TAG: National budgets
Risk of ‘lost decade’ as EU countries face economic cliff edge
BRUSSELS — The year 2026 could be a defining moment for the European economy.The double blow of the introduction of reformed EU spending rules and the European Commission turning off the money taps may leave a black hole in the budgets of highly indebted...
6 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
EU prepares for COP29 showdown with China over climate aid
BRUSSELS — The European Union plans to pressure emerging economies such as China to contribute funding for climate action in developing nations at global negotiations in November, according to a document seen by POLITICO. Financing is at the center of thi...
2 months ago
Belgium’s gonna Belgium: Budget row threatens to blow up coalition talks
Belgian politics is inching toward a new crisis — again.After June elections opened a pathway to the quick formation of a new five-party national government, negotiations became bogged down this month over who ought to shoulder the burden for shrinking th...
1 month 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
Viktor Orbán is losing his Putin discount
Without Russian oil, Hungarians will go hungry. At least, that was the message from Budapest’s foreign minister, Péter Szijjártó, when he landed in St. Petersburg earlier this week. “We will not be able to feed the country” if these supplies are interrupt...
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
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
Germany retains quiet grip on Europe’s finances
BRUSSELS — Appearances can be deceiving. While the European Commission’s reorganization this week made it seem as if big-spending governments from the south had seized control, in reality Germany and co. retain an iron grip.Commission President Ursula von...
3 weeks ago
France plans eye-watering €40 billion in budget cuts for 2025
PARIS — France's new government is planning to cut spending by approximately €40 billion and raise taxes to bring in another €20 billion next year in an effort to bring down the country's massive public debt, government officials said Wednesday.Paris hope...
2 weeks ago
The rise and fall of Macronomics
PARIS — When Emmanuel Macron came to power in 2017, he was hailed as the business-friendly former Rothschild banker who would turn France into a world-beating investment destination by slashing public spending and lowering taxes.Seven years later, the Fre...
5 days ago