Euro & Finance
Portugal wins EU support for corporate tax transparency law
Portugal’s EU Presidency on Thursday (25 February) won broad support form EU countries to move forward with the European public country-by-country reporting directive, which aims to make multinationals publish information on where they make profits and pay taxes.
EU advisors and Poland’s PGE increase pressure over gas in green finance rules
The European Commission came under new pressure on Monday (22 February) from Poland's biggest power producer, PGE, and its own advisors, over whether to include gas power in EU rules on sustainable finance.
EU Commission warns of disorderly recovery from 2020 crisis
Not all EU countries will recover from the economic losses of 2020 at the same pace, the European Commission said on Monday (22 February), calling for a “strong joint response” from all 27 EU member states.
Spanish Central Bank proposes robust EU deposit guarantee fund
Spain's central bank considers that the volatile economic environment in Europe requires a massive EU response through a "fully mutualised European deposit guarantee fund". EURACTIV's partner EuroEfe reports.
Cohesion Commissioner tells Bulgaria to make good use of EU’s unprecedented funding
The opportunities that the EU’s new long-term budget and the Recovery and Resilience Fund, totaling €1.8 trillion, offer a once-in-a-generation opportunity for the EU and Bulgaria, Elisa Ferreira, Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms told a mostly Bulgarian audience.
Spain’s debt reaches highest level in more than a century
Spain increased its debt in 2020 by €112,438 million – almost the equivalent of the annual cost of pensions in the country – due to the heavy impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. EURACTIV’s partner EFE reports.
From financial solidarity to a social and federal union
The creation of a federal bond will pave the way for a treasury and common EU taxation. However, this ad-hoc financial union agreed by the European Council is mostly an intergovernmental affair and a stronger role of the European Parliament...
Concerns raised over green spending as EU moves forward with recovery plan
The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has called on EU member states to speed up delivery of their national spending plans in order tap into the EU's €750 billion recovery fund, but concerns have been raised over a lack of transparency on how the money may be spent.
EU sets end of May deadline for Turkey to avoid blacklist
The European Union decided not to include Turkey in its blacklist on Monday (15 February) after the Turkish authorities made some commitments to facilitate the exchange of information on tax matters.
Investors ‘concerned’ about EU recovery fund rollout, warns ESM chief
EU’s recovery funds could start flowing to member states before summer. Still, investors are “concerned” about the speed of the implementation of the EU’s joint stimulus, the European Stability Mechanism said on Monday (15 February).
Nuclear faces ‘a lot of uncertainty’ as EU green evaluation looms
The industry is growing increasingly nervous about European Commission plans to evaluate the safety of radioactive waste handling as an expert report is expected next month on how to classify nuclear energy under the EU’s green finance taxonomy.
The Coronavirus exposes the Netherlands as a tax haven – again
Governments miss out on billions of tax revenues annually as the result of tax havens such as The Netherlands. The Coronavirus pandemic tellingly shows how such tax havens undermine public policy and cohesion within the EU, argues Boris Kowalski.
Don’t wage battle against the City, UK bank governor urges EU
The Governor of the Bank of England, Andrew Bailey, on Tuesday (10 February) urged the EU not to wage a regulatory battle against the UK on financial services, warning that “a world in which the EU dictates and determines what rules and standards we have in the UK is not going to work.”
ECB’s Lagarde says cancelling COVID debts ‘unthinkable’
European Central Bank (ECB) chief Christine Lagarde on Sunday (7 February) rejected calls to cancel debts run up by eurozone members to buttress their economies during the COVID-19 crisis.
Cancel the public debt held by the ECB and ‘take back control’ of our destiny
It is time for the European Central Bank to cancel a large of the public debt it holds, say more than a hundred economists from across Europe including Aurore Lalucq, Nicolas Dufrêne, Jézabel Couppey-Soubeyran, and Laurence Scialom.
Commission’s leaked study beefs up arguments to complete banking union
The probability of liquidity shortfalls to protect bank depositors in a new 2008-like crisis would be cut by half if the EU completed the banking union with a European Deposit Insurance Scheme, according to a European Commission analysis seen by EURACTIV.com.
Former European bank chief Draghi set to lead crisis-hit Italy
Italy's president is expected Wednesday (3 February) to ask former head of the European Central Bank Mario Draghi to take over as prime minister following the collapse of the coalition government in the coronavirus-ravaged country.
European investment bank loses landmark case on ‘green’ scrutiny
The European Investment Bank (EIB) illegally avoided environmental scrutiny of its financing decisions, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled on Wednesday (27 January).
EU’s Gentiloni calls for greater involvement of unions in recovery plans
The economic crisis caused by COVID-19 could turn into a “social crisis”, the EU's economic affairs commissioner Paolo Gentiloni has warned, calling for greater involvement from trade unions in the elaboration of national recovery plans.
Europe strongly impacted by extreme weather, says new Climate Risk Index
The Berlin-based think tank Germanwatch published its Climate Risk Index for this year just in time for the virtual Climate Adaption Summit (CAS2021). The Global South tends to suffer more from extreme weather than the North, but Germany is also been among the 20 most severely affected countries worldwide over the past 20 years.
European Central Bank sets up climate team, considers green bonds
Climate change will be key to the review of the European Central Bank's policy, its president, Christine Lagarde, announced on Monday (25 January), marking a possible shift towards 'greener' monetary policy.
Portuguese minister: Fiscal discipline suspension should continue due to second wave
Portugal's finance minister said on Monday (25 January) that the stimulus to the European economy must be maintained until the COVID-19 pandemic “loses momentum”.
Banks ask for better data to implement EU green finance taxonomy
The availability of good data is seen as one of the main challenges to implement the EU taxonomy on sustainable finance, according to a test conducted by banks published on Monday (25 January).