Economy and Finance

Putin Warns of Conflict over Gas Supplies
Gary Cartwright
Friday, November 6, 2009
A spokesman for the Russian Prime Minister spoke to his Swedish counterpart Fredrik Reinfeldt by telephone, after “uncovering concerns” that Ukrainian president Viktor Yushchenko was blocking payments for Russian gas supplies.
Bundestag Elections 2009: For a Strong and Social Europe
Hubertus Heil, SPD Secretary General
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Stockholm Syndrome: G20 Pittsburgh
Julian Mazowiecki
Tuesday, September 22, 2009

On the 17 September, Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt hosted an informal meeting of EU heads of state and government in Brussels. At the end of it, common ground on three key issues was agreed upon.

The first was the recovery of the economy, public finances and ‘exit strategies’, which deal with the phasing out of stimulus measures. In the document setting out the agreed language for the G-20 summit, the need for a sustainable recovery and prioritising jobs is mentioned.
Economic Policy: Reading The Tea Leaves
Julian Mazowiecki
Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Sir Humphrey Appleby, the senior mandarin at the centre of the British sitcom “Yes Minister” once observed that “You can prove almost anything with statistics”. It certainly helps, however, to have a clear trend emerge from the statistics available to you.
Baroness Ashton in China for trade talks.
Gary Cartwright
Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Baroness Ashton, the EU trade Commissioner, is currently in China for discussions on trade and investment issues. Speaking ahead of her visit, she said " The EU and China share common goals in trade and investment. We must continue to build confidence in order to realise our full potential and deal effectively with any issues that arise, especially in the face of the economic downturn".

Dirty Fuel, Dirty Money
Nicolas J White
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Many would be surprised to hear that the EU still has working coal mines. They would perhaps be even more so when they were told that they exist principally by virtue of state subsidies. However, if the European Commission has its way, as it often does, the EU’s coal mining industry could be gone before too long.
State Benefits In A Time Of Austerity
Nicolas J White
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
The EU commissioner in charge of the future of the EU’s much maligned Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) has spoken out against criticisms levied at the policy or those who receive money from it, stating that “farmers need not be embarrassed because they receive support from public funds.”
Trade As A Weapon Of Mass Destruction
Nicolas J White
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
While it is laudable of the EU to show a concrete commitment to human rights outside its borders one cannot help thinking that the decision to remove Sri Lanka’s preferential trade agreement over the government’s refusal to implement human rights conventions will merely worsen the situation of those the EU is attempting to protect.
MEPs To Be Asked To Fly Economy Class
Nicolas J White
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
The Parliament is to appeal to members to refrain from travelling business class in an effort to cut the cost of the members’ travel allowances. Currently, the cost of the travel allowance is €77 million with members’ salaries amounting to €67 million.
Lipstick on PIIGS
Nicolas J White
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
The shockwaves sent out by Greece’s continued economic woes have prompted calls to establish a European credit rating agency.
Economic Governance, A Greek Lesson?
Nicolas J White
Monday, May 3, 2010
The EU has been mysteriously absent from any real role in large policy discussions with the exception of David Cameron’s pledge to stay out of the European single currency. Meanwhile, the German cabinet has approved a massive loan intended to bail-out the ailing Greek government and prevent Greece defaulting on it’s financial obligations. The German move comes as part of a package of loans from other eurozone countries as well as the United Kingdom.
OTT over OTC?
T Kingsley Brookes
Thursday, April 29, 2010
As EU legislation to rein in the excesses of the financial sector draw closer, it becomes ever clearer that it’s not a simple task. At a public hearing on over-the-counter derivatives, organised by the European Parliament’s Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee, MEPs were reminded that derivatives were designed to mitigate risk, not for corporate gambling.
MEPs seek EU backing to end 'book famine' for the blind
EU Reporter Correspondents
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
In May, The World Blind Union and Adam Kosa MEP, chair of the European Parliament’s Disability Intergroup will host a conference in the European Parliament covering the rights of the visually impaired people to have access to reading materials.
EU 2020 adoption delay could help next UK Government
Nicolas J White
Monday, April 26, 2010
The European Parliament’s Conference of Presidents has called on the European Council to delay adoption of the EU 2020 economic
competitiveness strategy.
VAT Harmonisation Will Bail-out Governments
Chris White
Saturday, February 13, 2010
The European Union is harmonising VAT across the 27 member states. A 20 percent norm will be introduced probably by June with registration also likely to be harmonised at the Belgian standard of €5000 earnings per annum.
New cross-border rules introduced on January 1will prove a cash cow for troubled national exchequers to be followed by harmonised rates and registration.
WAIPA World Investment Conference
Mass Mboup
Monday, October 26, 2009

 

Milan, Italy's vibrant economic capital city in the heart of Lombardy, played host to the 14th annual conference of the World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies (WAIPA) from 12-14 October, the first meeting of its kind to be held on Italian soil. But although this was their first event, the local authorities and their partners and sponsors had raised the bar very high - the conference was an unqualified success.

Boris in Brussels
Chris White
Wednesday, September 2, 2009

He came, he saw and, by all accounts, he conquered. Boris Johnson, Mayor of London breezed into Brussels to defend his City from EU financial regulation that would “drive Hedge Funds out of Europe”.

Message from Mali: Reflections on EU Development Policy
Stefan Cibian
Wednesday, July 15, 2009

When looking at the desert sky in Mali, packed with stars, I think of my holidays at home in the Romanian Carpathians. This thought of home, while far away in Africa intrigues me.
Sizing up Russian-NATO relations
Ruslan Pukhov
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Needless to say, Russia-NATO relations have reached a crisis. Of course, relations between post-Soviet Russia and NATO were never really normal, and so we should take the term crisis with a grain of salt.
New Group in Parliament Confident of Expansion
Marc Jahns
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
The new anti-federalist group in the European Parliament says it will continue to attract new members even after it officially declares its membership tomorrow.
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