UNITED KINGDOM: Billionaire financier George Soros says the crisis in Ukraine should be a "wake up call" for Europe, mired in its own financial problems. He warns the UK that leaving the EU will cost it jobs

Record ID: 191254

  • Title: UNITED KINGDOM: Billionaire financier George Soros says the crisis in Ukraine should be a "wake up call" for Europe, mired in its own financial problems. He warns the UK that leaving the EU will cost it jobs
  • Date: 12th March 2014
  • Summary: LONDON, ENGLAND, UK (MARCH 12, 2014) (REUTERS) EUROPEAN COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS SIGN
  • Embargoed: 27th March 2014 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: United Kingdom
  • Country: United Kingdom
  • Topics: International Relations
  • Reuters ID: LVADA3YL2XXQV0LC2XZLECT763V8
  • Story Text: The crisis in Ukraine should be a wake-up call to the European Union to remember the purpose of the bloc, as it struggles to avoid disintegration after financial disaster, billionaire financier George Soros said on Wednesday (March 12).
    Soros, who is active in Ukraine after setting up a foundation promoting democracy there 24 years ago, said the 28-member bloc should unite to help Ukraine and show it can work effectively as it tries to repair damage to the currency area.
    The 83-year-old investor, who famously broke the Bank of England by making $1 billion betting against the pound in 1992, said imposing sanctions on Russia was not the best way forwards. Giving Ukraine financial and technical assistance would be more effective, he said.
    He called on the EU to respond to Russia's intervention in Ukraine by helping uphold a form of government and rule of law that many Ukrainians wanted.
    "I would argue passionately that it should not fail as an experiment and I think events in Ukraine are a wake up call to face that issue," Soros told a news conference to London, held to promote his latest book about the European Union.

    "Ukrainians have effectively proven that they are willing to sacrifice their lives to be closer to a Europe that is at the same time in the process of disintegration," he said.
    He said Europe had not done enough for Kiev, allowing Russian President Vladimir Putin to easily outmanoeuvre the bloc and gain power in Ukraine.

    "I hope that Europe will respond to it and actually rediscover its original mission because that's what got lost in this distortion that occurred," he said.
    He called for a Marshall Plan for Ukraine and criticised Europe for being "totally unprepared for this crisis".

    "Putin outmanoeuvred Europe with no difficulty because Europe as usual, true to form under German leadership, demanded a lot and offered very little to Ukraine. So it was not difficult for Putin to come up with a better offer. Where Putin miscalculated is in the response of the Ukrainian public. Actually he has a blind spot, it's beyond his comprehension and his expectations that a nation could actually have a spontaneous reaction," he said.
    Soros has long argued that the EU has become imbalanced and criticised Germany's policies to save the euro, saying austerity measures Chancellor Angela Merkel forced upon Europe had aggravated the crisis.
    He was in London promoting his new book, "The Tragedy of the European Union - Disintegration or Revival?".
    But despite concerns over the eurozone, Soros said he did not think the collapse of the EU was anywhere near immediate, even with countries like Britain reconsidering their membership.
    In the wide-ranging news conference, Soros warned that should Britain leave the European Union, it would cost the country jobs.
    Prime Minister David Cameron has pledged an in-out referendum by 2017 should his Conservative party win the election next year.

    "I will leave it to the British business community, particularly the multi-nationals that set up factories here as an entry point into the common market, to explain to the British public what they stand to lose. In one word: jobs," Soros said.
    Earlier on Wednesday Soros told the BBC that the UK was in the "best of all worlds" as a member of the EU but not using the euro currency.
    Soros also said at Wednesday's news conference it would not be practical for an independent Scotland to keep the British pound, and warned a separate currency would be "potentially dangerous" as weak currencies can be attacked.
    A row over currency is heating up as Scots prepare to vote on September 18 in a referendum on whether to break away from the rest of the United Kingdom.
    Nationalists want to share the pound in a currency union with the UK and retain the services of the Bank of England. But the three main UK parties have united to reject that plan, telling Scotland if it leaves the United Kingdom, it leaves the pound.
    Soros said this made for a "very difficult relationship".

    "I don't think that Scotland leaving the, or really, becoming independent and yet remaining part of sterling, the central bank of Britain is actually practical," he said.
    Soros said an independent currency would be "very inefficient and potentially dangerous", as it would be vulnerable to attack.
    Soros said an alternative would be for Scotland to seek membership of the European Central Bank and become part of the eurozone, adopting the euro as its currency.
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