Waiving the rules for Portugal In the colonies it used to be said of Britain that Britannia did not rule the waves as much as it waived the rules. If the European Union now accedes to Portuguese prime minister José Sócrates’ request last night for emergency funding to tide Portugal over until after its June 5 election, it will demonstrate that the European Commission is offering the Britannia of old some serious competition in the realm of disregarding its own rules.
In the absence of an effective Portuguese government it is difficult to see how the EU can maintain the pretence that, when bailing out the European periphery, it does so only with the strictest of credible conditions attached.
http://link.ft.com/r/5F39HH/GK7ZIS/EW4YCB/5CTF2C/40LZ06/XL/h?a1=2011&a2=4&a3=7
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