There may be some relenting on harsh deficit-reduction targets for this year.
In its enfeebled state, Eurocrats now concede, more harsh deficit-cutting may cause a dangerously severe recession.
The austerity cuts in Britain — part of the government's overly harsh deficit-reduction plan — have provoked many outcries, but few quite as eloquent as a speech given recently in Oxfordshire by Philip Pullman, author of the highly regarded trilogy "His Dark Materials".
The idea of Germany and other creditor nations dictating even harsher deficit reduction measures for countries such as Greece and Italy may sound reassuring to market, but for people in the streets of Athens and Rome, it sounds like nothing short of serfdom.
Rather than being fixated on harsher budget-deficit rules, the European Union's members should pledge to complete the single market in services, to open up cosy national markets to greater competition.
During the Regina convention she staked out a policy of creating jobs and restoring social-welfare programmes after the harsh years of deficit-cutting.
But there is no doubt that Lord Ashcroft is to blame for the deficit, that harsh winter, and David Beckham's Achilles tendon.
A 30-6 half-time deficit was harsh on the Vikings, who were without suspended second-rower Gareth Hock, and they fought back well in the second period - helped by Brough's failure to reappear after the break because of injury.
Angry at having to bail out Greece and pledge money to a euro zone safety net, Berlin is leading the drive for harsher automatic sanctions on deficit sinners.
The African Mining Countries have developed their own vision and an action plan.5 These tools, though, overlook the harsh reality of structural deficits and unfavourable conditions as well as the obstacle of adapting and applying the tools at the local level.
