Spain’s agricultural sector generated 46.8 billion euros in 2016, 12% of the total for the European Union (EU), making the country the fourth biggest producer, according to figures published on Wednesday by Eurostat.
Nick Ottens via Atlantic Sentinel |A transition deal might be good for Britain, but there are many reasons to doubt the EU would agree to it.
Nick Ottens via Atlantic Sentinel | Spain could use Britain’s exit from the EU to bargain for a new settlement for Gibraltar but vows not to.
Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe signed on Thursday a political agreement on the EU-Japan trade deal, which would be likely completed within months,expectedly by January. Officials said it was not clear at this stage how the EU-Japan deal would be ratified in Europe. Full national ratification gives every national parliament and some regional ones a veto.
The German authorities have come out en masse to criticise the public bailout the Italian government is planning for Monte dei Paschi. For many observers, this decision implies “direct public aid” which goes against the European directive on banking solutions and restructurings.
John Bruton | There is no denying that the United Kingdom’s Brexit decision is a blow to the EU. Now, there is a real risk that the remaining 27 EU members will start pursuing national interests at the expense of the common EU interest. If they do, everyone will lose.
Peter Lundgreen via Caixin| What should be deeply worrying about the growing banking crisis in Italy is the origin of the non-performing loans. One significant sector is retail and wholesale, meaning it’s a widespread problem. A severe banking crisis is a shock for any economy and will, in many cases, hamper economic growth. This is the risk that Italy and the Eurozone are facing.
In an internal report, the IMF has confessed to errors linked to the bailouts in which it participated during the euro crisis, according to what Ambrose Evans-Prichard tells us. Just what the euro needed: explicit recognition, in black and white, that nothing could be done about the “infamy of competitive devaluation.”
Italy is threatening us with another time bomb. The country’s banks have 360 billion euros of doubtful loans and the EU (that is to say the sinister Eurogroup), as intelligent as ever, is pressuring for the bail-in rules, to which ultraliberal & co are so addicted, to be implemented by the book.
Last week the Council decided that Spain and Portugal’s recent efforts to reduce deficit were not enough. This lead to the two countries being fined, the first time this happens since the inception of the euro.