Strasbourg – Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek, whose country is holding the EU presidency, in the European Parliament sharply criticised the measures taken by the USA to fight the economic downturn, saying huge financial injections in the economy are a road to hell. They are also a repetition of mistakes from the crisis in the 1930s, Topolanek said, adding that “panic” surged in the European Union because of some of the US measures. “We need to read textbooks on history which are already covered with dust. The road selected by the USA has discredited itself historically,” Topolanek said. One of the most significant measures of the US administration led by President Barack Obama is a rescue plan worth almost $800bn and a recent decision to strip banks of the so-called toxic assets, including unpaid loans, for instance. This step should cost the USA around $1,000bn. Such measures were proposed by US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner who was the target of Topolanek’s criticism today. “Panic arose after Geithner’s words about a permanent action,” Topolanek said. Opinions on the steps the USA and the European Union have taken to boost the economy differ among politicians as well as analysts. Paul Krugman, the winner of the Nobel Prize for economics, some time ago criticised the European Union for doing too little to overcome the crisis and said it should spend large financial amounts. The EU has spent around EUR400bn to support the economy so far.