EMU
Election day: Calviño and Donohoe neck and neck in Eurogroup race
Eurozone finance ministers are split on whether to pick their Spanish colleague Nadia Calviño or Ireland’s Paschal Donohoe as the next Eurogroup president during a videoconference on Thursday (9 July), EU sources and diplomats told EURACTIV.com.
EU fiscal watchdog wants to scrap ‘unrealistic’ 60% debt limit
The European Fiscal Board on Tuesday (1 July) recommended to get rid of the EU's debt threshold of 60% of GDP and instead adopt realistic debt targets specific to the bloc's national economies.
Calviño, Donohoe and Gramegna compete for Eurogroup helm
Ministers Nadia Calviño (Spain), Paschal Donohoe (Ireland) and Pierre Gramegna (Luxembourg) will compete for the Eurogroup Presidency. While Calviño could become the first woman to chair the body, her colleagues promised to become ‘bridge builders’ between the different positions.
Eurogroup race hits milestone with no official candidates yet
The deadline for eurozone finance ministers to put forward their candidacy to chair the Eurogroup ends on Thursday (25 June), with no official contenders yet, although Spain’s Nadia Calviño, Ireland’s Paschal Donohoe and Luxembourg’s Pierre Gramegna are seen as leading the race.
Spain’s Calvino boasts ‘key role’ in Eurogroup to support her candidacy
Spain’s minister of Economy, Nadia Calviño highlighted her “key role” in preparing the Eurogroup response to the COVID-19 crisis, as the eurozone finance ministers will pick a new president in early July.
Ex-Eurogroup boss: Nobody is so stupid to propose to ‘just go back under 3% deficit’
As one of the most influential Eurogroup figures during the previous crisis, Thomas Wieser chaired the preparatory meetings of eurozone finance ministers between 2011 and 2018. In an interview with EURACTIV, the American-Austrian economist described the EU’s fiscal rules as “bad practical economics”, in particular for handling a crisis such as the current one.
Lagarde warns of market turbulences if no quick adoption of recovery fund
European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde called on member states on Monday (8 June) to urgently adopt the EU recovery plan, saying any delay could create “negative spillovers” in the markets and increase the costs of overcoming the recession.
ECB doubles down on pandemic response after German ruling
The European Central Bank announced on Thursday (4 June) that it will add €600 billion to its €750 billion bond-buying response against the coronavirus, in its first governing council meeting after Germany’s Constitutional Court ruled against the bank's asset-purchasing programme.
Commission vows to break with troika-type conditions in recovery phase
It is increasingly evident that the European Commission has no intention to return to the tight cash-for-reform system to manage the recovery funds and that ‘hawkish’ member states could find it difficult to turn the proposed procedure into a troika-type oversight.
Von der Leyen’s other stimulus: A private sector boost of €600 billion
As part of its recovery plan, the European Commission wants to attract €600 billion of additional private investments in order to finance strategic sectors and support viable companies at risk of liquidity shortages in the aftermath of the COVID-19 crisis.
Commission puts forward massive €750bn stimulus against corona-crisis
The European Commission will propose later on Wednesday (27 May) an unprecedented fiscal stimulus of €750 billion, mostly made up of grants that do not need to be reimbursed, to overcome the deepest recession in EU history.
Member states brace for ‘great stimulus’ battle
The European Commission’s proposal on the next seven-year budget and the accompanying recovery fund will this Wednesday (27 May) launch one of the most difficult negotiations in the EU history, as member states disagree over the size, shape and conditions, and primarily whether to give grants or loans.
France wants EU budget rules suspended through 2021
France on Thursday (21 May) called on the EU to suspend its strict budgetary rules for member states for this year and next due to the severe hit economies have taken during the coronavirus pandemic.
Commission defends gradual return to fiscal discipline to avoid ‘mistakes’ of austerity
The European Commission could start controlling deficit and debt levels from next year, once the recession is over. But the road to balancing public accounts again will avoid the “mistakes” of the last crisis, the institution said on Wednesday (20 May).
ESM corona-loans expected to be available from 15 May
The €240 billion in ‘cheap’ loans for countries affected by the coronavirus COVID-19 will be available as from 15 May, 15 days ahead of the expected date, European Stability Mechanism (ESM) chief, Klaus Regling, said on Friday (8 May).
Commission expects Spanish economy to shrink 9.4% this year
The European Commission expects the Spanish economy to contract by as much as 9.4% this year due to the impact of the coronavirus, although it should regain some of the lost ground in 2021, when it is expected to grow by 7%, EU sources told EURACTIV.
German court gives ultimatum to ECB on bond-buying programme
Germany’s central bank (Bundesbank) should suspend the implementation of the European Central Bank's critical bond-buying programme unless the ECB proves the proportionality of its monetary stimulus, aimed at shoring up the eurozone's economies, Germany's Constitutional Court ruled on Tuesday (5 May).
ECB ready to increase its coronavirus stimulus
The ECB is ready to increase its €750 billion bond-buying programme to cope with the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic, as the eurozone economy could fall by 12% this year, its president Christine Lagarde said on Thursday (30 April).
Coronabonds for a Europe of solidarity, not charity
Today, the European Union is being hit by a symmetrical shock caused by COVID-19. This renders the instruments developed to address the 2008 financial crisis as unfit for purpose, write Iratxe García and Paul Tang.
Eurogroup to discuss EU-wide unemployment reinsurance scheme
The European Commission is planning to present to EU finance ministers next week its pan-European unemployment reinsurance scheme proposal to support the most affected countries by the coronavirus.
EU Commission expects deeper recession than in 2009
The economic slump caused by the coronavirus COVID-19 is expected to be deeper than the 2009 Great Recession, according to a European Commission document seen by EURACTIV.
Leaders clash over stimulus against pandemic, pass hot potato to Eurogroup
EU leaders on Thursday (26 March) continued to disagree over the economic response to the coronavirus as Northern countries rejected the idea of issuing joint debt, known as "corona bonds", proposed by nine member states to finance the recovery.
France wants EU to win virus ‘communications battle’
European solidarity is being put to the test as some EU member states are not supporting the idea of 'corona bonds' and the EU's approach to communicating with the public about the crisis remains too discreet, according to Paris. EURACTIV France reports.