Finance & Trade

EU Advances Proposal for Capital Markets Union

September 30, 2015

The European Commission has released an action plan to establish a Capital Markets Union across the EU to encourage cross-border investment and move toward "the completion of the European Economic and Monetary Union."
EIB Adopts Lending Strategy on Climate Change

September 30, 2015

The EU's European Investment Bank ("EIB") has agreed to a lending strategy that seeks to ensure that 25% of EIB spending supports "climate related investment," including countering global warming and mitigating its effects.
Worstall Predicts EU Fiscal Union Failure

September 29, 2015

In response to the French economics minister Emmanuel Macron's call for a eurozone treasury and finance minister, Forbes contributor Tim Worstall writes that EU fiscal union, which is the only way to make the euro project viable, is not politically possible in Europe at this time.
EU Official Calls for Euro Finance Minister

September 29, 2015

European Commissioner on economic and financial affairs Pierre Moscovici has called for EU member governments to cede executive authority to a central finance minister who would handle economic crises in Europe and who would eventually be able to draw on a eurozone budget.
Minister: UK-EU Treaty Change Could Include Eurozone Integration

September 24, 2015

In an interview with The Guardian, French economics minister Emmanuel Macron has proposed EU treaty changes that both return some competences to the UK and advance integration of the eurozone, including through the creation of a eurozone budget, commissioner, and parliament.
EU Proposes Multinational TTIP Court

September 17, 2015

EurActiv reports that the European Commission has proposed a public, multilateral court to settle investment disputes arising from the US-EU Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership ("TTIP") deal to replace the private investment dispute tribunal favored by Washington.
EU Ministers Support Protection of Non-Euro Countries

September 15, 2015

At a recent meeting in Luxembourg, finance ministers from EU member countries agreed to the principle of granting a greater voice for non-eurozone countries in decisions made by an increasingly integrated eurozone that have ramifications across the EU.
EU Official Calls for Surrender of Fiscal Sovereignty

September 15, 2015

Klaus Regling, head of the European Stability Mechanism, has called for EU member states to give up sovereignty in the realm of monetary policy by contributing to the creation of a eurozone finance ministry and parliament.
Governments Warn of Negative Effects of EU Securities Rules

September 03, 2015

The finance ministries of the UK, Germany, and France have warned that new transparency rules on securities and investment research from the European Securities and Markets Authority could be too broad and "overly prescriptive" and thus harm securities trading in the bloc.
EU Faces Criticism over Television Funding

September 01, 2015

Research from the British organization TaxPayers' Alliance shows that the EU spent over £10 million through its "Creative Europe" fund in 2014 subsidizing television programs, many of which promote the EU or were already highly successful prior to the funding.