Tag: eurozone

The Cypriot crisis sends a message that the European Union is failing to protect the interests of its citizens, writes Stratfor.

Latvia decided on Monday (4 March) to apply to join the eurozone next year, a sign of the faith in the single European currency which still exists despite three tumultuous years which have threatened the project.

The Italian crisis not only threatens to return instability to the eurozone, but it also shows that Germany’s efforts to ensure new governments align with Berlin’s strategy are becoming increasingly difficult, writes Stratfor.

Several eurozone countries are likely to miss deficit cutting targets because of a weak economy, the European Commission is expected to forecast today (22 February), but they may be granted extra leeway rather than face disciplinary action.

Meeting on the 50th anniversary of the Élysée Treaty sealing their post-war reconciliation, the leaders of Germany and France vowed yesterday (22 January) to bridge differences on the shape of Europe's currency union and unveil joint proposals on deeper integration within months.

Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso said today (8 January) that his country will purchase bonds issued by the eurozone's bailout fund to help foster financial stability.

Shunned by the EU with membership talks effectively blocked, Turkey feels empowered. It is no longer on the European periphery, but at the centre of its own world, aruge Nathalie Tocci and Dimitar Bechev.

The eurozone’s financial markets end this year in a much better shape than they did last year, but this gain rests on the promise that real progress towards banking union will be achieved in the coming year, writes Daniel Gros.

Germany and France have publicly clashed over plans to put the European Central Bank (ECB) in charge of overseeing all banks in Europe, including Germany's local banks or Sparkassen. However, as negotiations continue, policymakers have acknowledged that a "one-size-fits-all" approach might not be suitable.

The European Parliament is voting in committee this week on the legislation which installs the single supervisory mechanism for Europe's banks. Tricky stuff - especially when certain governments in the Council appear to be backsliding on the banking union, writes Andrew Duff.

Western banks rushed into Central and Eastern Europe, bringing much-needed capital and expertise. But the 2008 financial crisis and the eurozone troubles have shown that the credit boom was unsustainable, if not reckless, argues S. Adam Cardais.

Establishing a genuine dialogue about what the EU is and what it does is essential to prevent the inevitable from happening: the hardening of stereotypes, euroscepticism and resistance to needed steps towards greater integration, write Marko Bucik and Nikos Lampropoulos.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel made a strong federalist speech in the European Parliament yesterday (7 November) before leaving for London, where she urged Prime Minister David Cameron not to turn his back on Europe and work with her to avoid deadlock at European Union budget talks later this month.

There is a tendency in the EU, especially when dealing with Central and Eastern Europe, to turn the reality of the European diversity into a differentiation policy, says Vasile Puşcaş, a Romanian scholar and diplomat who was his country’s chief negotiator in the EU accession talks.

The European Parliament voted narrowly on Thursday (25 October) to reject the nomination of Luxembourg’s central banker to the European Central Bank executive body, saying not enough effort was made to find a female candidate for what is now an all-male club.

Members of the European Parliament have drawn their red lines ahead of negotiations with member states over the EU's 2014-2020 budget. In a resolution adopted yesterday (23 October), they state that they will not accept any compromise that does not strike a balance between spending and revenue. EurActiv reports from Strasbourg.

The attempt by the UK government to instrumentalise the need for further integration in the eurozone in an attempt to dismantle parts of the Union is highly unlikely to succeed, argue Fabian Zuleeg and Janis A. Emmanouilidis.

EU leaders are under fire for pressuring troubled eurozone governments to sell public water utilities as part of their bailout deals, with environmentalists and rights activists saying that privatisation will only feed public anger.

British Prime Minister David Cameron warned that he could veto the EU budget for 2014-2020 “if necessary”, and that measures would be taken to make sure that immigrants from EU countries would not take the jobs of fellow Britons.

While Poland, Bulgaria and the Czech Republic have shelved plans to join the common European currency anytime soon, Latvia announced that it wants to become the 18^th eurozone member in early 2014. 

Leading MEPs have branded as "nonsense" the idea of creating a ‘eurozone parliament’ which diplomats say four EU leaders plan to present next month in response to the bloc's sovereign debt crisis.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, the liberal party leader who is battling for re-election next week, says Greece should not get more financial aid from Europe.

Bulgaria has abandoned plans to adopt the single currency in response to deteriorating economic conditions and rising uncertainty over the prospects of the European Union, Finance Minister Simeon Djankov said in a newspaper interview.