Tag: FTT

EU leaders who meet today (7 February) to work on the 2014-2020 budget are expected to cut spending for development aid up to 13%, says MEP Eva Joly, chairwoman of the European Parliament’s Committee on Development. She calls on EU leaders not to sacrifice development aid, which she calls “peace insurance for Europe”. 

At a press conference held late on the first day of the 13-14 December EU summit, French President François Hollande said Europe had won back confidence thanks to the measures adopted in the last six months.

As EU finance ministers meet in Luxembourg today (9 October), Germany and France will step up a diplomatic drive to convince more EU countries, even outside the eurozone, to join them in setting up a financial transactions tax (FTT).

Paris hopes to clinch an agreement before the end of the year to launch an ‘enhanced cooperation’ mechanism allowing a small group of at least nine EU countries to move forward on a financial transaction tax (FTT), French European Affairs Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said yesterday (24 September). 

A financial transactions tax “similar to a stamp duty” and temporarily excluding derivatives is the last attempt made by the Danish EU presidency to enlist Britain's support for the controversial plan. Failing this, a vanguard group of 10 member states led by France and Germany have already indicated they will move forward on their own.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said yesterday (11 June) she would campaign for a financial transaction tax, addressing concerns among the centre-left opposition that her government was only using the issue as a way to get euro crisis legislation through parliament.

Nine EU countries have asked the Danish presidency to put the financial transaction tax (FTT) on the 27-country bloc's agenda without delay, the French government announced in a statement yesterday (7 February).

Socialist leaders warned conservative politicians meeting in Brussels for an EU summit today (30 January) about "empty talk" when claiming they support policies to boost jobs and growth. 

The latest document released by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy in preparation of the 30 January European summit is a sad example of micromanagement of the EU Commission and Council, a prominent Brussels-based political analyst told EurActiv.

British Prime Minister David Cameron said yesterday (8 January) he would veto a European-wide financial transaction tax unless it was adopted globally, deepening a confrontation with European Union heavyweights France and Germany. 

Following Britain's veto of last week's treaty deal for fiscal union, Irish leaders have had to walk an increasingly narrow line between Brussels and London. Finance Minister Michael Noonan has mentioned the possibility of a referendum on the euro, EurActiv France reports.

UK diplomats have broken away from traditional British reserve by saying they would oppose a "bonkers" European Commission proposal for a Financial Transactions Tax (FTT).

In his annual "State of the Union" speech today (28 September), Commission President José Manuel Barroso admitted that the EU was confronted with the most serious crisis of confidence in its history and outlined proposals for moving toward an economic union, calling EU leaders to support further integration.

The EU has funded too many short-term projects that have little or no impact on the long-term competitiveness of Europe and it is high time to target EU spending on growth-led sectors, said BusinessEurope Director-General Philippe de Buck in an interview with EurActiv.

The European Union will push for the adoption of a financial transactions tax at a summit of the world's 20 biggest economies, the G20, in November, European Commission President José Manuel Barroso said on Wednesday (31 August).

A financial transaction tax is needed to repair the damage of the financial crisis, which has cost millions in jobs, and the money should be used to invest in low-carbon growth and employment, said Bernadette Ségol, the newly-appointed secretary-general of the European Trade Union Confederation, in an interview with EurActiv. 

If set at a low enough rate, a tax on financial transactions (FTT) would hinder speculation on sovereign debt while avoiding a massive relocation of banks to safe offshore locations, argues Michel Barnier, the EU's internal market commissioner. Brussels is expected to present plans for an FTT in the autumn.

The EU should impose a financial transactions tax (FTT) as soon as possible, with or without the US, economist Jeffrey Sachs told EurActiv in an interview. Faced with huge budget deficits and public anger, both the US and the EU will have to impose the tax soon, predicted the American economist.