ＥＵ首脳会議 金融不安の払拭にまだ力不足

専門用語：
fiscal sovereignty 財政主権
（スラチャイ）

The Yomiuri Shimbun (Dec. 13, 2011)
Europe accord not enough to dispel financial concerns
ＥＵ首脳会議　金融不安の払拭にまだ力不足（12月11日付・読売社説）

European leaders barely managed to reach an agreement to prevent the Greece-triggered sovereign debt crisis from spreading to the rest of the world from Europe.
　ギリシャに端を発した欧州発金融危機を食い止めようと、欧州各国の首脳が薄氷の合意にこぎつけた。

However, it does not seem powerful enough to dispel financial concerns.
だが、金融不安払拭には力不足だろう。

Leaders of European Union countries, including the 17 nations that use the euro, such as Germany and France, agreed Friday to conclude a new treaty that will impose stringent fiscal discipline on its members.
　ユーロ導入の独仏など１７か国を含む欧州連合（ＥＵ）首脳会議は、厳しい財政規律を課する新条約を締結することで合意した。

The countries taking part in the new treaty will specify the principle of "fiscal balance" in their respective constitutions.
　新条約の参加国は「財政均衡」の原則を憲法に明記する。

The principle is designed to automatically impose sanctions on countries whose fiscal deficit exceeds 3 percent of their gross domestic product in a single fiscal year.
単年度の財政赤字が対国内総生産（ＧＤＰ）比３％を突破した国には、自動的に制裁を発動する内容だ。

The measure can be called a praiseworthy step forward, obliging individual countries to take steps to repair their finances based on lessons learned from the lax fiscal management of Greece and some other European countries.
　危機をもたらしたギリシャなどの放漫財政を教訓に、財政健全化を各国に義務づける方策は、ひとまず前進と評価できよう。

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One currency, many policies

The euro's fundamental weakness has lain in the fact that while eurozone countries have introduced the single currency, they have widely different fiscal policies.
　通貨は一つだが、財政政策は各国でバラバラだったことが、ユーロの根本的な弱点だった。

If the European countries can sign the new treaty by March as scheduled under the leadership of German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy, European unity will enter a new phase toward fiscal integration, which has been a long-standing issue.
　メルケル独首相とサルコジ仏大統領が主導して、予定通りに２０１２年３月までに各国が新条約に署名すれば、懸案の財政統合に向け、欧州統合は新局面に入る。

However, British Prime Minister David Cameron, whose country is not a eurozone member, refused to join the new treaty, from the standpoint of protecting his country's fiscal sovereignty.
　だが、新条約案に対し、非ユーロ圏の英国のキャメロン首相だけは、自国の財政主権を守る立場から参加を拒否した。

The divide between the French-German position and that of Britain can be said to have highlighted discord among EU member states.
独仏と英国の対立は、ＥＵ内の不協和音をさらけ出したと言える。

More serious was the fact that the latest summit meeting failed to come up with bold measures to contain the raging crisis.
　さらに深刻なのは、今回の首脳会議が、燃えさかる当面の危機を封じ込めるために必要な大胆な策を打ち出せなかったことだ。

Leaders agreed at the meeting to launch the European Stability Mechanism in the middle of next year, one year ahead of the original schedule.
The bailout fund will provide fiscally distressed European countries with financial assistance and has been described as the European version of the International Monetary Fund.
　会議は、財政危機国に資金支援する欧州版の国際通貨基金（ＩＭＦ）とされる「欧州安定メカニズム（ＥＳＭ）」について、予定を１年前倒しして来年半ばに発足させる方針で一致した。

The leaders also agreed on a bailout plan that would extend loans of up to 200 billion euros (about 21 trillion yen) to countries in fiscal crisis through the IMF.
　ＩＭＦを通じて、財政危機国に最大２０００億ユーロ（約２１兆円）を貸し出す救済策も決めた。

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IMF plan may not work

However, there are questions whether the IMF plan will be feasible given that the United States, the largest contributor to the international body, showed reluctance to make additional contributions.
　だが、ＩＭＦ活用案には、ＩＭＦ最大出資国である米国が新たな資金拠出に難色を示すなど、実効性に疑問も残る。

The EU leaders also failed, because of Germany's objections, to agree on a common euro bond to be jointly issued by eurozone countries.
　ユーロ圏が共同で発行する「ユーロ共通債」も、ドイツの反対で合意できなかった。

Above all, European countries have yet to secure enough funds to tackle the region's fiscal and financial crisis due to the slow progress of the plan to expand the European Financial Stability Facility, whose functions will eventually be taken over by the ESM.
　何より、ＥＳＭの母体となる欧州金融安定基金（ＥＦＳＦ）の拡充が進んでおらず、危機対策の資金が十分確保できていない。

For European countries to regain the rest of the world's confidence, it will be essential for them to act quickly to strengthen the EFSF.
欧州がＥＦＳＦ強化に迅速に動くことが信頼回復に不可欠である。

It still remains uncertain how the global stock and exchange markets and credit rating companies will evaluate the conclusions agreed upon at the summit meeting.
　世界の株式・為替市場や、格付け会社が、首脳会議の結論をどう評価するのかは不透明だ。

Market players have high expectations that the European Central Bank will support Italy and other distressed eurozone countries through massive purchases of those nations' government bonds. Yet the ECB remains cautious about taking such steps.
市場では、欧州中央銀行（ＥＣＢ）がイタリアなどの国債を大量に買い支えることへの期待があるが、ＥＣＢは慎重姿勢を崩していない。

Germany and France are taking the lead in Europe's precarious attempt to overcome the crisis. They bear a heavy responsibility in this regard.
　危機克服への綱渡りを先導する独仏両国の責任は大きい。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Dec. 11, 2011)
（2011年12月11日01時10分 読売新聞）