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In Europe 19th November 2014

The EU is a union of rules, not a union of force

The European Union (EU) is a group of sovereign states, who are sovereign in that they are entirely free to leave the EU. This freedom to leave means the EU is not a “super state.” There is no coercive force — and no EU army — to make Britain or any other country remain in the union. Britain enjoys a freedom, within the EU, that colonies did not enjoy within the British or other European empires. Britain is, therefore, entirely within its rights in considering the option of leaving the EU, although that does not mean such a course would be wise.

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In Europe 29th October 2014

No `serious` fault found, France, Italy 2015 budgets pass EU review

MADRID | The Corner | The European Commission said on Tuesday it had found no serious fault with eurozone member states’ 2015 budget plans, clearing France and Italy after they made last-minute changes to meet EU demands. The budget review covered all 18 eurozone countries, with the focus on struggling France and Italy after Brussels told them that their original plans fell well short of what was required to meet European Union norms.

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Spanish economy 2nd October 2014

2014 Spain’s fiscal adjustment on target; 2015 more challenging

(By Barclays) | The Spanish government presented the details of the 2015 draft fiscal budget on Wednesday and the updated macroeconomic outlook underpinning it. There are few changes on the fiscal targets and projections, although the government now expects the economy to grow this year by 1.3% and next by 2% (Barclays: 1.2% and 1.8%). The budget minister in the press conference saw very little risk of the sovereign meeting the deficit target of 5.5% of GDP this year. 

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Spanish economy 1st October 2014

An overly optimistic 2015 Spanish budget

MADRID | By JP Marín Arrese | The Spanish Budget  2015 aims at delivering growth and jobs. Yet, the draft disclosed on Tuesday shows the limited scope for enforcing such a goal. The foreseen improvement in the economic environment would increase available resources through enhanced taxable income,  a shrinking in unemployment and the debt-servicing bill. The Government intends to use the extra margin of manoeuvre to lower personal income and corporate taxes while increasing public investment. Yet, the amounts at stake hardly represent any sizeable boost for GPD. 

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In Europe 20th January 2014

To Fulfill New Year’s Wishes, France Needs to Boost Revenues

MADRID | By Julia Pastor | France just started to go through its new year’s checklist. President Hollande announced last week budgetary cuts of €50 billion for 2015-2017, in addition to those €15bn revealed in September. The country urgently needs to increase revenues and it could do it via the sale of state-owned companies stakes such as a French and European reference like Airbus.

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World economy 21st October 2013

Dysfunctionality in both sides of the Atlantic

MADRID | By JP Marin Arrese | In the aftermath of the last minute deal brokered in Congress to avoid a devastating US default, Obama warned against turning disagreement into highly disruptive “dysfunctionality”. A rather mild way to portray the utter economic wreckage any further delay in solving the debt ceiling deadlock would have prompted. Faced with a similar challenge in a couple of months, he chose to play down the reckless Republican attitude in the House, praising instead the bipartisan efforts to prevent the worst from happening.

Portugal Draft 2014 Budget

In Europe 17th October 2013

Portugal: Potential fiscal slippage this year likely to set the bar higher for next

LONDON | By BARCLAYS | The Portuguese government presented yesterday the draft Budget Law for 2014. Fiscal measures to be deployed amount to EUR3.9bn (2.4% of GDP), about 0.4% of GDP above the EUR3.3bn announced in May when the cabinet approved additional austerity measures to meet revised fiscal targets for this year and next (EUR1.4bn in 2013 and EUR3.3bn in 2014).

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In Europe 14th October 2013

ECB on Ireland: ‘Banking, Deficit Risks’ Ahead of Bailout Exit

THE CORNER | ECB executive board member Jorg Asmussen has said there are “pending risks” for Ireland as it prepares to exit the EU-IMF 85 billion euro bailout on December 15. Dublin is launching its seventh austerity budget in six years on Tuesday, under pressure to deliver a €2.5 billion package of more cuts and taxes without compromising the fragile recovery. Investors are watching closely.