Finance & Trade

EU Plans Legislation on Corporate Tax Reporting

February 10, 2016

According to The Guardian, the European Commission is planning to propose legislation requiring corporations from around the world operating within the EU to disclose the amount of tax they pay to each EU country and may seek to skirt rules requiring a unanimous vote on tax laws by adopting the proposals as amendments to existing legislation.
EU Businesses Push for Preservation of Open Borders

February 09, 2016

Citing data indicating that reimposing border controls could involve high economic costs, European businesses are seeking to persuade EU and national officials to avoid a long-term suspension of the Schengen Agreement, which provides for passport-free travel across many European countries.
EU Considers Sovereign Debt Limitations for Banks

February 04, 2016

As it seeks measures that will aid the eurozone on the path to an official banking union, EU officials are considering imposing limits on the amount of government debt European banks can hold in response to German concerns that such debt entails significant risk to the bloc's financial system.
Bank Analysis: UK Would Be "Safe Haven" After EU Exit

February 03, 2016

Countering warnings from some politicians and business leaders that a British exit from the EU would lead to the flight of corporations and finance from the UK, analysis from the bank Barclays argues that such an exit could eventually trigger the disintegration of the EU and ramp up investment in relatively safe Britain.
ECB Official Pushes Case for Centralized Banking Union

February 02, 2016

In recent remarks at the European Banking Institute in Frankfurt, Member of the Executive Board and Vice-Chair of the Supervisory Board of the European Central Bank ("ECB") Sabine Lautenschläger called for officials to harmonize and centralize European banking regulation and supervision with the aim of creating a European banking union.
Report Confirms ECB Pressure on Ireland over Banks

February 01, 2016

According to The Irish Times, a report prepared by a cross-party committee in Ireland has found that the European Central Bank ("ECB") pressured national officials to bail out Irish banks using taxpayer funds rather than imposing losses on senior bondholders during the country's financial crisis in 2011.
Auditors Criticize EU Handling of Financial Crisis

February 01, 2016

Politico reports that the European Court of Auditors has released a report highlighting lapses in the European Commission's handling of bailouts in countries facing the financial crisis, finding that required reforms of national policies were sometimes disproportionate in light of the problems each country faced.
Belgian Official Objects to EU Transactions Tax Provisions

January 29, 2016

Belgian Finance Minister Johan Van Overtveldt has announced his concerns that a deal among ten countries in the EU - including Belgium - establishing a tax on financial transactions could harm the Belgian financial system and raise the cost of financing public debt.
EU Orders Belgium to Recover "State Aid" from Steel Companies

January 21, 2016

Finding that the Walloon Government in southern Belgium gave public aid to steel companies in financial difficulties in violation of EU state aid rules, the European Commission has ordered the Belgian Government to recover €211 million of this aid from these steel companies.
Poland Continues Avoidance of Euro

January 20, 2016

Citing its relatively high economic performance during the recent eurozone financial crisis, Polish Finance Minister Pawel Szalamacha has said that his Government is unlikely to deviate from the policy of its predecessors in declining to adopt the euro currency, though it is obligated to do so in the future under the terms of its EU entry agreement.