Euro & Finance Archives

The European Commission prepares to reject Italy's budget on Tuesday (23 October) due to an “unprecedented” breach of EU fiscal rules. But Rome sticks to its guns and presented the breach as a “difficult but necessary decision” taken by the government.

The Italian government expects the European Commission to decide for the first time ever on Tuesday (23 October) to ask a member state to revise its draft budget, a government source said on Sunday.

Euro-area leaders agreed on Thursday (18 October) to accelerate the work to bolster the monetary union as the European Commission questioned half a dozen member states’ efforts to balance their public accounts, particularly Italy.

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker told Italian media on Tuesday (16 October) that he could not accept the extra spending budgeted by the Italian government because other member states would “insult” the institution.

For the first time since post-crisis rules entered into force, all eurozone countries are to submit their draft budget plans to the European Commission, but the Commission could also make an unprecedented move itself: sending one of budgets back to where it came from, most likely, Rome. 

Banco Popular intervention was a success story although more than 12,000 of the Spanish bank's shareholders requested to be heard in the complaint process, the European Commission and the Single Resolution Board (SRB) said on Monday (15 October).

According to a British report, 18 of the 20 leading European banks, including four French ones, have already been sanctioned for money-laundering offences over the past decade. EURACTIV France’s media partner La Tribune reports.

The International Monetary Fund has lowered its forecast for economic growth in the global economy as the trade conflict between the USA and China becomes a real threat. But the situation in Europe is not exactly rosy either. EURACTIV Germany’s media partner WirtschaftsWoche reports.

German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz said on Thursday (11 October) he did not expect Italy to need aid to deal with its debt pile. Any intervention by the European Central Bank would require Italy to formally apply for a rescue programme, sources said. 

The European Fiscal Board complained on Wednesday (10 October) that member states had failed to use strong economic growth to reduce their public debt, and called for a major change of EU fiscal rules to ensure better enforcement by the European Commission.

The leaders of Italy's ruling parties said on Tuesday (9 October) they would permit no change to the government's 2019 budget plan, despite financial market pressure and criticism from the country's central bank and the parliamentary fiscal watchdog.

The International Monetary Fund warned on Tuesday (9 October) of a further slowing in eurozone's economic growth, which was forecast at 2% this year, due to persistent uncertainty over Brexit and low productivity. EURACTIV’s partner efe-epa reports.

The European Commission will take the unprecedented step of rejecting a national budget later this month if the Italian government does not improve its announced deficit figures, EU officials told EURACTIV.

In the wake of the Danske Bank scandal, Estonia's central bank has had to clarify cross-border payments made over the past ten years, amounting to approximately €900 billion. EURACTIV France’s media partner La Tribune reports.

The Italian government on Thursday (4 October) dismissed concerns that the European Commission would reject its plan to raise deficit spending next year and signalled that it would not backtrack, even under market pressure.

The European Central Bank's bond-buying programme does not exceed its mandate and is in accordance with EU law, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) advocate general said on Thursday (4 October), in response to complaints raised in Germany.

In a thorough and critical documentary, two filmmakers raise questions about the disproportionate power of BNP Paribas, one of Europe’s largest banks. The documentary is a case study calling into question the credibility of European banking regulation. EURACTIV France reports.

Banks doing business in Estonia, which has been at the centre of a money-laundering scandal involving Danske Bank, handled more than $1 trillion in cross-border flows between 2008 and 2017, according to the country's central bank.

The Ecofin Council “broadly” supported on Tuesday (2 October) the European Commission’s proposal to transfer more powers to the European Banking Authority to investigate alleged cases of money laundering in the EU.

EU finance ministers reached an agreement on Tuesday (2 October) to allow willing member states to apply reduced VAT rates or even scrap taxes on electronic books and digital press.

A war of words took place days after Rome announced a big spending boost in defiance of the European Union that has spooked the markets and has EU capitals fearing a return of the debt crisis.

Eurozone finance ministers and the European Commission called on the Italian government on Monday (1 October) to respect the EU’s fiscal rules, saying the “non-compliant” budgetary plan announced by the third largest eurozone economy could destabilise the region.

EU nations may boast the world's most stringent anti-money laundering rules, but recent scandals show that criminals are good at exploiting the bloc's Achilles' heel: a patent lack of coordination.

The European Union on Friday (28 September) issued a stern warning to Italy's populist leaders following their defiant pledge to increase spending and run a budget deficit that risks putting Rome on a collision course with Brussels.