“Whether France would accept giving away some powers to a super administration – the the EU or to the [European] Commission – is another question,” said Lannoo.For its part, Germany rejects the idea beefing up the European Central Bank to become a lender of last resort – an idea France supports. In his speech, Sarkozy left the bank’s future open, but said it would remain independent. German Chancellor Angela Merkel is outlining her views of Europe’s future in a speech before the German parliament on Friday. womens timberland boots The two leaders also hold talks on Monday – just three days before the EU summit.
Whether Europe’s leaders will come out with a far-reaching plan to save the currency zone is anybody’s guess. “It is likely they will come up with something but it depends very much on the details of this plan and the political support of that and on the credibility this plan will have with the marketsand we are running out of time at the moment. So it might be far too late,” said analyst Paola Subacchi, of the London think-tank Chatham House.But as far is Sarkozy is concerned, the alternative – the implosion of the eurozone – is unthinkable.Saudi Arabia is signaling that it is going to boost its supply of oil on its own after failing to convince other oil producers to jointly agree to more production.Several news agencies reported Saturday that the Saudis could increase their oil production by as much as 13 percent in the coming days to 10 million barrels a day or more. The Saudi discount timberland boots newspaper Al-Hayat reported that most of the additional output would go to China and other expanding Asian economies.
But the increase in the amount of oil on the world market would tend to trim the price of crude, benefiting timberland boots outlet all consuming nations.Earlier in the week, Saudi Arabia was not successful in its bid to convince a majority of the other 11 countries in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to increase their production. Saudi Arabia contended that the increased production is needed to meet the rising world demand for oil and account for the loss of crude on the global market because of Libya’s cut in production during the current uprising.Saudi Arabia is the world’s biggest oil producer. It is a major exporter to the United States, which is heavily dependent on oil to help fuel the world’s largest economy. But the high cost of crude – hovering near $100 a barrel on the New York market – has slowed the recovery from the global recession in the U.S. and elsewhere.