US plans to revive economy a way to hell,says EU leader

A day after his government collapsed because of a parliamentary vote of no-confidence,Topolanek took the EU presidency on a collision course with Washington over how to deal with the global economic recession. Most European leaders favor tighter financial regulation,while the US has been pushing for larger economic stimulus plans.

Topolanek’s comments are the strongest criticism so far from a European leader as the 27-nation bloc bristles from recent US criticism that it is not spending enough to stimulate demand. They also pave the way for a stormy summit next week in London between leaders of the Group of 20 industrialised countries. The host of the summit,British prime minister Gordon Brown,praised Obama on Tuesday for his willingness to work with Europe on reforming the global economy in the run-up to the G-20 summit.

Topolanek bluntly said that “the United States did not take the right path”. He slammed the US’ widening budget deficit and protectionist trade measures — such as the “Buy America” — and said that “all of these steps,these combinations and permanency is the way to hell”.