Interview with George Soros: the Fall of Europe

On May 12, George Soros was awarded the Tiziano Terzani Prize for his 2012 book Financial Turmoil in Europe and the United States: Essays. The following interview is adapted from a press conference in Udine, Italy, on that occasion.

Soros is well known for his political and economic influence.

SOROS: I have been very concerned about Europe. The euro is in the process of destroying the European Union. To some extent, this has already happened, in the sense that the EU was meant to be a voluntary association of equal states. The crisis has turned it into something that is radically different: a relationship between creditors and debtors. And, in a financial crisis, the creditors are in charge. It is no longer a relationship between equals. The fate of Italy, for example, is no longer determined by Italian politics – which is in a crisis of its own, I would say – but rather by the creditor/debtor relationship. That is really what dictates policies.

Former ECB member Bini Smaghi: Italy needs a Bailout

Italians in deep trouble. 40% youth unemployement. Political situation chaotic, companies are going bankrupt and interest on debt is becoming unaffordable

Italy's new government should take a bold step and ask for international financial aid to reform its banks and its economy, former European Central Bank board member Lorenzo Bini Smaghi said on Monday on the sidelines of a conference in Milan, Reuters reports. Bini Smaghi left the ECB last year.