Képviselőcsere

Schmitt Pál fideszes EP-képviselő helyét Pelczné Gáll Ildikó veszi át az Európai Parlamentben; Balczó Zoltán jobbikos képviselőt pedig Kovács Béla váltja, miután Schmitt és Balczó hazatérnek a magyar törvényhozásba, mert az áprilisi választáson a magyar Országgyűlésben is mandátumot nyertek.
Euvonal

Hungary’s Orban Assumes Power

Viktor Orban returned to power as Hungary’s prime minister after eight years in opposition, pledging to accelerate economic growth in the first European Union member to obtain a bailout in the credit crisis.

Orban has yet to unveil details of his economic policy plans. He will have to balance pledges to cut taxes and boost growth after the worst recession in 18 years with investor concern that the new administration will loosen fiscal policy at a time when the euro area’s debt crisis prompts countries from Greece to England to cut spending to defend the euro.

“Fiscal risks in Hungary are particularly high and the government appears to be shifting its focus away from budget responsibility at a time when the euro zone is mired in a sovereign debt crisis,” Neil Shearing, a London-based emerging- market economist, said in a note to clients this week.

The Cabinet will place job creation and growth above budget discipline, Gyorgy Matolcsy, the new Economy and Finance Minister, said during a parliamentary committee hearing on May 25. Hungary can only “outgrow” its debt level, the highest among the EU’s eastern members at an estimated 79 percent of gross domestic product this year, he said, referring to lowering the ratio by accelerating growth.

Bloomberg

$30 Billion of Budget Cuts

Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said Italy’s planned 24.9 billion euros ($30.4 billion) of budget cuts over the next two years are “absolutely necessary” to defend the euro.

The measures are part of a European effort to convince investors the region can tame budget deficits and shore up the euro, which has fallen 15 percent this year. The package aims to reduce Italy’s budget gap an additional 1.6 percent of gross domestic product to bring the shortfall within the EU limit of 3 percent of GDP in 2012 from 5.3 percent last year.

Italy’s cuts include a three-year wage freeze for civil servants, a 10 percent budget cut for ministries, 4.5 billion euros in reduced transfers to regional governments, a partial amnesty on illegal construction and a crackdown on tax evasion.

Berlusconi said that while public spending that accounts for about half of GDP needed to be scaled back, the measures also aim to combat tax evasion and rein in the underground economy. Those steps include requiring the use of credit cards, checks or other traceable means for any transactions of more than 5,000 euros. Italy misses out on about 100 billion euros a year in unpaid taxes and that helps create Europe’s second-biggest underground economy after Greece, worth about 270 billion euros, or 22 percent of GDP, Berlusconi said. The plan also calls for a crackdown on false disability claims. Italy pays 16 billion euros a year in benefits to 2.7 million people claiming disabilities, Finance Minister Giulio Tremonti said.

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-05-26/berlusconi-says-30-billion-of-budget-cuts-needed-to-save-euro.html

Mentőcsomag az euró elleni spekulációs támadások elhárítására

Az uniós tagállamok pénzügyminiszterei hétfő hajnalban, Brüsszelben a közös fizetőeszköz, az euró védelmében több milliárdos mentőcsomagot szavaztak meg. Az 500 milliárd eurós csomagról szóló döntés a közös valuta elleni spekulációs támadások elhárítását célozza.

A csomag részben hitelről, részben hitelgaranciáról szól. Ebben az összegben nincs benne azonban az a hitelkeret, amelyre szükség esetén - vagyis ha fizetési gondjai támadnának az eurózóna valamelyik országának - a Nemzetközi Valutaalaptól (IMF) számítana az Európai Unió.

Az IMF-pénz további 220 milliárd eurót jelenthet, vagyis összesen 720 milliárdos lenne a teljes mentőcsomag értéke. A megbeszélésekről korábban kiszivárgott hírek arról szóltak, hogy a németek "csak" mintegy 100 milliárd eurónyi IMF-pénzkeretre számítanának.

Az 500 milliárd úgy tevődik össze, hogy 50 milliárdról 110 milliárdra - vagyis 60 milliárddal - növelik azt a hitelkeretet, amely eddig csupán az eurózónán kívüli uniós tagállamok megsegítésére szolgált az Európai Bizottság közreműködése révén, de ezentúl a közös pénzzel fizető országok is részesedhetnének belőle.

A további 440 milliárdot az euróövezet országai bilaterális támogatás formájában bocsátanák rendelkezésre. A mentőmechanizmus a tagországok reményei szerint megakadályozhatja, hogy a görög pénzügyi válság az euróövezet más országaira is átterjedjen.

A tanácskozás versenyt futott az idővel, hogy a megállapodást még a főbb ázsiai piacok nyitása előtt elérjék, és azoknak pozitív üzenetet küldjenek.

Euvonal

ECB suspends rating threshold for Greek debt

The European Central Bank on Monday said it would suspend the application of the minimum credit rating threshold in the collateral eligibility requirements for credit operations in the case of debt instruments issued or guaranteed by the Greek government. This suspension will stay in place "until further notice."

On Sunday, the Greek government approved an economic and financial adjustment program, under which it would receive 110 billion euros from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund.

The ECB said the program was "appropriate." "This positive assessment and the strong commitment of the Greek government to fully implement the program are the basis, also from a risk management perspective, for the suspension announced herewith," the central bank said.

The suspension applies to all outstanding and new marketable debt instruments issued or guaranteed by the Greek government.

Greece Gets Aid, Promises Austerity

Euro-zone countries and the International Monetary Fund, seeking to halt a widening European debt crisis that has threatened the stability of the euro, agreed to extend Greece an unprecedented €110 billion ($147 billion) rescue in return for Draconian budget cuts.

Under the three-year agreement announced here late Sunday, Greece would receive €80 billion in loans from other euro-zone members and €30 billion from the IMF. The planned rescue is the largest ever attempted by the IMF and a first for the 16-member euro zone. It still requires final approval from national governments.

The bailout removes the worry that Greece won't meet its immediate funding needs—€8.5 billion in borrowings due May 19. But it introduces fresh questions, among them whether the country can bear the harsh budget-cutting measures that are the price of the aid.

The prospect of a rescue has been controversial in Europe. Some euro-zone countries, led by Germany, worried that a bailout would set a dangerous precedent by encouraging other members to flout the bloc's deficit and debt rules. A rival faction, led by France, favored speedy intervention, viewing the crisis as a moment of truth, both for the 11-year-old common currency and the broader European Union. The divide delayed action, which some critics say worsened the crisis by allowing it to spread to other countries, raising concerns about the cohesion of the euro zone.

Even with the austerity measures, Greece now projects that its debt, which last year stood at 115% of its gross domestic product, will surpass 140% by 2014 before it begins declining. That is worse than was believed even a few weeks ago. The budget cuts will slash the deficit from 13.6% of GDP last year to 8.1% this year. Economic output will fall 4% this year, Greece says.

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