MADRID | José Fernández Albertos at El Diario via Presseurop | European elections are transnational, but voting is determined by campaigns on local issues, and the political consequences of the election results are essentially local. This paradox is a major obstacle for European integration.
LONDON | By Nigel Morris at The Independent via Presseurop | A generation gap has opened up among Britons, with 41 per cent of 18-24 year olds saying they are firmly in favour of the UK’s EU membership or leaning towards support, compared to 32 per cent who are against, according to a new poll published in The Independent.
LONDON | By Barclays analysts | We expect Europe to experience a long period of moderate economic growth, coupled with very low inflation: for the EU28, GDP should grow 1.5% in 2014 and accelerate to 1.7% in 2015, while inflation should bottom at 1.2% in 2014 before edging up slightly, to 1.4%, in 2015.
SAO PAOLO | By Marcus Nunes | ECB Executive Board member Benoit Coeuret told a journalist club on Monday night that the European Central Bank was ready to act, but that the euro zone was not edging towards a dangerous fall in prices.
LONDON | By Barclays analysts | Under our macroeconomic scenario of a mild and uneven recovery combined with subdued inflation, we do not expect the ECB to cut rates further in the coming months despite recent speculation (Bloomberg news) that it was considering a negative deposit rate.
COPENHAGUE | By Kim Faber, Tanja Parker Astrup and Jakob Sheikh at Politiken via Presseurop | With 29.5 per cent of the vote, the Social Democrats led by Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt avoided a long-predicted catastrophe in Danish local elections on November 19, reports Politiken.
BRUSSELS | By Suzanne Lynch at The Irish Times via Presseurop | Ireland may choose to exit its bailout programme without the support of a precautionary credit line, the Minister for Finance said yesterday following a meeting with the International Monetary Fund in Washington.
LONDON | By The Economist via Presseurop | It’s not just sovereign borrowing; there are too many zombie firms and overindebted households.
PARIS | By Eric Sandin at Le Monde via Presseurop | In response to NSA eavesdropping and the massive collection of user data by Internet giants, it is up to the EU to lay the foundations for the future worldwide web. Because only Europe can guarantee a “responsible, shared” environment in which individuals can manage the data that concerns them.