Finance & Trade

Bulgarian Official Seeks Accession to Euro, Schengen

September 16, 2016

Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister Tomislav Donchev has called for his government and EU officials to take further steps toward permitting Bulgaria to join the euro currency, blamed by some critics as stifling growth in small economies, and the passport-free Schengen travel area.
German Politician Seeks Flexibility on EU Free Movement

September 14, 2016

The head of the German Parliament's foreign affairs committee, Norbert Roettgen, has called for EU leaders to be flexible in negotiations with the UK over the country's acceptance of free movement in return for access to the EU's single market following Brexit, arguing that officials should be considering options "out of the box."
Australian PM Seeks "Strong" Trade Agreement with UK

September 09, 2016

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has confirmed that his government is planning to negotiate a "very strong, very open free trade agreement" with Britain upon the country's departure from the EU.
Banks Call for Interim Deal on "Passporting" in EU

September 02, 2016

Bloomberg reports that representatives of international banks are calling on UK Prime Minister Theresa May to negotiate an interim agreement with the EU to preserve their "passporting" rights to offer services in other EU countries as they seek to prevent a cut-off of their continental operations during a drawn-out Brexit negotiation process.
German Minister: US-EU Trade Talks Have Failed

August 30, 2016

German Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel has asserted that talks between the EU and US to form a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership have "de facto failed" because "Europeans did not want to subject ourselves to American demands."
German Minister Predicts Unique EU-UK Relationship

August 25, 2016

In a recent interview, German foreign affairs minister Michael Roth predicted that negotiations over the UK's exit from the EU would likely end in Britain attaining a unique relationship with the bloc that does not resemble the EU's affiliation with countries such as Switzerland and Norway.
EU Countries Seek UK Concessions for Market Access

August 09, 2016

A Bloomberg profile of the "red lines" countries have stated they will not cross in permitting the UK to maintain access to the EU's "single market," including maintaining the principle of free movement of labor, demonstrates a potentially complex, country-by-country approach the UK would have to take in negotiating a post-Brexit trade deal with the bloc.
Expert: EU Will Insist on Free Movement in UK Trade Deal

August 09, 2016

The Guardian reports that former EU Ambassador to the World Trade Organization, Roderick Abbott, has predicted that the EU and UK will sign a post-Brexit trade deal within two years but that the bloc will likely not accept limits to free movement of labor in exchange for Britain's access to the EU "single market."
Minford: UK Should Ditch Plans for EU Trade Deal

August 05, 2016

Professor Patrick Minford of Cardiff University asserts that the UK's policy on leaving the EU should be to expand its economy by signing free trade deals with all other countries, unilaterally reducing its tariffs, and walking away from the EU without wasting time on attempting to negotiate a trade deal with the inflexible bloc.
EU Official Warns of Potential CETA Failure

August 02, 2016

Politico reports that EU Director-General for Trade Jean-Luc Demarty warned at a meeting of the bloc's trade policy committee that EU trade policy would lose credibility and be "close to death" if national parliaments did not ratify the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement that EU authorities negotiated with Canada.