Tag: austerity

European Council President Herman Van Rompuy interrupted his holiday in Seville yesterday (28 August) to visit Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy in Madrid, while Commission President José Manuel Barroso received Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti. A flurry of other upcoming meetings marks the beginning of a heated season.

European Commission President José Manuel Barroso offered a public show of support to Prime Minister Antonis Samaras in his first visit to Greece in three years, but warned that the nearly bankrupt country must make good on promises to reform.

EU heads of states and government would be well advised to announce which strategy for the eurozone they would like to endorse for the next 10 to 20 years, writes Renaud Thillaye, saying three options are on the table: An 'insurance-adjustment' strategy, a smaller eurozone or a fiscal federation.

US President Barack Obama said on Thursday (10 May) that Europe was still in a difficult place economically in part because it did not take some of the steps the United States did. These had included a large-scale fiscal stimulus programme and aggressive action by the Federal Reverve, the US central bank.

Portugal is making progress with reforms aimed at bringing its finances back to health and should be able to return to markets in 2013 as planned, the European Commission said yesterday (3 April).

While the rest of Europe protests about austerity measures, Swiss voters have rejected a proposal to increase employees' annual minimum paid holiday entitlement to six from four weeks after firms warned it might hurt competitiveness and threaten jobs.

Greece's parliament approved a new austerity bill early today (13 February), backing state spending cuts of €3.3 billion in order to secure a second EU/IMF bailout and avoid national bankruptcy, as buildings burned across central Athens and violence spread around the country.

Yes, European countries have to cut public spending in order to put their finances back in shape. But this should not compromise essential public services such as education, health care or tax collection, writes Klaus Heeger of the European Confederation of Independent Trade Unions (CESI).

The decisions taken at the so-called 'historical' summit on Friday risks to plunge Europe in a Japanese-like recession which is going to have devastating consequences on European social model, writes Pervenche Bères, chairwoman of the European Parliament employment and social affairs committee.

Civil servants in all three EU institutions – Commission, Council and Parliament – have warned they may go on strike at the end of November over proposed reforms by the European Commission to rein in staff compensation as part of the general austerity drive.

A feeling of doom hovers over Greece as the debt crisis worsens and Greek society is losing faith both in its leaders and their ability to overcome the ever-increasing possibility that in the end the country will not be able to deal with its sovereign debt, argues Yiannis Roubatis.

While Greece and its international creditors wrangle over cuts, the Greek government is on a mission to win hearts and minds for an upcoming plan to transform the country's worsening business climate.

The EU's commissioner for employment and social affairs has set himself apart from colleagues by decrying "unsustainable" austerity measures "which are clearly not working," and calling for the burden of debt across the EU to be shared more equitably.

As the euro zone continues to dangle the carrot of further aid to a Greek economy hammered by debt, EU leaders on Thursday (23 June) endorsed a European Commission proposal to clean up the country's public sector using EU structural funds.

Trade union leaders from across Europe are gathering in Athens this week, for the 12th Congress of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC). Veteran trade unionist George Dassis shared with EurActiv his views on the social impacts of the financial crisis, and how the EU should show solidarity with countries such as Greece, Ireland and Portugal.

Resentment smouldered among European governments yesterday (7 February) over a German-instigated drive to end wage indexation, raise retirement ages and lock debt limits into national constitutions across the euro zone.

EU Economic and Financial Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn failed to forge a consensus on an austerity budget between Ireland's shaky government and opposition yesterday (9 November) as investors weighed the risk of a second eurozone state requiring help with crushing debts.

Eurozone governments panicked at the onset of the Greek crisis and now there is a real risk that hastily adopted austerity measures might prompt a double-dip recession, warned European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) Secretary-General John Monks in an interview with EurActiv.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel's coalition agreed a package of budget cuts and taxes yesterday (7 June) to bring the structural deficit of Europe's biggest economy within EU limits by 2013 and revive her political fortunes.

Greece's draconian austerity measures announced yesterday (3 March) may pave the way for European Union government aid, easing fears that Greece could lose its ability to borrow from debt markets at affordable rates.