Finance & Trade

EU Official Denies Flexibility in "Single Market" Access

July 12, 2016

Following a meeting with leaders of the EU member states, European Council President Donald Tusk denied that, following negotiations over Brexit, the UK will retain access to the bloc's "single market" unless it accepts the EU's "four freedoms," including freedom of movement.
UK, EU Face Array of Post-Brexit Trade Options

July 11, 2016

An article in Reuters highlights an array of options available to the UK as it begins negotiating its future trade relationship with the EU following Brexit and quotes remarks from Open Europe's Pieter Cleppe that the EU will become more flexible on the terms of the UK's exit as the deadline for a new deal approaches.
French PM Rejects Possibility of TTIP

June 30, 2016

Predicting that the agreement will not "respect EU interests," French Prime Minister Manuel Valls has rejected the possibility that the EU and US will conclude their Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership deal.
EU Creates Audit Oversight Body

June 29, 2016

In new rules on statutory auditing practices that recently came into effect, the EU has created the Committee of European Auditing Oversight Bodies to facilitate the coordination and harmonization of auditing practices throughout the bloc.
Cleppe Calls on EU to Abandon Protectionism

June 28, 2016

Pieter Cleppe of the think tank Open Europe writes that the EU should not let its aluminum tariffs, which he asserts harm small and medium-sized enterprises, signal expanding trade protectionism across the bloc's essential industries that would reduce its overall competitiveness.
Dutch Minister Questions Application of EU Budget Rules

June 16, 2016

Following European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker's statement that the EU had given France more leeway than other countries in enforcing budget rules "because it is France," Dutch Minister of Finance Jeroen Dijsselbloem expressed concerns before a committee of the European Parliament about the fair application of EU fiscal regulations.
Irish PM Warns of Impact of EU Investment Rules

June 15, 2016

Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny has sent a letter to European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker warning that a new classification by EU authorities of public-private investment projects as state spending poses a major threat to Irish infrastructure investment.
Moore: UK Should Leave EU's "Single Regulatory Regime"

June 14, 2016

Journalist Charles Moore writes that Britain should extricate its government and economy from the "single regulatory regime" of the EU, often referred to as the "single market," and maintain access to the markets of other EU countries, as it does with markets elsewhere in the world, for the buying and selling of UK goods and services.
CEO Calls for Independent EU Carbon Regulator

June 09, 2016

In testimony before a French Senate commission, the CEO of the energy company Total, Patrick Pouyanne, called for the replacement of the current EU carbon taxing system with an independent regulator that would increase the price of carbon emissions for businesses across the bloc.
ECB Bond-Buying Sparks New German Lawsuit

May 16, 2016

German law professors and business representatives have filed a lawsuit in the German Constitutional Court challenging the authority of the European Central Bank to make extensive purchases of government bonds and to begin buying corporate bonds, arguing that the challenged program risks the funds of German taxpayers at the country's central bank.