MEPs call for the protection of fundamental values in the EU and worldwide

This article is brought to you in association with the European Parliament. The threat to democracy and fundamental rights in several member states was the main issue discussed on Wednesday with Presidents Michel and von der Leyen. During the debate on the results of the 24-25 June European Council, most speakers criticised Hungary’s recently-adopted law which […]

The ECB accuses the politicians of inaction, continues injecting billions to banks

Last Saturday 8 July the Belgian newspaper De Standaard published an interview with Peter Praet, Member of the Executive Board and chief economist of the European Central Bank. Praet said it plainly “We do say that we still need a long period of accommodative policy before we are ready”. What he means by ‘being ready’ […]

Trailing the US-EU economic confrontation

More than one economic pundit felt relieved learning that Eurostat, the EU statistical service last Friday estimated the September CPI inflation in Eurozone at 0.4%, the highest level in two years. Understandably, they think that the stagnating and almost deflationary euro area is leaving behind its grim past, aided by ECB’s liquidity injections of €80 […]

Draghi drafts a plan to donate more money to bankers, the era of ‘money for nothin’ is flourishing

The European Central Bank announced last week that under its extraordinary Asset Purchase Program (APP), it has injected  €712.3 billion into the euro area financial system until January this year. Out of that, €544.2bn are Eurozone government and public entities bonds, bought under the Public Sector Purchase Program (PSPP). This last plan was decided in […]

Eurozone: Bankers-politicians rig keeps robbing taxpayers

Last week the European Commission ruthlessly wrote the last chapter of the Slovenian financial tragedy. In it, this nation of only two million people was forced by Brussels to save with around €7 billion of taxpayers’ money (a bit less than one tenth of GDP) the overgrown, reckless, aggressive even fraudulent banking system of this […]

Commission criticised member states on blocking financial transaction tax

European Commissioner Algirdas Šemeta, responsible for Taxation and Customs Union, while speaking yesterday at the plenary of the European Parliament, accused openly some of the 11 member states which have initially agreed to introduce the Financial Transaction Tax, that they are dragging their feet, letting those lobbies which oppose the tax to actually block any […]

The EU Commission fails to draw the right conclusions about corruption

Cecilia Malmström, EU Commissioner for Home Affairs presented yesterday the first EU Anti-Corruption Report. The Commission estimates that corruption costs €120 billion a year to the European economy. This could be a very low approximation of reality though, because the vast majority of EU citizens believe that among politicians at national, regional, local and EU […]

EU decides “in absentia” of civil society

The European Economic and Social Committee and other European civil society organisations and networks organised this year’s Civil Society Day on Wednesday 6 March at the EESC premises in Brussels. The main and burning conclusion from this event was that the EU decision-making procedures are taking place “in absentia” of any legitimisation by civil society […]