In Europe

EU young-1

The EU Youth Guarantee: A “Lost Generation”?

Youth unemployment in the EU has now reached an average rise of 23.5%. More specifically, there has been an increase of the “NEETs,” young people who are not in employment, education or training to 14 million young Europeans. As a new targeted policy, the European Council endorsed the principle of the Youth Guarantee in June 2013, an  scheme  to offer all young people up to the age of 25 a good quality employment opportunity, continued education, an apprenticeship or a traineeship within four months of leaving their formal education or becoming unemployed. The Youth Guarantee is based on the model of earlier national plans that were successfully implemented in Scandinavian countries, Germany, Austria, the Netherlands and Poland.


Lesser Flamingo

Are Europeans Closing their Borders?

PARIS | By Jean Pisani-Ferry via Caixin | Europe needs migration much more than at any time in recent decades, but has never given a clear answer to how it feels about the issue.



No Picture

Spain’s new jobs to have a €100 flat rate on social contributions

MADRID | By Francisco López | PM Mariano Rajoy’ leading measures to push up Spanish economy in 2014 include a €100 flat rate for social security contributions of new jobs as well as a tax cut that can benefit 12 million of workers. While the first initiative intends to foster permanent contracts more than alleviate companies’ tax charges, the second is not very clear since we don’t really know how many employees will benefit from it. Also, the next fiscal reform could change tax structure completely.


No Picture

What lies at the heart of differences over Greek banks’ capital needs?

ATHENS | By MacroPolis | Following a meeting last week between Bank of Greece (BoG) senior officials with the top management of the four Greek systemic banks (Alpha, Eurobank, National and Piraeus), where the central bank reportedly informed lenders that their capital needs amount to around 5 billion euros, a Financial Times report published on Monday puts things in a completely different perspective.


Mobile Congress

Spain leads app market in EU- but users want them for free

MADRID | By Jaime Santisteban | 22 million Spaniards are active apps users and 4 million apps for smartphones, tablets and TV are downloaded every day. No matter the economic crisis, “in this harsh work environment, app development still has an increasingly strong potential,” Microsoft analysts point out. As the industry leaders gather in Barcelona for the Mobile World Congress starting on Monday – they’ll make the deals that we’ll hear about for the rest of the year, by the way- brands are complaining about how hard it is to monetize apps in a country too used to download them without paying a cent.

 



auschwitz afp 640

Europe says no to racism denialism

MADRID | By Julia Pastor | Racist and xenophobic instincts exist in European countries in a more or less controlled way since Europe is Europe. To deny Holocaust has been long considered a criminal offense in Germany and France but the European Commission still cannot punish member states that do not apply correctly the European rules against racism and xenophobia. Yet things can change.


germany's flag

Could Germany do more?

BERLIN | By Alberto Lozano | While Germany was receiving criticism from all sides for its surplus current account, its industry continued setting records and exporting its products all around the world and Euro zone was still strengthening its pillars for a brighter future.


welcome home

Spanish Ferrovial, ACS, OHL and FCC go shopping in Europe

MADRID | By The Corner Team | Whether they are awarded with the projects or not remains unknown but Spanish construction firms are bidding for relevant purchases and infrastructures in Europe with the aim of continuing their international expansion and thus softening the fall in their domestic market. As Ferrovial would have make a €800 million offer for control stakes in Aberdeen, Glasgow and Southampton airports, ACS, OHL and FCC will fight to build a submarine tunnel connecting Germany and Denmark valued at €5,5 billion.