EU hates Volcker rule

Yeah yeah, and their latest financial rules would have made trading their own bonds much cheaper than U.S. treasuries.

Read here:

DAVOS, Switzerland—The European Commission will complain to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner that proposed U.S. regulations could discourage banks from trading European sovereign bonds, potentially increasing funding costs for the Continent’s governments and worsening its credit crunch.

Michel Barnier, the European commissioner for the internal market, said in an interview that he plans to raise objections with Mr. Geithner next month about the potential impact of the so-called Volcker rule, which would restrict U.S. banks from making bets with their own capital.

“I will talk to Mr. Geithner next month.…We can’t accept extraterritorial consequences or Europe will be tempted to do the same thing,” Mr. Barnier said.

The issue is particularly sensitive because many European countries are struggling to raise funds at affordable rates amid the euro zone’s debt crisis.