EC urged to investigate speculators' role in Greek crisis
12/03/2010
THE HAGUE, The Netherlands -- French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel issued a joint letter Thursday (March 11th), urging the European Commission (EC) to investigate the type of speculative trading that aggravated the financial situation in Greece and weakened the euro. Merkel and Sarkozy asked EC President Jose Manuel Barroso to examine the role of credit default swaps in government bonds traded across Europe, and insisted on the mandatory reporting of all derivatives trading in Europe. "Only the EC can do this, it has to be done Europe-wide," Merkel said at The Hague, where she met with Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende. She added that Greece's top priority should be to win back market confidence. (AP, Reuters - 11/03/10)