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Europe Digital Agenda

European economy 15th November 2020

Facing a Second Wave of Lockdowns, Is The EU Ready To Build A Fully Digital Economy?

European Views | EU governments need to make sure a significant slice of their recovery funds are spent on solidifying the foundations of the digital economy at a time of sweeping economic transformation. While Finland and Sweden rank first and second in terms of both citizens’ internet use and in digital skills, southern European economies find themselves lagging in relation to their EU peers. Even Germany, Europe’s economic engine, has not realized its full potential in all matters digital.

ECB's president Christine Lagarde

European economy 13th November 2020

The Resumption Of Banking Sector Dividends, Increasingly Closer

Morgan Stanley | The negative impact of the dividend restriction will be eliminated once the market sees that it was temporary. The revolution by Pfizer and BiOntech following the announcement of their vaccine’s effectiveness undoubtedly anticipates the return of dividends is closer than ever. We hope the ECB will review the issue at the end of the year so that the payment can be reactivated as of January 2021 (gradually, individually and with estimated average payouts of 20-30%).

armyok

European politics 12th November 2020

Third Countries Are Invited to Join European Military Projects

As the European Union comes to terms with a changing strategic environment, it needs to do more to provide for its own defense and security. This includes better and more comprehensive EU-NATO coordination but also the participation of non-EU members in projects and processes initiated within EU structures. This discussion is especially important now, when the EU, while coping with COVID-19, is simultaneously seeking to build its open strategic autonomy.

EU recovery fund

European politics 11th November 2020

Agreement To Unlock The EU Recovery Fund, But Conditions Remain Uncertain

After four months of negotiations, the Council and the European Parliament agreed yesterday the new 2021-2027 budgetary framework. Although the full breakdown is not known, the budget will mobilise more than 1.8 trillion euros during this period. In addition, both bodies agreed to unblock the Next Generation EU programme. The accord includes reinforcing with an extra €15 Bn the funding of key programmes such as EU4Health, which will triple its previous budget, Erasmus+ or Horizon Europe (R&D).

recovery multi speed

European economy 10th November 2020

A Multi-Speed Recovery With Significant Consequences

José Ramón Díez Guijarro (Bankia) | Three groups of countries have been formed according to the intensity of the recovery: a) countries with V-shaped recoveries (Asian countries such as Korea or China), which will recover lost GDP levels even before the end of this year; b) countries with asymmetric V-shaped recoveries (US, Germany, etc), which will recover pre-pandemic activity levels by the end-2021 or early 2022 ; and c) lagging countries (southern Europe and much of Latin America), which will take at least another year (2023) to recover.

germany reinvented

European politics 9th November 2020

Who Are the Men Hoping to Succeed Angela Merkel?

The decision of who will follow Angela Merkel to become Germany’s next chancellor is still up in the air. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party conference to elect a new leader has been postponed until January next year.

US an empire

European politics 5th November 2020

What’s at Stake for Europe in the American Election

Donald Trump has consistently sided against Europe and European interests, from raising tariffs on European exports to rescinding the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces and Open Skies Treaties — which protected Russia’s neighbors — to paralyzing the G20 and the World Trade Organization to withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal, the Paris climate accord, New START and the World Health Organization. It’s no wonder Europeans prefer Joe Biden — from between 58 percent of Italians to 80 percent of Danes, according to YouGov.

Trade war can have collateral damage in Europe

European politics 3rd November 2020

Why Many Germans Hope Trump Will Lose

Tilman Pradt (Atlantic Sentinel) | Donald Trump bashing Germany is hardly surprising. It has been a constant of his presidency. The once-special partnership between Germany and the United States, which already lost some of its luster in the decades after the Cold War, sunk to a post-World War II low during his administration. Nor is Trump mistaken. Most Germans want to see him gone — with reason.

city of london

European economy 31st October 2020

Why Sovereign Credit Downgrades No Longer Matter As Much As They Used To

Ghulam Sorwar via The Conversation | Moodys downgraded the UK from Aa3 to Aa2 on the rationale that its heavy reliance on face-face services would mean that economic growth would be worse than expected because of the coronavirus pandemic. The agency’s analysis would have made sense prior to the 2008 financial crisis. It does not make sense in today’s world, with historically low interest rates, long average bond durations and public debt still manageable.