Germany’s foreign minister wants Europe to create new financial infrastructures to free it from US domination. He’s suggested a new system for banking transactions. But what exactly would a European SWIFT system look like?
Last week, Germany’s foreign minister made headlines around the world when he suggested that Europe should be less reliant on the US when it came to the global financial system. In an editorial in this newspaper, he wrote about the need for a more independent SWIFT system as well as a potential European monetary fund, so that the Europeans would not have to be dictated to by the US when it came to issues where they disagree, such as on sanctions against Iran.
The EU wants to uphold a deal made with Iran and continue trading with the country, while the US has already re-established tough sanctions against the Shiite Muslim-majority nation.
More European financial independence may sound like the undercooked analysis of an overly ambitious foreign minister. But this week, it seems to be becoming increasingly popular. On Tuesday, at a meeting of ambassadors in Berlin, Mr. Maas reconfirmed his plans. The German government was prioritizing this, he said, and experts were working to ensure that financial transactions with Iran could go through, while also establishing further systemic independence from the US.