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GERMAN CHANCELLOR Angela Merkel believes the European Central Bank is acting within its mandate in relaunching its programme to buy sovereign bonds of strugging eurozone members, her spokesman said today.
“The ECB is acting independently and within its mandate,” Steffen Seibert told a regular government news briefing, a day after ECB chief Mario Draghi announced the plan to drive down borrowing costs.
Merkel already gave a muted reaction to the Frankfurt-based central bank’s action for dousing the eurozone crisis after her talks yesterday in Madrid with Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy.
“The ECB acts within its independence and within its mandate and is responsible for the stability of the currency, the value of the currency, and to take the appropriate decisions,” she said.
But many commentators in Germany – as well as the head of the German central bank, or Bundesbank – argue the plan blurs the lines between monetary policy, which is supposed to be free from all political influence in the euro area, and fiscal policy.
Bundesbank chief Jens Weidmann kept up his criticism after yesterday’s highly-anticipated announcement by the ECB, saying he “regards such purchases as being tantamount to financing governments by printing banknotes”.
Draghi’s masterplan is designed to bring down the soaring borrowing costs that crisis-wracked countries say prevent them from getting back on their feet.
European equities and the euro rose today, extending the previous day’s rally after the ECB’s announcement.
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Saying Diageo is responsible for the Irish drinking problem, is the same as suggesting that Brennan’s Bread (et al) is responsible for the Obesity Problem.
It’s down to personal decisions and responsibility.
Don’t be talking common sense here , it’s frowned upon .
@BroadSideSkid who is saying Diageo is responsible for Since when is bread an addictive drug that has been shown to destroy lives and livelihoods ? Alcohol is certainly a drug that comes with a huge human cost, even more than that of tobacco. Comparing how we regulate bread to how we regulate alcohol simply does not compute, they’re two entirely different things.
But have you seen what’s in the “bread”?
“Sense” like that would make me think that the odd cigarette might be a good idea.
The public needs to be protected from those who sell poison.
I agree with you, why not legalising cocaine, marijuana, speed and ecstasy? If you do it responsibly and if you don’t have an addictive nature you can get around it. Why blaming the Colombian drug lord for our drug problems?
I’ll drink to that…
And about time too! How stupid was it to think that it was good idea for someone representing Diego be involved with a group trying and help curb drinking alcohol in Ireland!
Same as asking a drug baron to help get drugs off our streets!
I just wish those guinness pujes would wtop using munsters win over the all blacks and other famous sporting stuff to promote their poison. There needs to be a ban on that shit, we need to stop associating alcohol with stuff. Its like eastenders, next time you watch, look out for the alcohol references/presences on screen…its literally non stop, the entire british psyche is under attack, same as our own.
NO!!! As Guinness will make adds anyway, isn’t it better that they make an add on the courage of the Munster men. I was at boarding school in Limerick with the guy who made that tackle. Dennison was the skinniest guy ever to don a Munster jersey. I was privileged to play with Seamus for Munster schoolboys when Barry McGann played. Judge the add for its quality and not as some as some PC pipsqueak. I’m born and bred Leinster.
Totally correct Joe, Guinness advertising dominates all rugby coverage, and the drinks industry were successful in lobbying against a ban on the industry sponsoring sports events like they have in Europe. That would be the first step in disassociating alcohol from healthy popular pastimes, instead with every ad they are reinforcing the false image of sporting endeavor and drinking ten pints they are incompatible.
About time . Drink has destroyed this country for too long
No it has not. Drinking to excess and our attitude to drink (society and individual) causes issues.
*disclaimer* I used to work in Diageo but hated every minute of it so have no affinity to them or others
Well spoken liam
How are we still perceived as a nation of binge drinkers ?Overall alcohol consumption is falling year on year..and how much of the overall consumption can be put down to immigration..east europeans like their beer..tackle the louts that clog up a+e by hitting them in the pocket but not at the expense of the normal moderate social drinker..
This argument by the PC brigade against Diageo’s funding is sorely misguided in my humble opinion . They have no lost vital monies in a time of recession, and damaged their own campaign . For example who would complain about Volkswagen funding a road safety campaign , and their product, abused will kill u quicker than a wink . Diageo have a patiently obvious interest in curbing the abuse of their product, and I feel it’s good old irish politics at play here, somebody’s ego is dented, lost a position to a Diageo man on some comateeeee, well take a bow , and get out the collection buckets,
@gerry campell
Your Volkswagon/road safety campaign doesn’t make sense. Volkswagon will sell the same amount of cars irrespective of whether or not people drive safety. For Diagoe/drink resposibilty the more successful the program Diageo will have a direct loss of earning.
A more accurate analogy would be to compare Volkswagon sponsoring a campaign to maintain and re-use old cars
Try rereading the article and theB edit your nonsense comment.
Your VW analogy is correct – provided VW didn’t have the WORST record for contributing to road accidents. It would be wrong if the worst car company offered the funding if they expected a coverup. Either way, you would expect the money was well spent.
A misused GTi will kill u quicker than a misused GnT.
I can’t get over how naive Fergus Finlay is
Have a fundraiser for this group and call it Arthur’s Day
Fergus Finlay, the cuddly face of charitable professionalism…
Would you prefer charities to be run unprofessionally?
How about charitably?
Champagne Socialists need to be kept in champagne. Who better to do that than a drinks company?
Fergus is merely thinking of the children, in exchange for bags of cash. Nothing to see here.
Finley now to get more of the Adams treatment from the NUJ/RTE guardians of public morality with their repetition of the same tired questions – a substitute for journalism. They were wrong when they combined to fire Mary McAleese from RTE. Could they be wrong yet again!!! I’m heartened by the innate sense of fair play that we Irish continue display despite the constant pounding from the Corporate Media all singing off the one Fox hymn sheet.
Mental drinking is mental
Cheers
This is the company that has a free bar on a Friday at their place of work in Bangkok. Having a free bar at place of work is one thing but inviting an irish guest (me) to make what they want out of their bar is irresponsible.
This campaign has no credibility, apart from Diageo , it is top heavy with the involvement of media savvy PR types with a vested interest. It should be abandoned, we need an an independent reputable group to take over the work.
Personally, I’m more interested in the message than the messenger. The Out Of Control Drinking campaign was the only campaign instigated in my lifetime (55 years) to address core issues – such as personal responsibility, learnt behaviour and generational consequences – and to engage the population in a real way. My life has been destroyed by alcoholism and when I saw the first advert on a billboard in the North Strand, and knowing nothing about Diageo’s involvement, my reaction was ‘At Last!’. At last the issue is being addressed in an intelligent way, not this ‘units’ nonsense and ‘raising prices’ balderdash (because of course only the poor are alcoholic! Chugging Grand Cru doesn’t count. Jesus wept). The price of heroin doesn’t seem to make a difference to consumption, or the fact the GAA don’t have adverts around the pitch in Croke Park for crack cocaine. Addiction doesn’t give a —– about that stuff. But if you can appeal to the ‘person’, if you can break through to them the hurt they cause to people they love, if you can catch them before they repeat learnt behaviour or become the new teacher of that behaviour, you have some chance. I am pissed off this campaign is to lose its funding. I don’t give a rats if it’s from Diageo or from the Corleone family if it works. It is a fact that sometimes the right-on-left shoot themselves in the foot. I care that almost everybody I’ve tried to love in this life has been addicted to alcohol. It’s been the younger woman in too many relationships, and the favourite daughter in others, and it always says the same thing: “I love you, go away”. I KNOW about Diageo’s other campaigns, I know they market to the young, I believe it when I’m told they block policy reform. I don’t care about that in this particular context. Life isn’t black and white, we have to allow for grey areas and to also allow that sometimes, corporations manage to work in our favour. Perish the thought!
Lets see what the report Stop Out of Control Drinking campaign comes up with and then we can have a drink about it,
My suggestion is “penalty points for the out of control drinkers”,
and after receiving say 5 penalty pints,
I suggest they be made to clean up vomit and urine etc caused
by out of control drinkers in Temple Bar area preferable after
a weekend night as a community service
Diageo can provide the cleaning equipment and refreshments as required
have your say