest Europas“ – Der Begriff der „Transferunion“ geistert seit der Schuldenkrise verstärkt als Kampfbegriff durch die deutsche Europadebatte. Deutschland sei der Zahlmeister und müsse die „Zeche“ von Griechenland und anderen EU-Staaten übernehmen, lautet der Vorwurf. Dabei ist die Stabilisierung kriselnder Euro-Staaten gelungen – auch im deutschen Interesse. Auch von den regelmäßigen Investitionen in den EU-Haushalt profitiert Deutschland.
visualcapitalist.com top 2o countries for UHNWealth
manager-magazin.de 2010 Euro-Krise Warum wir nicht Zahlmeister Europas sind – Die Bundesbürger werden derzeit gerne als “Zahlmeister” oder “Deppen Europas” bezeichnet. Was bei der Diskussion um die milliardenschweren Rettungsschirme gern übersehen wird, erläutert Vermögensverwalter Thomas Grüner in einem Gastbeitrag: Deutschland profitiert doppelt von der Euro-Krise.
tagesspiegel.de 2020 Die Mär vom Zahlmeister – Wegen des Brexit müssen die EU-Beiträge gerade neu verhandelt werden. Was wenige wissen: Die deutsche Beitragslast liegt, verglichen mit den anderen Mitgliedsstaaten, nur im Mittelfeld. PAUL MEERKAMP L. TOM GERNTKE
reaction.life 2019 Euro has boosted German prosperity and cost other European countries dear By Iain Martin
Germany’s prosperity has received a huge boost from the euro but the impact of the single currency has been starkly negative for other members of the eurozone, a new report commissioned to mark the 20th birthday of the project has revealed.
“Twenty Years of the euro – winners and losers” is published this week by the Centre for European Policy. Dr. Matthias Kullas, Head of the Department of Economics and Fiscal Policy at the CEP, and Alessandro Gasparotti, a Policy Analyst in the Department of Economics and Fiscal Policy at the CEP, modelled the contrasting fortunes of eight key eurozone economies. They explore the consequences of the euro being undervalued for Germany and overvalued for France and struggling Italy. The results are not pretty. They conclude:
“Germany has gained by far the most from the introduction of the euro; almost € 1.9 trillion between 1999 and 2017. This amounts to around € 23,000 per inhabitant. Otherwise, only the Netherlands has gained substantial benefits from the introducing the euro.
In the first few years after its introduction, Greece gained hugely from the euro but since 2011 has suffered enormous losses. Over the whole period, the balance of € 2 billion or € 190 per inhabitant, is only just positive.
In all the other countries analysed, the euro has resulted in a drop in prosperity: €3.6trillion in France and as much as € 4.3 trillion in Italy. In France, this amounts to € 56,000 per capita and in Italy € 74,000.”
Kullas and Gasparotti claim that with the exception of 2004 and 2005, Germany has benefited every year as a result of the introduction of the single currency, especially since the euro crisis in 2011.
Aggregated over the period 1999 to 2017, the euro has led to increases in prosperity in Germany of € 1.9 trillion overall or € 23,116 per capita. Thus, out of the countries examined, Germany has gained most from the euro.”
braveneweurope.com 2018 Heiner Flassbeck zu Hans Werner Sinn’s comments on the Euro’s 20th: “By denying any German guilt, fomenting objectively veiled resentment towards other nations, and blaming all this on the “socialists”, one kills several birds with one stone. If you do it under the cover of being an “objective academic”, it is particularly effective, because the large mass of Germans are delighted when their prejudices seem to be scientifically confirmed.” Comment Holly01 says: “Wer Exportweltmeister bei Waren ist, der ist auch 1:1 Exportweltmeister bei Geld.”
KantoosEconomicsBlog 2018 “The German influence is really ruinous when it comes to monetary policy, the obsession with an inadequate inflation target and the idea that the ECB’s monetary policy is highly expansionary as it is. It would be great if economists from around the world would point that out!”

blogs.lse.ac.uk 2018 Germany’s non-rebalancing of its mercantilist model by Patrick Kaczmarczyk
In a recent LSE blog article, Donato Di Carlo argued that Germany has ‘quietly rebalanced’ its economy since the Eurozone crisis began.Patrick Kaczmarczyk presents a different take on the topic, writing that when German policy is viewed from a more long-term perspective, there has been little in the way of meaningful rebalancing. He states that without necessary adjustments being carried out to the German economic model, the Eurozone is doomed to stagnation and potentially outright failure.
archive.mishtalk.com 9/2016 Michael Pettis Calls Surplus Trade Statements by German Finance Minister “Utter Lunacy”
“What utter lunacy. It is one thing to defend the existing surplus by pretending to believe that it was not caused by income distortions at home but rather by foreign laziness, but to say that it is German policy to grow the surplus further is outrageous. Now that they have bankrupted Europe, and developing countries are in trouble, who but the US can possibly be forced into absorbing it? If the US were ever to decide that it cannot continuing absorbing everyone else’s deficient demand at the expense of becoming more like peripheral Europe, the consequences for Germany (and China and Japan) would be devastating.” Michael Pettis
Jenseits der Schwarzen Null
boell.de 2019 Vom Zahlmeister zum Zukunftsmeister – Studienzusammenfassung – Die Mehrheit der Deutschen wünscht sich ein aktiveres und kooperatives Verhalten Deutschlands in der Europäischen Union. Das ist ein zentrales Ergebnis der Studie „Vom Zahlmeister zum Zukunftsmeister – Ein neues Selbstverständnis Deutschlands in der EU“, die von der Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung in Kooperation mit Das Progressive Zentrum durchgeführt wurde. von Johannes Hillje und Dr Christine Pütz
Springer 2021 Heterodox Challenges in Economics Theoretical Issues and the Crisis of the Eurozone by Sergio Cesaratto
This book discloses the economic foundations of European fiscal and monetary policies by introducing readers to an array of alternative approaches in economics. It presents various heterodox theories put forward by classical economists, Marx, Sraffa and Keynes, as a coherent challenge to neo-classical theory. The book underscores and critically assesses the analytical inconsistencies of European economic policy and the conservative nature of the current European governance. In this light, it examines the political obstacles to proposals to reform the European monetary union, as well as those originating in the neo-mercantilist German model. Given its scope and format, the book offers a valuable asset for researchers and members of the general public alike. – read more of this Springer book here
theconversation.com The euro at 20 2019 by Barry Eichengreen – Why the currency’s endurance is not proof of its success – The euro was born with fundamental problems that have weakened it. read GaiaMoney excerpt here
Hans-Böckler-Stiftung Feb 2021 REFORMING THE FISCAL RULEBOOK FOR THE EURO AREA – AND THE CHALLENGE OF OLD AND NEW PUBLIC DEBT by Jan Priewe
twelvestars.eu 2019 The Euro-Dividend The EU should pay a modest basic income to every legal resident of the European Union or the eurozone, financed by the value added tax. Philippe Van Parijs read GaiaMoney excerpt here
Euro debt bailout
ineteconomics.org 2012 Germany should not pay for the bankruptcy of Europe, at least according Hans-Werner Sinn, head of the Ifo Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich. “If debtors cannot repay, creditors should bear the losses,” Sinn argues in an op-ed in yesterday’s New York Times. He further states that “It is unfair for critics to ask Germany to bear even more risk” in helping to resolve problems in Europe. What Sinn presents is a neat ethical dream in which all parties are held responsible for their actions. The trouble is this dream does not face up to political reality.
Harald Schuman “The Secret Bank Bailout” German TV Award 2013 watch you tube video
Second documentary about the Euro-crisis by Arpad Bondy and Harald Schumann, “The Trail of the Troika”.
fivebooks.com ECONOMIC HISTORY The best books on Economic Nationalism recommended by Fredrik Erixon Interview by Benedict King
Economic nationalism is more than just protectionism, it is rooted in a view of the national economy as a unique national phenomenon that needs protecting. As economist Fredrik Erixon explains, its roots are to be found as much in the progressive nationalism of Woodrow Wilson as they are in 19th century Prussia or the mercantilism of 17th century Europe.





“Perhaps it’s difficult to pin down economic nationalism and make it a unique idea in itself. It is directly linked to protectionism and mercantilism. Others have different views, but my conclusion is that we need to look at economic nationalism in the same way as we look at nationalism. Economic nationalism is an offspring from nationalism, not from textbook thinking about the economy and what is best for prosperity. And that means the core idea of nationalism is equal to the core idea of economic nationalism as well. Just because you want to raise tariffs on other countries’ goods, that doesn’t necessarily make you an economic nationalist—a protectionist, yes, but not necessarily an economic nationalist.
It’s the same with currencies. I don’t want my mother country, Sweden, to join the euro, but that doesn’t make me an economic nationalist, because the reason I don’t want Sweden to join has nothing to do with me finding the Swedish currency unique, or it representing values that are unique to Sweden. It’s more to do with my thinking that the pricing of Swedish factor markets would be incorrect under the euro and it would lead to imbalances in the economy.”
springer.com/ 2019 Das Ende der Selbstfesselung – Deutsche Außenpolitik in einer Welt ohne Führung von Stefan Fröhlich
germany articles
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