EU's President Barroso says euro cushioning oil price impact
Europe has been shielded from the effects of rising oil prices to some extent by the strength of the euro, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso told a French newspaper in an interview released on Saturday. "Today we buy a barrel of oil at 66 euros, whereas if there were perfect parity, we would be paying more than 100 euros," Barroso told the weekly Journal du Dimanche. "Of course we're concerned about this wide divergence in exchange rates, but at the same time we have to see that the so-called "strong" euro -- or rather the weak dollar -- has allowed us to cushion the impact of the rise in commodity.
Note EU-Digest: "Mr. Barosso might be right when it comes to the purchasing power of the euro, but the oil companies are still increasing the price on the oil products they sell in Europe disproportionately, regardless of the strong euro. Mrs. Neelie Kroes European Commissioner for Competition who has been doing a great job in watching out for the interest of the EU consumer should also start to focus her attention on the "price gouching" oil companies operating on the territory of the EU".
No comments:
Post a Comment