Tag: Economy

For experts and analysts, the new year traditionally begins with the definition of the main trends of social, political and economic development. Actions in Ukraine show that some trends will have significant implications for the Ukrainian society, argues Lidiya Smola.

A 2011 Eurobarometer survey found that 88% of Europeans consider that women should be equally represented in company leadership positions. Let’s hope that the directly-elected members of the European Parliament and member states are listening, says Gabriele Suder.

The eurozone economy shows little sign of recovering before the year-end despite an easing of financial market conditions, European Central Bank Mario Draghi said on Thursday (8 November) after interest rates were left at a record low.

European railway operators are pressing for an EU-wide response to the rising number of cable thefts, with desperate rail companies deploying helicopter patrols and sprinkling infrastructure with artificial DNA to deter crime.

Britain's 40 years in the EU have been of great shame and sadness, but the British are European and proud of it, British MEP Nigel Farage told EurActiv Germany.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte of the liberal VVD and the Labour (PvdA) leader Diederik Samsom were neck-and-neck heading into today's general election, the latest polls showed.

Switzerland has the world's most competitive economy for the fourth year running, according to the World Economic Forum's annual survey published today (5 September). The lowest ranked EU country is Greece at 96th.

Danish prime minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt might have to call an election later this year as her centre-left government has lost support from the Red-Green Alliance, whose votes are needed to keep her in power.

Countries in Eastern Europe have until now shown remarkable economic resilience, after being hit harder by the 2008–2009. But their economic future relies on a new model of growth, argues Jana Grittersova.

The European Commission will risk accusations of double standards today (25 April) when it proposes a 6.8% increase in the European Union's budget for next year despite calls for fiscal discipline across the bloc.

Faced with stagnant economies and rising fuel prices, Europe's airline industry is pressing leaders to speed up the modernisation of the continent’s air traffic control system as a way to improve efficiency.

Northern European countries are reaping more than twice the benefits than their crisis-riven southern counterparts from the internet as a contributor to their net GDP, according to a new survey. 

Juan Somavía, the head of the United Nations' International Labour Office (ILO), issued a stark warning to MEPs yesterday (14 September) to "place the real economy in the driver's seat of the global economy".

The European economy is recovering more quickly than expected from the crisis and companies are expected to hire 600,000 new workers over the next year, according to BusinessEurope's economic outlook released yesterday (15 November).

Limiting the power of financial markets will improve their ability to help achieve the central goals of any civilised society, writes Robert Skidelsky, a member of the UK House of Lords and Professor Emeritus of Political Economy at Warwick University.

Business confidence is bouncing back after the sharpest drop in economic activity since World War Two, prompting more industry leaders to start hiring again, found a survey published today (27 January) as the World Economic Forum in Davos opens.

Europe's economy will rebound next year from a deep slump and accelerate in 2011, the European Commission said on Tuesday (3 November), paving the way for major budget deficit cuts across the 27-nation bloc from 2011 at the latest.

Following Ireland's approval of the Lisbon Treaty in a second referendum last week, most analysts see the country's change of heart not as an ideological move, but akin to a cry for help, as the Irish government predicts that the budget deficit is set to increase.

Last night's (25 September) roundtable talks produced underwhelming results as widely expected agreements were not forged on regulations of financial services, global imbalances and soaring unemployment levels.

The euro zone is emerging from recession, the European Commission said yesterday (14 September), although it kept a gloomy overall forecast for 2009 as data showed job losses across the region still rising and sapping growth.

A second Irish rejection of the EU's Lisbon Treaty would shatter international confidence in Ireland's ability to deal with its economic woes and would raise the country's borrowing costs, the country's finance minister warned on Friday.

Eurozone unemployment hit a ten-year high of 9.5% in July and is seen rising further before a nascent economic recovery supports the job market, undermining hopes that consumer spending will boost growth.

European Commission President José Manuel Barroso spent the summer preparing his programme for the next five years after his bid to secure a second term was put on ice by the European Parliament's political group leaders in July - EurActiv asked key stakeholders to assess the Barroso Commission's achievements and failures.

Like France and Germany, Poland could buck the EU trend and emerge from recession early next year, according to recent forecasts by Polish economists. However, the IMF warned that such predictions could be premature. EurActiv Poland contributed to this article.