Economy & Jobs
Italy sticks to its guns in revised budget submitted to EU
Italy defied Brussels again on Tuesday (13 November) as Finance Minister Giovanni Tria presented only a slightly modified draft budget, despite the European Commission rejecting the previous spending plan in an unprecedented decision.
Net neutrality compliance in France better than elsewhere in Europe
An app allowing Internet users to monitor their internet service provider’s proper conduct was presented at the Internet Governance Forum in Paris on Monday (12 November). The initial statistics have shown that France has fared well. EURACTIV France reports.
Parliament urges Council to start negotiating on next EU long-term budget
The European Parliament laid down funding priorities for the next long-term EU budget on Tuesday (13 November) and urged the Council to agree on a common position so that talks be completed before next May. But differences still remain about the level of member states' contributions.
Trump tweet-strafes Macron as Europe moves on defence without US
Donald Trump on Tuesday (13 November) unleashed an extraordinary attack on Emmanuel Macron, mocking the French president's approval rating and lashing him over European defence proposals which enjoyed a crucial new boost from Germany.
France and Germany turn up the heat on EU digital tax
German Finance Minister, Olaf Scholz, and his French counterpart, Bruno Le Maire, rallied their support for the European Commission's digital tax plans on Monday (12 December), with the former stating that he wants a deal tied up at a December meeting of EU finance ministers in Brussels.
US belittles EU’s ‘special purpose vehicle’ as companies flee Iran
The United States is not too concerned by Europe's idea for a special purpose vehicle (SPV) to get around US sanctions with Iran as companies are already withdrawing from the country in droves, the senior official for financial intelligence said.
EU auditors praise refugee assistance to Turkey despite irregularities
The Facility for Refugees in Turkey “swiftly” addressed people’s needs, stated a report by the European Court of Auditors published on Tuesday (13 October), but stressed there were some irregularities in tracking the EU funds.
Luxembourg reprimanded over slow transposing of money laundering laws
The European Commission has reprimanded Luxembourg once again for delays in transposing European anti-money laundering rules into its legislation. EURACTIV France reports.
France continues fight against ‘gold plating’ of EU laws
French senators have removed around 20 over-transpositions of EU directives, which are considered to harm businesses’ competitiveness. This was part of a “tidying-up” mission which is sometimes at odds with the public interest. EURACTIV France reports.
Common Borders, Common Solutions: The Romanian-Bulgarian cross-border regional cooperation
The Romania-Bulgaria Cross-Border (RBCB) Cooperation Programme supports the development of eligible border areas, both in Romania and Bulgaria for over 14 years. These programmes aim to create a "bridge" between the two countries in order to support the border regions.
No compromise on EU budget rules, Moscovici warns Italy
The EU’s Economics chief Pierre Moscovici insisted on Thursday (8 November) that there was little room for Brussels to compromise with the Italian government over its budget plans as he unveiled the European Commission's latest economic forecasts.
EU must look after regions, even if future funding is cut
European border regions matter and the EU must continue looking after them despite planned cuts for Cohesion policy funding, particularly as some of them remain under-developed, participants at a recent EURACTIV event said, highlighting the example of Romania-Bulgaria cross-border cooperation.
Cohesion Policy and European Semester: Could they have more in common than we think?
Study shows that citizens’ concerns are directly linked to domestic policies, which are consistently the target of EU economic coordination priorities. That is why Cohesion Policy could help the European project, by making it relevant to citizens, writes Katie Cavell.
European Court of Auditors criticise plans to reform CAP
The EU auditors have expressed clear criticism of the plans to reform the CAP. They said that the Commission's proposals did not meet the demand for a "more environmentally-friendly and more strongly preformance-based" approach. EURACTIV Germany reports.
Greek banks’ foul play suspected in Bulgaria
A Greek bank bought the Bulgarian subsidiary of another Greek bank on Wednesday (7 November). The deal seems totally at odds with the terms of Greece’s bailout deal, but not only that.
Spain’s trade chief: China’s commitment to open its economy is ‘unquestionable’
Spain and China celebrate this year the 45th anniversary of their bilateral relations. In order to continue strengthening this bond, Chinese President Xi Jinping will travel to Madrid in the coming weeks. “We are already seeing that China is opening its markets,” Spain’s Trade chief Xiana Margarida Méndez told EURACTIV.com.
Delays in equipping classroom 4.0 in Germany
In order to make society fit for digitisation, its youngest members should be equipped with digital skills. The German government is promoting its “Digital Pact for Schools,” for which the government will provide €5 billion, according to the coalition agreement. But to date, not a cent has changed hands. EURACTIV Germany reports.
Spain’s La Liga says ready to turn to EU over City and PSG cases
The Spanish soccer league’s organising body La Liga is ready to turn to the European Union if UEFA does not enforce its Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules against Manchester City and Paris St Germain, a spokesman told Reuters on Tuesday....
EU’s troublemakers find comfort in Chinese arms
Cornered by their EU partners, Italy, Hungary and the UK were welcomed with open arms by Chinese President Xi Jinping during his landmark trade event held in Shanghai this week, where around 3,000 companies from more than 130 countries are taking part in the first China International Import Expo (CIIE).
Stark divisions among member states in EU digital tax plans
EU finance ministers remain divided over a raft of issues in the European Commission's digital services tax (DST) plans after a meeting on Tuesday (6 November) drew attention to a plethora of challenges in reaching a consensus.
All eyes on EU’s anti-discrimination efforts
Associations working to fight against inequalities are calling on the EU to adopt a more aggressive policy against fraudulent employers. This approach echoes a survey showing that the majority of French people are closely following this issue. EURACTIV France reports.
Commission tells China to deliver on promise to open up its market
EU Commissioner for Health and Food Safety Vytenis Andriukaitis told EURACTIV.com that China should deliver on its promise to open up its market, as European companies complain about the difficulties they face in the country.
Eurozone ministers urge inflexible Italy to drop budget defiance
Eurozone finance ministers urged Italy on Monday (5 November) to reverse course on its rule-breaking budget amid fears of market turmoil and a return of the debt crisis.