France, the birthplace of the enlightenment and much of modern philosophy, is proud of its history of embracing big ideas. In this noble tradition, the great and good of France, Europe and even the odd former Fed Vice-President flock to the picturesque French city of Aix-en-Provence to discuss lofty ideals, intellectual concepts and, this year, the notion of statehood in the 21st century, The Wall Street Journal Real Time Brussels blog reported.
The Recontres Economiques d’Aix-en-Provence, then, isn’t the place to discuss the nitty-gritty details of the next Greek bailout or the day-to-day running of your average Western European liberal democracy. It’s more, to use a horrible management cliché, about running a few ideas up the flagpole and seeing if anyone salutes. The panel discussions have superbly pretentious titles such as ‘The birth, life and mutation of states’ and ideas floated over a chilled glass of Bandol rose while enjoying the arias of La Clemenza de Tito include the following:
A Pan-European Finance Minister: Put forward by European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet, who is currently beseeching the European Parliament to make the European Council stick to stricter rules on economic governance, this would see the idea taken to the next level – a single finance minister.
The conference’s final declaration – a road map for big ideas – back this up with a demand for a single European debt instrument, the fabled Eurobond. This is the unicorn of European financial integration. Don’t hold your breath.
A New Relationship Between Traders And Regulators: Jean-Claude Bassien, CEO of CA Cheuvreux, in a panel on ‘Global Finance: States must innovate’ said that while he felt “like a sacrificial lamb” as other speakers discussed how how a lack of regulation helped enflame the crisis, still found time to come up with a “crazy” new plan for regulation.
Profound Musings On Ratings Agencies: “Ratings of countries are a collectively-owned good,” the declaration of the Cercle des Economistes reads. “For states, the only neutral, competent authority in this domain is the IMF…. Ratings agencies can, of course, express their opinions, except for when countries are receiving IMF assistance programs.”
Only a cold-hearted cynic who hadn’t their first glass of rosé of the day would mention that France has just got the IMF top job, again.
France has always excelled at big ideas. Whether ‘Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité or the 35-hour-week, it’s a country with a reputation for pushing the high-concept envelope. Aix is all about thinking under blue skies rather than blue-sky thinking; let’s see which of this year’s ideas make it from the winding medieval streets of this Provencal idyll and into reality… Read more. (Subscription required.)
