With a timely move the European Commission published yesterday a guide on the application of the ‘Habitual Residence Test’, in this way permanently blocking what has been termed as social ‘benefit tourism’. By the same token, the Commission also erased the rightful expectation of people who are employed as ‘posted workers’ in another EU member […]‘Habitual residence’ rules deprive EU workers from social benefits
January 14, 2014 by 1 Comment
With a timely move the European Commission published yesterday a guide on the application of the ‘Habitual Residence Test’, in this way permanently blocking what has been termed as social ‘benefit tourism’. By the same token, the Commission also erased the rightful expectation of people who are employed as ‘posted workers’ in another EU member […]The Commission neglects the services sector and favours industry
January 7, 2014 by Leave a Comment
On 22 January the European Commission will present a Communication on an EU wide project, under the grandiose name of “European Industrial Renaissance”. Despite its name, the Communication doesn’t seem to have a strong connection with reality. Even the early pre-announcement of this Communication released on 20 December contains elements of futility. It says “While […]German and French bankers looted the Irish and Spanish unemployed
December 30, 2013 by 1 Comment
According to a Commission‘s new ‘on-line state aid to banks benchmarking tool’ published on 20 December, between October 2008 and December 2012 the EU member states provided €591.9 billion (4.6 % of EU 2012 GDP) of capital support (recapitalisation and asset relief measures) to the financial sector (banks). It was not only that. The same […]Fair completion rules and the law of gravity don’t apply to banks
December 19, 2013 by Leave a Comment
There is no end to EU Commission’s approvals of state aid and government bailouts of hundreds of EU struggling banks, as if the extensive fair competition legislation of the Union is valid for every other sector of the economy at the exception of banks. In the latest incident, the EU competition authorities actually looked the […]How the Irish people were robbed by banks, the Commission and their own government
December 18, 2013 by Leave a Comment
In 2007 Ireland’s sovereign debt was 25% of the country’s GDP. After the financial crisis – and €140 billion later – in 2012 it reached 120% of the GDP at €190bn. Yet the Dublin government this week celebrated the Irish ‘exit’ from the EU-ECB-IMF troika’s surveillance programme, that brought the 4.5 million people nation to […]ECOFIN: Protecting bankers and tax-evaders
December 11, 2013 by 2 Comments
It is customary for the European Union, when the club cannot arrive at a decision acceptable by everybody, the outcome is a distorted compromise. Of course, the burning issue of the resolution of failing banks could not depart from this rule yesterday at the ECOFIN Council, with the 28 ministers of Finance discussing this issue […]ECB’s Draghi favours a cheaper euro to serve all Eurozone countries
November 29, 2013 by 2 Comments
György Matolcsy, the controversial Hungarian politician and economist, currently serving as governor of his country’s central bank, handpicked for the job by the equally controversial Prime Minister Viktor Orban, reported that the President of the European Central Bank, Mario Draghi has set the ceiling for the euro/dollar parity at 1/1.30. This is something Draghi has […]EU to gain the most from the agreement with Iran
November 25, 2013 by Leave a Comment
The fall of oil prices right after the European Union negotiators, working on behalf of the E3+3 group, reached an agreement with Iran, was the first and infallible sign that this was a step towards the right direction, at least for the energy importing countries. In the Geneva negotiations, the West was represented by Catherine […]The Eurogroup protects Germany and blames others
November 23, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Last week in Brussels, an unseen before procedure took place, during last Friday’s Eurogroup of the 17 euro area member states council of Finance ministers. The 17 politicians assessed the Commission‘s opinions on member states’ draft budgets, ahead of those draft budgetary exercises been discussed in national Parliaments. This is the EU’s ‘brave’ new economic […]The European Parliament wants to stay in one place
October 15, 2013 by Leave a Comment
At last – it was high time that the European Parliament took the responsibility to determine its own agenda and of course to decide where it sits! For decades now legislators travel incessantly to and from between Brussels, Strasbourg and Luxembourg, running after timetables and squandering taxpayers’ money in travel expenses and hotel bookings. Thank […]Auditors say EU spending delivers limited value for money but the timing of their report poses questions
September 18, 2013 by Leave a Comment
The European Court of Auditors (ECA) in a report that was published yesterday reveals that the EU spends billions to help the rural economy restructure but with poor results, delivering “only limited value for money”. EU spending on agriculture be it production and producer subsidies or supporting structural investment plans has being traditionally criticised not […]Why Obama asks approval from Congress to bomb Syria?
September 2, 2013 by 1 Comment
The fact that the American President Barack Obama unexpectedly decided to “seek authorisation for the use of force from the American people’s representatives in Congress”, in order to launch an attack against the Syrian government forces, is the first direct and open recognition of the limits of the American military and political supremacy, after the […]The untold story of who caused and who pays for the economic crisis
August 30, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Olli Rehn, Vice-President of the EU Commission responsible for the economy and euro and Yves Mersch, member of the executive board of the European Central Bank both delivered speeches yesterday in the European Forum Alpbach 2013, set in the breathtaking Alpine landscape. A very convenient excuse for an escape to Tirol. The European Forum Alpbach […]What lessons to draw from the destruction of Syria
August 29, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Three major Middle East countries, Iraq, Egypt and Syria are in a transitory phase or in deadly civil war and all of them being threatened with effective partitioning. After Iraq, the US supported actively by Britain, is now planning an attack to Syria which will certainly lead to a partitioning of the country. In this […]ECB is about to lend trillions to banks
July 11, 2013 by Leave a Comment
The institutionalisation of the Single Resolution Mechanism to deal with failing banks, a new tool to complement ECB’s Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM), two cornerstones in building the European Banking Union, cannot be accomplished correctly, if member states were allowed directly or indirectly to support with public money their failing or about to fail banks, in […]Commission: New proposal for centrally managed bank resolution
June 5, 2013 by Leave a Comment
The European Commission is about to honour once more its title as ‘Guardian of the Treaties’. This fundamental Commission’s mandate obliges the EU’s executive to always promote more rather than less Union. In this respect after the French President Francois Hollande and the German Chancellor Angela Merkel agreed in Paris last week, to support a […]Italy’s dilemma after Merkel-Hollande agreed loose banking union
June 3, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Last week the President of the European Council Herman Van Ropmuy went to Rome, to meet the Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta. This was a very significant move by the EU Council President. Italy is the third largest economy of Eurozone with large and more or less competitive private sector productive structures in manufacturing, services […]Why growth is now a one way road for Eurozone
May 17, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Eurozone trade in goods with the rest of the world in March 2013 left a record surplus of €22.9 billion, according to an announcement released by Eurostat, the EU statistical service. Yet the single euro money area is stuck in a long-term recession and high unemployment trap, without visible prospects for an exit. Francois Hollande, […]Italy solves the enigma of growth with fiscal consolidation: The Banking Union
May 2, 2013 by Leave a Comment
The new Italian Prime Minister, Enrico Letta, after his government got full approval from the country’s legislators in two days and two trips to Berlin and Paris, managed to confirm the reputation of Rome as the catalyst of historic European developments. The Treaty of the European Union was signed in the eternal city. In less […]Three countries losing ground and one new prime minister
April 29, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Three countries losing more economic grounds and one new prime minister was last week’s stock taking in Eurozone. Meanwhile the real economy and more so the Small and Medium Enterprises in the south of Eurozone were found in a much worse position during the last six months ( Oct 2012- Mar 2013), in relation to […]Berlin and Paris pursue the financial fragmentation of Eurozone
April 13, 2013 by Leave a Comment
The three EU independent authorities which supervise the financial sector of the Union, namely the European Banking Authority (EBA), the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) and the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA), collectively known as the three European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs), issued yesterday their first joint report ringing the bell of Eurozone […]Which EU countries have to correct their economic policies?
April 11, 2013 by Leave a Comment
The European Commission announced yesterday that 13 member states of the EU are in the danger area of macroeconomic imbalances. The bell tolls about Bulgaria, Denmark, France, Italy, Hungary, Malta, the Netherlands, Finland, Sweden and the United Kingdom. In must be noted that the three countries (Greece, Portugal, Ireland) plus Cyprus which already apply rehabilitation […]Berlin cannot convince markets it doesn’t love confiscating deposits
March 28, 2013 by 1 Comment
Cyprus Popular Bank Pcl’s uninsured depositors, with account balances above the €100,000 benchmark, will suffer an almost total loss of their money. The haircut agreed between the Cypriot government and the Eurogroup may reach 80%, while the rest 20% will be returned after the liquidation of CPB’s assets, a procedure that may take years and […]The EU Spring Summit set to challenge austerity
March 15, 2013 by Leave a Comment
The “Spring Summit” of the 27 EU leaders on 14-15 March unfolding currently amidst the Brussels winter scenery, will be forced to challenge the presently followed economic policy orientation of austerity, under the pressure of major developments. Obviously the Italian elections results and the ensuing political stalemate, set a new background for every political economy exercise […]Inflation not a problem for Europe
January 17, 2013 by Leave a Comment
The downward trend of Eurozone inflation was confirmed yesterday by Eurostat, the statistical service of the European Union. According to this source “Euro area annual inflation was 2.2% in December 2012, the same as in November. A year earlier the rate was 2.7%. The EU27 annual inflation was 2.3% in December 2012, down from 2.4% […]Eurozone: Black economy loves the South
January 7, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Black economy has been traditionally the weak point for a number of European countries in the South of the Old Continent. Greece, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Cyprus and Malta to name only the Eurozone countries with black economy percentages around 20%, are usually on the head of European Commission’s country lists with economic activities outside […]Should Europe be afraid of the developing world?
January 4, 2013 by Leave a Comment
China and India are undoubtedly the two heavyweights of the developing world. On their foot-steps one can categorise also Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and some more countries of South East Asia. Yes, those are the tigers of growth, based on the iron willingness of their people to secure a more or less comfortable life, after […]A new European banking space is born this year
January 3, 2013 by Leave a Comment
The year 2013 can be termed as the European banking year, after the last EU Summit of heads of governments and states decided on 13 December to create a unified bank supervision and auditing space, under the European Central Bank in 24 out of the 27 countries, at the exemption of Britain, Sweden and the […]Brazil: A strategic partner for the EU
November 18, 2012 by 1 Comment
Brazil is one of the largest democracies of the world, and the offshore oil findings of the past few years, have helped the country become not only self-sufficient in hydrocarbons but also draw millions of its people out of poverty. The country is grouped by OECD to the BRICs (Brazil, Russia, India, China), constituting the […]
