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European politics

The ratio of NPLs could be close to 3%in Europe in 2020

European politics 27th May 2020

While Waiting For A Plan Which Keeps Both North And South Happy, the EU Considers New Green Taxes To Finance It

An important day in Europe today. The European Commission will present its proposal for a post-coronavirus economic recovery plan. Ursula Von de Leyen will seek to find a compromise between the demands of the countries most affected by the pandemic and those of the so-called frugal countries. Instead of countries putting more money from their national coffers into the European Budget, the EC plans to finance itself with new “green” taxes that could raise annual revenues of €5-14 Bn for the EU.

ECB Bundesbank

European politics 8th May 2020

The ECB Responds Without Hesitation To German Constitutional Court Ruling But Must Build Bridges

Intermoney | In the name of the ECB independence, Christine Lagarde, made it clear that the only guide for the institution is the fulfilment of its mandate and no resources or efforts will be spared in this task. Once the central bank has made it clear that it does not accept the authority of the German courts, it must move on towards a more political phase in which it can build bridges and provide a solution to the problem. If it does not do so within three months, the Bundesbank could find itself in a difficult legal mess.

The trick of the Italian budget law

European politics 5th May 2020

Are Italy’s Days In The Eurozone Numbered?

Asad Zangana (Schroeders) | Many economies are facing a deep recession as a result of Covid-19, but Italy went into this crisis in a more precarious situation than most. The country stands out as the most likely candidate to exit the eurozone for several reasons. First, with gross debt estimated at 135% of GDP in 2019, it faces a significant challenge in both servicing its debt, but also refinancing it.

EU Green Deal: Bold headlines, elusive impact

European politics 2nd May 2020

Will The Covid-19 Crisis Undermine The EU Green Deal? A View From Europe’s Periphery

Oliver Vardakoulias via Macropolis |On March 26th, the European Council issued a joint statement stressing the objective of a ‘green transition. Since then a number of governments, business leaders, academics, MEPs, supra-national organizations, investors, and NGOs have equally called for post-emergency recovery packages (fiscal and monetary expansion to prop up our economies) to be aligned with the vision and targets of the EU Green Deal.

Eurogroup

European politics 24th April 2020

The European Union Is Slow And Lacks Solidarity In The Face Of The Coronavirus Crisis

As expected, European Union leaders yesterday approved the 540 billion euro package agreed by the Eurogroup last week (focused on providing the most urgent liquidity). But there was no progress on the long-awaited European Recovery Fund. As usual, details such as its amount or the distribution of the economic burden, between non-repayable transfers and loans, have yet to be specified. The Fund, which is expected to reach over EUR 1 trillion, is not expected to start operations until 2021.

Mark Rutte

European politics 8th April 2020

The Eurogroup Clog Rests On False Assumptions

J.P. Marín Arrese | The EU strategy for curbing the crisis stalled on Wednesday’s early hours as Holland and Italy bitterly clashed over the scope and conditions of the plans to support ailing partners. Minister Gualtieri rejected anything short of mutually guaranteed bond emissions. His Dutch counterpart flatly refused to envisage such a way out while insisting on demanding structural reforms from any beneficiary of the rescue fund. This row rests on wholly misleading assumptions.

UE coronavirus

European politics 31st March 2020

At Different Speeds In Europe On CoronaVirus: Each One Has To Shoulder Their Own Burden

José Ramón Díez Guijarro (Bankia Estudios) | Extraordinary measures have allowed financial markets to stabilize during the week. With one exception, as it seems that the concept of urgency is different in Europe from that in the rest of the world. The European summit on the coronavirus ended with the decision to take two weeks to analyse proposals. Even in a situation like the present one, northern European countries are not prepared to mutualise risks. We will see if all this does not end up affecting the waterline of the European project.

Paris

European politics 13th March 2020

France Faces its Own National Concerns

Luis Alcaide (Capital Madrid) | Next Sunday, the 15th, municipal elections will be held. To what extent will national problems, such as the controversial reform of pensions by decree, influence the results?

Rutte

European politics 27th February 2020

The Hanseatic League and the EU Budget

In order to strengthen the Dutch government’s decisive contribution to the EU’s internal fiscal dumping, which drains tens of billions of euros of public resources from the states that do not enforce this, the Rutte government is opposed to the adoption of directives that seek to limit unfair tax competition in company taxation and to which it proposes changing the procedure from unanimity to qualified majority voting on tax rules.

ursula pedro

European politics 27th February 2020

The EC Asks Spain Government For Prudence With Labour Reform Review

The European Commission (EC) urged the Spanish government to “carefully” evaluate the potential impact of any modifications to the 2012 labour reform and to “preserve “the most positive aspects of it, which “supported solid job creation” during the recovery phase. Citing a recent study from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), it states that “the labour reforms adopted in 2012-13 in response to the crisis have played an important role in promoting a rich recovery in employment which began in 2014.”