WASHINGTON: Barack Obama turns his focus Thursday to a crisis that could conceivably end his presidency, but over which he has little control, welcoming Italy's Prime Minister Mario Monti for Europe debt talks.
The White House, cheered by signs the US economy is speeding up and is at last creating more jobs as Obama prepares to seek a second term in November, has been watching Europe's struggles to end its debt nightmare with alarm.
Any scenario involving defaults by European economies or a break-up of the euro could draw in the US finance sector, hammer American exports, slow American growth and job creation, and hamper Obama's political prospects.
The White House said Thursday's talks will focus on "comprehensive steps" Italy is taking to restore market confidence and reinvigorate its economy as well as the prospect of "an expansion of Europe's financial firewall."
The Oval Office meeting will take place with the focus of Europe's turmoil on Greece, after the country's leaders did a last minute deal on austerity cuts to secure a new eurozone bailout. Angry unions, though, vowed more strikes.
Monti will meet Obama two months after European leaders agreed to a budget compact designed to reassure markets that a profligate era of debt and rash fiscal indiscipline is over.
Since taking power in mid-November, Monti has pushed through a draconian austerity plan and is now hoping to perform a massive liberalization program and reforms of the job market in the hope of future prosperity.
In exchange, the Italian premier wants EU partners to reinforce the eurozone's rescue funds and will be looking for a strong endorsement of his methods from Obama and for support when the US leader speaks to counterparts in France and Germany.
Ahead of the talks, Monti has said that the eurozone crisis may be moving towards a resolution but is also warning that it has tested the continent's cohesion, after reviving prejudices between the prosperous north and poor south.
"We certainly do not need in Europe to have phantoms of the past to be coming up again," he said in Munich at the weekend.
Monti's visit will represent something of a new beginning for US-Italy relations, after Obama clearly attempted to keep personal interaction with his scandal-tainted predecessor Silvio Berlusconi to a minimum.
Monti is seen as a sober, professional bureaucratic brand of leader who may be just the man to restore outside confidence in Italy's chaotic economic governance.
He will lay out his platform for the visit in a speech at Washington's Peterson Institute on the economy, a couple of hours before he meets Obama.
The White House has watched Europe's debt turmoil with disquiet and some frustration at its failure to show political will to solve it more quickly, given the impact it could have on Obama's prospects and the US economy.
indiatimes.com
The White House, cheered by signs the US economy is speeding up and is at last creating more jobs as Obama prepares to seek a second term in November, has been watching Europe's struggles to end its debt nightmare with alarm.
Any scenario involving defaults by European economies or a break-up of the euro could draw in the US finance sector, hammer American exports, slow American growth and job creation, and hamper Obama's political prospects.
The White House said Thursday's talks will focus on "comprehensive steps" Italy is taking to restore market confidence and reinvigorate its economy as well as the prospect of "an expansion of Europe's financial firewall."
The Oval Office meeting will take place with the focus of Europe's turmoil on Greece, after the country's leaders did a last minute deal on austerity cuts to secure a new eurozone bailout. Angry unions, though, vowed more strikes.
Monti will meet Obama two months after European leaders agreed to a budget compact designed to reassure markets that a profligate era of debt and rash fiscal indiscipline is over.
Since taking power in mid-November, Monti has pushed through a draconian austerity plan and is now hoping to perform a massive liberalization program and reforms of the job market in the hope of future prosperity.
In exchange, the Italian premier wants EU partners to reinforce the eurozone's rescue funds and will be looking for a strong endorsement of his methods from Obama and for support when the US leader speaks to counterparts in France and Germany.
Ahead of the talks, Monti has said that the eurozone crisis may be moving towards a resolution but is also warning that it has tested the continent's cohesion, after reviving prejudices between the prosperous north and poor south.
"We certainly do not need in Europe to have phantoms of the past to be coming up again," he said in Munich at the weekend.
Monti's visit will represent something of a new beginning for US-Italy relations, after Obama clearly attempted to keep personal interaction with his scandal-tainted predecessor Silvio Berlusconi to a minimum.
Monti is seen as a sober, professional bureaucratic brand of leader who may be just the man to restore outside confidence in Italy's chaotic economic governance.
He will lay out his platform for the visit in a speech at Washington's Peterson Institute on the economy, a couple of hours before he meets Obama.
The White House has watched Europe's debt turmoil with disquiet and some frustration at its failure to show political will to solve it more quickly, given the impact it could have on Obama's prospects and the US economy.
indiatimes.com
No comments:
Post a Comment