Euro & Finance Archives

Ahead of an EU summit starting on Thursday (17 October), diplomats from the four Visegrad countries harshly criticised the Finnish presidency of the Council of the EU for a paper it prepared to help the leaders' discussion on the bloc's …

Europe’s competitiveness in a world characterised by disruptions has been in the spotlight of the GLOBSEC Tatra Summit. The Green New Deal, sustainable finance and leveraging the EU budget were identified as the keys to help Europe resist the global …

Finance ministers of the 19-member euro area reached agreement late on Wednesday (9 October) on the details of a "budgetary instrument" for the eurozone, including stronger measures to support countries hit by a sudden economic shock.

Since the June agreement on the eurozone budget, blockages have persisted between the 19 members of the euro area. But France is now taking an active role in persuading the others of the need to pin down practical details. EURACTIV France reports.

The European Investment Bank wants to purge its loan books of fossil fuels, including natural gas, by 2020. Although the Bank's final decision is expected to be delivered on 15 October, resistance, especially from Germany, is brewing. EURACTIV Germany reports.

Paolo Gentiloni won the European Parliament's approval on Thursday (3 October) to become EU Commissioner for the Economy, with ambitious plans to unblock tax proposals and to design the European unemployment reinsurance  scheme.

The World Trade Organisation (WTO) has lowered its global trade growth forecasts for 2019 to 1.2%, compared with its earlier 2.6% prediction issued last spring, with South and Central America bucking the downward global trend. EURACTIV's partner La Tribune reports.

The Commissioner-designate for economy, Italian Paolo Gentiloni, has picked director-general of ECOFIN, Marco Buti, to become his head of cabinet, three sources confirmed to EURACTIV.com.

Finnish Prime Minister Antti Rinne said on Sunday (29 September) that all EU countries looked ready to accept that EU funding should be made conditional on democratic principles, he told Finland's public broadcaster YLE.

France will cut taxes by more than €10 billion next year and Germany should follow Paris' footsteps with fiscal stimulus to revive its flagging economy, France's finance minister said on Thursday (26 September).

The European Commission questioned on Wednesday (25 September) some member states’ decision to grant at least 18 months to banks for the full implementation of the European Payments Services Directive 2, which requires stronger authentication procedures for online payments.

France's private sector is growing at a slower rate and has reached the lowest level in the past four months, according to forecasts published by IHS Markit on Monday (23 September). For the eurozone, business expansion fell to the lowest level since June 2013. EURACTIV's partner La Tribune reports.

ECB President Mario Draghi urged EU co-legislators on Monday (23 September) to set up a fiscal capacity to counter eurozone’s economic shocks, as he warned of the worsening economic outlook in his farewell debate with MEPs.

Europe's austerity-driven dogma has proved to be unsuccessful and should come to an end, MEP Tiziana Beghin told EURACTIV in an interview but stressed that the aim of her party, the Five Star Movement, is not to clash with the EU but to ensure there is more fiscal flexibility.

EU member states remain split over a possible relaxation of the bloc’s fiscal rules meant to facilitate investment in the bloc, despite calls from the European Central Bank and some governments to increase public spending and mitigate the risk of recession.

The European Commission and some member states including France followed the ECB in pressing Germany and other countries with fiscal space to invest more to counter the risk of recession.

The European Central Bank said on Thursday (12 September) it will reactivate its bond-buying programme, stepping up the monetary stimulus to maintain economic growth, but its president Mario Draghi told Germany and the Netherlands the time has come to spend more in order to avoid the risk of a downturn.

Germany and Poland are pressing for EU budget negotiations to be concluded as quickly as possible. For Poland, the primary beneficiary of the EU's cohesion policy, there is a great deal at stake. Germany hopes the negotiations will finish before it takes over the EU presidency next July. EURACTIV Germany reports.

The ifo Institute for Economic Research has lowered its forecast for Germany's economic growth for 2019 and 2020. Instead of the previously predicted 0.6%, the institute now expects a 0.5% growth rate for 2019. A potential hard Brexit and escalation of trade wars with the US were not taken into account. EURACTIV Germany reports.

Freshly re-appointed as Italy's prime minister, Giuseppe Conte has meaningfully chosen Brussels and the EU institutions for his first official visit, aiming to lay down weapons and start a new give-and-take relation with the European Commission.

The European Fiscal Board has recommended major reform of the Stability and Growth Pact in order to simplify the EU’s spending rules and favour productive investment in the era of low-interest rates.

Spain's mortgage interest rate index -known as IRPH- could be considered abusive, advocate general of the Court of Justice of the EU warned in his conclusions on Tuesday (10 September), which are contrary to an assessment of Spain's Supreme Court. 

Achieving a “more assertive” Europe that can improve its competitiveness and sovereignty in an increasingly hostile world. These are the main guidelines of President-elect Ursula von der Leyen to the new College of Commissioners, unveiled on Tuesday (10 September).

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte called Monday (9 September) for the reform of European Union budget rules and cooperation on immigration as his new government won a parliamentary confidence vote.