TAG: Economic governance
Macron’s EU capital markets dream lies in tatters
BRUSSELS ― French President Emmanuel Macron's finance minister says he's "fed up with discussions" and "empty statements."On Friday, as leaders of every eurozone country gather in Brussels for a summit about nothing very much at all, that's exactly what h...
6 months ago
The Markus Ferber affair: When lawmaking meets business
BRUSSELS — Is it kosher to aim to make more than €1 million from a consulting scheme in which a powerful German politician advises banks on financial rules he helped write into EU law? That was exactly the plan of Michael Heijmeijer, a Dutch businessman,...
6 months ago
France pitches radical joint EU borrowing plan to pay for defense
BRUSSELS ― The French government is pushing for the European Union to issue joint debt to pay for increased military spending and is pitching the radical idea to its European counterparts, according to a confidential letter seen by POLITICO.In the diploma...
6 months ago
EU cuts forecasts for eurozone growth ― for the third time
BRUSSELS ― The European Commission today slashed its forecasts for economic growth and played down hopes of an immediate recovery despite the EU narrowly avoiding a recession.It is the third time the Commission has revised its growth estimates down since...
6 months ago
‘Russia must not prevail,’ EU tells the world
The EU will ramp up its rhetoric against Moscow when finance ministers travel to Washington for international meetings next week, according to draft statements seen by POLITICO.“Russia must not prevail” in Ukraine, a nine-page document prepared for the th...
6 months ago
France needs to cut over €100B so it doesn’t end up like Italy
PARIS — France must cut its public deficit by €112 billion over the next seven to 12 years if it wants to avoid entering a debt spiral like Italy, economists advising the government said on Wednesday.Unlike its southern neighbor, France can still avoid fa...
2 months ago
French deficit warning taints Bruno Le Maire’s ministerial legacy
PARIS — There's no smooth sailing into the sunset for Bruno Le Maire as he approaches his final days in French President Emmanuel Macron's administration this week.The outgoing finance minister, whose resigned along with the rest of the French government...
2 months ago
French finance ministry warns of worsening deficit
PARIS — France's public deficit this year could be far worse than forecast because the country is expecting less tax income than previously thought.The budget deficit — the difference between how much a country spends and receives — could reach 5.6 percen...
1 month ago
Interminable prime minister search fuels EU’s French debt fears
PARIS ― France's budget hole is getting bigger and bigger and there is no one to plug it.More than a month and a half since the French cabinet resigned there is still no indication of who will govern the country and take responsibility for the country's i...
1 month ago
The frontrunners for the best jobs in von der Leyen’s next Commission
BRUSSELS — In the scramble for the most wanted portfolios in the next European Commission, only a few countries can win the biggest prizes. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is due to announce next week which of the 26 nominated future commissione...
1 month ago
French PM Barnier promises ‘fiscal fairness’ will help keep debt under control
PARIS — France's freshly-appointed Prime Minister Michel Barnier has hinted at possible tax raises to stop the country's debt from growing."I don't want to raise the debt of our country," Barnier told television network TF1 on Friday evening in his first...
1 month ago
Michel Barnier’s new secret EU mission
PARIS — Newly appointed French Prime Minister Michel Barnier has a burning file on his desk.One of the first tasks for the former Brexit negotiator is to reassure Brussels that France is slashing its massive debt, before Paris is hit with an EU punishment...
1 month ago
Ursula von der Leyen’s new European Commission
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday handed out the top jobs in her team.There are now only two layers of command: executive vice presidents and commissioners. The previous third layer of vice presidents has been dropped. Here’s t...
4 weeks ago
Pressure mounts on France’s Barnier not to raise taxes despite budget disaster
PARIS — New French Prime Minister Michel Barnier was saddled with the dirty job of putting France's precarious public finances back on track.But heavyweights from French President Emmanuel Macron's might make that job more difficult. They are accusing Bar...
3 weeks ago