Greece enters a new year that could prove to be a watershed in its long and meandering traipse through three successive bailouts and faltering efforts to overcome the chronic weaknesses that contributed to one of the most damaging economic crises the developed world has seen.
The United Kingdom can no longer count on the unequivocal support of its allies and the country’s exit from the European Union is already taking a toll on its international clout.
A. Dimadis and D. Avramopoulos | Dimitris Avramopoulos was meant to handle one of the biggest humanitarian challenges in the European Union’s history: the refugee crisis. Well-respected in EU circles, Avramopoulos assumed his tenure in the European Commission in a period while the union’s cohesion had been intensively tested by the refugee crisis and terrorist threat, with both issues raising questions about EU border protection.
Greece has been let down on numerous occasions by its politicians and Tsipras has often criticised opposition parties for their role that led to the crisis in 2009 and its management subsequently. However, he must look back at those six months of 2015 and wonder what he was thinking.
Almost at the same time as the Catalan separatists tried to get the European Union on the side of its cause, the European authorities have had to deal with insurgency in Poland. The latter’s judicial reform put at the risk the division of powers and the judicial independence of a country in the region. While Spain had to implement article 155 of its Constitution in order to contain the crisis of authority which the secessionist attempt implied, the EU has had to press its own “nuclear button”, article 7 of the Treaty, to restrain Polish government.
The European Union has made a 180 degrees turn with respect to one of the most important regulations which will affect the banking sector in the coming months. The regulation affects how the lenders boost their anticrisis buffers.
Al Shoula, the consortium for the Mecca-Medina Ave, is working against the clock to ensure the start-up of the “demonstration service” due to take place on December 29. This means it will be paid the 150 million riyales (some 33 million euros) promised by the Saudi authorities
Since Portugal emerged from the crisis in 2014, its real estate sector has undergone a remarkable recovery. Caixabank Research points that the evolution of house prices, after a fall of 16.3% in nominal terms between 2007-13, have risen by an average of 5.3% per year and are now back at pre-crisis levels.
Analysts at Bankinter offer an investment strategy for the European banks ahead of the new year. Overall they reiterate their recommendation to maintain a structural position in banks due to the improvment in the quality of their balances and the recovery in business volumes.
With the definitive exit of the UK from the EU in 2020 and the rise in populism, Europe is on the way to losing its international relevance. So both Germany and France, the strongest economies in the area, are obliged to seek a balance of power to avoid this possibility.