Tag: economic governance

A self-appointed “Future of Europe Group” of 11 EU foreign ministers published yesterday (18 September) its “final’ report, calling for a stronger EU role in foreign and defence policy. Many of their ideas appear to mirror proposals put forward by Commission President José Manuel Barroso in his recent State of the Union speech.

EU heads of states and government who start their two-day summit today “have problems” deciding what to do with proposals for greater fiscal and political integration tabled by European Council President Herman Van Rompuy and three other leaders, EurActiv was told.

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble is seen as the best candidate to become the next president of the Eurogroup. EurActiv.de and EurActiv.fr report on reactions in Germany and France.

The EU's 27 finance ministers will be debating new transfers of power to the European Commission when they meet on Tuesday (21 February), as they examine proposals to tighten control over member states' budgets in the wake of the eurozone's debt crisis.

One year ago, analysts were calling 2010 Europe's “annus horribilis”, a horrible year. Little did they know about the events that were to follow...

The European Commission tabled a raft of new proposals yesterday (23 November) aimed at drawing a line under the eurozone debt crisis by granting Brussels sweeping new powers to scrutinise national budgets and, in extreme cases, "administer" countries struggling with uncontrollable debt levels.

The European Commission issued its first annual "competitiveness report" last week, assessing countries' economic performance under the newly agreed framework for budgetary surveillance, which foresees sanctions for countries with serious imbalances. Many states showed serious shortfalls, the report found.

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.

Members of the European Parliament are rejoicing today (15 September) as they announce new rules which for the first time will grant more power to Brussels than to member states in policing the debt levels of troubled eurozone countries.

Spain has become the first EU country to follow the advice of Germany and France and start a parliamentary procedure to enshrine in its constitution a 'golden rule' guaranteeing budgetary stability. EurActiv Spain reports.

A drawn-out debate over new rules to police debt-laden countries has been shelved until September as lawmakers from the European Parliament, the Commission and EU member states battle over who should have the last word.

The euro zone needs a new narrative to overcome the current crisis or it runs the risk of a major political split, writes Maria João Rodrigues, a professor at the Institute of European Studies in Brussels and an advisor to the EU institutions, in an exclusive op-ed for EurActiv.

The EU has moved a step closer to a deal on how it will police national debt in the future but questions remain over exactly how much pressure can be put on governments which do not listen. 

MEPs yesterday night (19 April) gave their backing to a package of reforms beefing up the EU's powers to police countries' debts in a bid to tackle the aftermath of the sovereign debt crisis.

Thousands of protesters are blocking traffic in Brussels today (24 March) as part of a coordinated campaign by European trade unions, who hope to influence the political decisions of EU leaders on social policies and economic governance.

The European Union now has its own shadow European Council, which at its first summit yesterday (22 March) drew up a list of conclusions criticising EU leaders' actions taken so far and called for a new pact on economic governance and more consistency in foreign policy, fully respecting the Lisbon Treaty.

The EU should impose economic sanctions on countries which are caught breaking budget deficit rules but political sanctions, such as a suspension of voting rights, are a step too far, argues Carl Haglund, a Finnish MEP in charge of the European Parliament's report on the reformed Stability and Growth Pact.

A recently-established federalist body, the Spinelli Group, invited all its members to the European Parliament for the first time yesterday (12 January) for a debate on how to bring forward greater unity between Europeans.

Guy Verhofstadt, leader of the liberal ALDE group, told EurActiv that the newly established Spinelli Group, which is promoting federalism across Europe, is to hold a public event on 15 December, as an ideological challenge to a key EU summit starting the next day.

If adopted and implemented by the EU, the European Commission's legislative proposals on economic governance will constitute a new way of coordinating economic policies in the bloc, writes Nicolaus Heinen, an analyst at Deutsche Bank Research.

The main concern underlying reform of EU economic governance is avoiding another debt crisis, but although this is key, Europe should also focus on fostering sustainable growth for future competitiveness, writes Maria Joao Rodrigues, professor of European economic policies at the Université Libre de Bruxelles and a policy advisor to the EU institutions. In the sketch below, she simulates a debate on reforming economic governance.

A European Commission paper, seen be EurActiv, asks EU countries to present their economic reform plans earlier in the year alongside budget discipline measures, marking the latest attempt by Brussels to scrutinise Europe's national economies in the wake of the Greek debt crisis.

Germany and France face an uphill battle to secure backing for a change to the European Union's fundamental treaty, EU foreign ministers indicated yesterday (25 October) after lengthy talks.

Countries' private debt will for the first time be included in the EU's scrutiny of the bloc's economies and whether countries with spiralling debts should receive sanctions, according to EU sources.