Saturday, December 29, 2012
How America's Shale Revolution Could Ruin The European Union Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/shale-will-ruin-the-eu-2012-12#ixzz2IhDMsDN1
Bejegyezte: Krissons dátum: 10:45 0 megjegyzés
Címkék: CFSP, Energy, External Relations, Russia, USA
Thursday, December 27, 2012
Friday, December 21, 2012
Russia's Putin says EU energy law is "uncivilized"
Bejegyezte: Krissons dátum: 12:57 0 megjegyzés
Címkék: Competition, Energy, External Relations, Russia
Sunday, December 16, 2012
EU and Singapore agree free trade deal
The European Union and Singapore agreed terms of a free trade deal (...), a move that should further open the Asian country's markets for financial services and make it easier for European automakers to export there.(...)
After the completion of negotiations by the European Commission, the EU executive, member states and the European Parliament need to sign off for the agreement to come into force. Though EU countries have in the past sometimes rejected such deals for political reasons, this is unlikely to happen with Singapore, as EU leaders in October called for a swift conclusion of negotiations.(...)
The bloc hopes the agreement will give it better access to Singapore, one of Asia's richest countries per head of population, where currently the United States enjoys preferential access. Singapore has a population of only 5 million, but it is also a gateway to the 600 million people in the fast-growing economies of the 10-member Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN).
The EU is the city state's second biggest trade partner after neighboring Malaysia, with bilateral trade in goods amounting to 46 billion euros ($60 billion) in 2011. The EU had a trade surplus of 8 billion euros, with cars making up a large chunk of its exports.
Singapore's import tariffs are low. The deal will remove non-tariff barriers such as the double testing of cars, as Singapore would start to recognize EU standards, EU officials say. Other key benefits would be the further opening of Singapore's banking and financial services sector, as well as better access to its public procurement markets.
The push for free trade agreements comes as the EU struggles with a sovereign debt crisis and tries to supplement stagnant domestic consumer demand with free trade pacts with major economies. A deal with South Korea came into effect last year and one with Canada is near completion. EU trade ministers agreed in November to start negotiations with Japan, while preliminary talks are underway for an agreement with the United States.
EU trade officials want the Singapore deal to set a precedent for trade deals with other countries in ASEAN. The EU is currently negotiating free trade pacts with Malaysia and Vietnam, and hopes one day to forge a region-to-region trade agreement. "What I think is more important" than just trade with Singapore, said De Gucht, is "setting a number of standards in services that we will try to enlarge to the whole region".
Link
Bejegyezte: Krissons dátum: 10:51 0 megjegyzés
Címkék: ASEAN, Canada, External Trade, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, USA, Vietnam
Friday, December 14, 2012
European governments clinched a landmark deal on bank supervision
Bejegyezte: Krissons dátum: 16:02 0 megjegyzés
Címkék: banking union, Czech Republic, ECB, European Commission, European Council, Eurozone, Germany, Ireland, President, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Elfogadta az EP az egységes uniós szabadalmi szabályokat
Link
Bejegyezte: Krissons dátum: 15:45 0 megjegyzés
Címkék: Competition, European Commission, European Parliament, European Patent Office
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Malta's Borg appointed EU health commissioner
Bejegyezte: Krissons dátum: 11:17 0 megjegyzés
Címkék: Consumers, European Commission, European Parliament, Malta, Public Health
Thursday, November 8, 2012
EU steps up solar panels trade battle with China
The European Union launched an investigation (...) into alleged state subsidies for Chinese solar panel manufacturers, intensifying the conflict over the multi-billion dollar solar power equipment market that is straining trade ties.
The EU's executive body is already investigating allegations of Chinese manufacturers "dumping" solar panels in overseas markets, meaning deliberately selling products for less abroad than at home or at less than cost.
It also follows a decision by the United States to impose duties on solar power products from China, although Brussels says its decisions are completely separate from Washington's.
"Industries in the United States and Europe are becoming increasingly aware there is much more evidence of subsidies in China," said an EU official involved in the investigation. "But this is not a purely adversarial process. We have said to the Chinese government that we are open to finding a solution."
The friction comes at a bad time for the economies of both sides with the EU China's biggest trade partner and China the EU's second biggest after the United States.
EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht has complained China subsidizes "nearly everything" but also told Reuters last month that he believed the two sides would avoid a trade war.
The Chinese government did not immediately respond to the EU decision to go ahead with an investigation but the move comes within a week of China lodging a complaint with the World Trade Organisation accusing Italy and Greece of illegally favoring domestic solar panel producers in promoting new solar power installations and warning it could put tariffs on EU exports of the raw material polysilicon.
(...)
Chinese companies sold about 21 billion euros ($27 billion) worth of solar panels and components to the EU in 2011 - about 60 percent of all Chinese exports of the products and some 7 percent of all Chinese exports to the EU.
(...)
The United States late on Wednesday gave final approval to duties on billions of dollars of solar-energy products from China for five years, which China has protested against. "The decision has seriously distorted the situation of the Chinese solar energy industry and the exports of the Chinese solar energy products to the U.S.," China's Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Machinery and Electronic Products said, quoted by the official Xinhua news agency.
The European Commission can impose provisional duties within nine months and the EU has within 13 months of an investigation's launch to impose definitive duties for up to five years.
Solar panel anti-subsidy and anti-dumping cases against China are likely to be decided at the same time, within 13 months, unless a compromise is found, the EU official said.
Reuters
Bejegyezte: Krissons dátum: 11:27 0 megjegyzés
Címkék: China, Energy, Environment, European Commission, External Trade, USA
Friday, October 19, 2012
Summit on bancing union
Bejegyezte: Krissons dátum: 13:05 0 megjegyzés
Címkék: banking union, ECB, ESM, Financial crises, Germany, Ireland, Poland, Spain
Monday, October 15, 2012
EU to plan military training mission for Mali
Bejegyezte: Krissons dátum: 12:57 0 megjegyzés
Címkék: Defence, ESDP, External Relations, High Representative, Mali
Friday, October 12, 2012
Nobel Gives Peace Prize to Crisis-Ridden EU
Bejegyezte: Krissons dátum: 12:54 0 megjegyzés
Címkék: ESDP, External Relations, Norway
Thursday, October 11, 2012
Rompuy warns Cameron over sensitive budget issues
But there is no equivalent budget among the 17 countries that share the euro, a shortcoming that many economists believe has undermined the stability of the currency project.
Van Rompuy first raised the possibility of a separate euro zone budget in September and developed his thinking in a document sent to EU capitals in early October. It forms part of a series of initiatives to try to resolve the debt crisis.
Germany and France strongly support the proposal and, in a surprise to many EU diplomats, Britain does too, but for different reasons. Cameron sees a euro zone budget as a way of further separating Britain and its increasingly EU-sceptical electorate from the currency bloc and its problems.
He also sees a euro zone fund as a way of potentially reducing the amount Britain has to pay into the EU budget, which is negotiated annually as part of a seven-year framework. The issue has become particularly acute as the EU prepares to negotiate the next seven-year plan at a summit in November, a deal Cameron has threatened to veto unless he gets his way.
"There will come a time when you need to have two European budgets, one for the single currency, because they are going to have to support each other more, and perhaps a wider budget for everybody else," Cameron said on Sunday, the first day of his Conservative Party's annual conference.
(...)
Link
Bejegyezte: Krissons dátum: 12:47 0 megjegyzés
Címkék: Budget, Eurozone, France, Germany, President, United Kingdom
Sunday, October 7, 2012
David Cameron 'would veto' EU budget
"There will come a time I believe where you're going to need to have two European budgets - one for the single currency, because they're going to have to support each other much more, and perhaps a wider budget for everybody else."
He added that he did not think this would be achieved this time but it was an indicator of the way Europe is going.
Mr Cameron also said he favoured a referendum on a renegotiated role for Britain in the EU but once again ruled out holding a simple Yes or No vote on Britain's membership. "The fact is, I think most people in our country don't actually want to leave the European Union or just accept how it is at the moment. They want to change it."
BBC
Bejegyezte: Krissons dátum: 12:57 0 megjegyzés
Címkék: Budget, United Kingdom
Friday, October 5, 2012
Europe’s Richer Regions Want Out
Bejegyezte: Krissons dátum: 11:13 0 megjegyzés
Címkék: Belgium, Financial crises, Regional Policy, Spain, United Kingdom
Monday, October 1, 2012
Bad news from the economy
Unemployment in Euro Zone at Record High
East EU manufacturing dips
Bejegyezte: Krissons dátum: 11:08 0 megjegyzés
Címkék: Czech Republic, Employment, Enterprise and Industry, Eurozone, Financial crises, Greece, Hungary, Poland, Spain
Friday, September 28, 2012
Germany, France push for financial transactions tax
Bejegyezte: Krissons dátum: 10:52 0 megjegyzés
Címkék: Austria, EMU, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Taxation, United Kingdom
Thursday, September 13, 2012
Dutch pro-Europe parties win heated election
Pro-European parties swept to victory in Dutch elections on Wednesday (13 September) despite concerns that eurosceptics would increase their influence on future decision-making powers.
(...)
But exit polls give caretaker prime minister Mark Rutte's Liberals 41 seats and the centre-left Labour Party 39 in the 150-member lower house with hardliners on both sides of the political divide losing considerable ground. Pundits had initially predicted the two would only grab 70 seats.
"We won our greatest victory in history and for the second time became the largest party in the Netherlands," said Rutte. The far-left Socialists, who had campaigned against austerity and eurozone bailouts, are likely to end up with just 15 seats. Meanwhile, firebrand Geert Wilders of the anti-immigration Freedom Party had campaigned for the Netherlands to leave the euro and the European Union. The verdict has hit Wilders' party the hardest - his party is set to lose about a third of his seats, dropping from 24 to 13.
The far-left's anti-austerity message had ignited debate on Europe's future and the Netherlands' role in the Union in the run-up to the vote.
The Liberals and the Labour parties backed the eurozone rescue packages, criticised by hardliners.
(...)
Euobserver.com
Bejegyezte: Krissons dátum: 14:46 0 megjegyzés
Címkék: Eurozone, Netherlands
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Europe Prepares to Investigate Chinese Dumping of Solar Panels
Bejegyezte: Krissons dátum: 10:02 0 megjegyzés
Címkék: China, Competition, Enterprise and Industry, European Commission, External Trade, USA
Monday, August 27, 2012
Germany wants EU convention to forge new treaty
Bejegyezte: Krissons dátum: 11:04 0 megjegyzés
Címkék: Eurozone, Germany, Reform Treaty
Monday, July 30, 2012
Romania impeachment referendum
Bejegyezte: Krissons dátum: 11:26 0 megjegyzés
Címkék: Romania
Friday, July 27, 2012
Ex-Milosevic spokesman becomes new Serbia PM
Bejegyezte: Krissons dátum: 11:39 195 megjegyzés
Címkék: EEAS, Enlargement, Kosovo, Serbia
Monday, July 16, 2012
Oettinger warns of deindustrialization
Bejegyezte: Krissons dátum: 14:57 0 megjegyzés
Címkék: Energy, Enterprise and Industry, European Commission, Germany, Russia, USA
Monday, July 9, 2012
Romanian President Impeached, Faces Referendum
Bejegyezte: Krissons dátum: 14:21 0 megjegyzés
Címkék: Romania
Sunday, July 1, 2012
(...)
Euvonal.hu
Bejegyezte: Krissons dátum: 11:44 0 megjegyzés
Címkék: Enlargement, European Council, Montenegro
Saturday, June 30, 2012
Summit puts end to EU patent turf war
Bejegyezte: Krissons dátum: 11:57 0 megjegyzés
Címkék: European Patent Court, France, Germany, Internal Market, Italy, Spain, United Kingdom
Friday, June 29, 2012
Italy and Spain get 'breakthrough' deal on bailout funds
The deal is designed to help Spain and Italy to lower their borrowing costs, but might take several months to implement. "We agreed on something new, which is a breakthrough, that banks can be directly recapitalised in certain circumstances... and we are opening the possibility for well-behaving countries to use the EFSF/ESM [bailout funds] to reassure markets and get some stability around their sovereign bonds," EU council chief Herman Van Rompuy said in a press conference at the end of the marathon meeting.
Italy and Spain had earlier filibustered a non-controversial EU "growth pact" worth €130 billion in order to achieve concessions on their immediate concerns: their high borrowing costs.Germany insisted that the concessions only be made if proper controls are in place, however.
Spain got its long-standing demand of letting banks be directly recapitalised by the eurozone bailout funds, but only once "an effective single supervisory mechanism is established, involving the European Central Bank." This "will not happen in a few days or weeks, but in the medium term it will achieve the desired effect," said Thomas Wieser, head of the Eurogroup working group of finance ministry officials in the eurozone. Once the new supervisory body is established, the bailout will be "transferred to the new mechanism, so that it can rapidly be taken off Spain's balance sheet," Wieser said.
Madrid also got a concession on the so-called preferred creditor status for the permanent eurozone bailout fund. Euro leaders decided that the bailout for the Spanish banks will not have such "seniority" - meaning that the permanent European Stability Mechanism will not have any priority compared to other investors in case of default.
For his part, Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti also made some headway in his call for a "semi-automatic" mechanism so that the bailout funds buy government bonds when countries are under market pressure, but without trigerring a bailout procedure, as the rules currently stipulate. Speaking on his way out of the summit, he said he was pleased the impasse had been overcome. "There were a lot of discussions, some tension, but we made progress. At our request, we obtained a stabilisation mechanism for countries that are perfoming well under the Stability and Growth Pact, but are still under market pressure, like Italy," he said.
Under this new mechanism, countries would sign a memorandum of understanding about continuing the reforms they are already implementing, but "there would be no troika," Monti explained, in reference to the special monitors from the EU, the International Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank that go every three months to bailed-out countries such as Greece or Portugal.
Van Rompuy also confirmed that the conditions attached to this "flexible" mechanism would reproduce the requirements of the eurozone's beefed up economic surveillance - on budget deficits and macro-economic imbalances. "There may be just a timeline added to the memorandum, to put some pressure, but the requirements would be the same as the country-specific recommendations," he said, in reference to EU commission-issued reports for each country on where their economy stands compared to the EU rules.
As for the long-term plan for the eurozone, the EU council chief will go back to the drawing board together with the heads of other EU institutions and come back with a "specific timelined roadmap" by October on the banking union, on more sovereignty being ceded to Brussels and on seeking ways to increase "democratic legitimacy and accountability."
Unlike his first report discussed that night and for which there was "no agreement" on substance - Germany opposed the perspective of mutualised debt - the next one will be done "in close co-operation" with member states and also in consultation with the European Parliament, he said.
Euobserver.com
Bejegyezte: Krissons dátum: 15:42 0 megjegyzés
Címkék: ECB, EMU, European Council, Eurozone, Financial crises, Germany, Greece, Growth, Italy, Portugal, Spain
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Cyprus needs money for troubled bank
Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel dashed any hope that Berlin would allow joint bonds issued by the euro zone or other measures sought by partners.Cyprus joins Greece, Ireland, Portugal and Spain in seeking EU rescue funds, meaning more than a quarter of the 17 euro zone members are now in the bloc's emergency ward. Italy's funding costs have soared too, which means it could be next.
Spain formally submitted its request for up to 100 billion euros of funds to bail out its banks, agreed on June 9.
Tiny Cyprus has just four days to raise at least 1.8 billion euros - equivalent to about 10 percent of its domestic output - to meet a deadline set by European regulators to recapitalise Cyprus Popular Bank, its second largest lender which saw its balance sheet hurt by bad Greek debt.
Finance Minister Vassos Shiarly said the country would also seek enough money to help with its budget deficit. The full amount would be decided over the course of weeks."The amount will be as much as it may be needed to cover the recapitalisation and fiscal requirements," he told Reuters.With its coffers emptying rapidly and hurtling towards an immovable deadline, Cyprus suffered a further sovereign credit rating cut on Monday by Fitch, to the junk BB+ grade. It is already shut out from raising new funds on capital markets, with yields on existing bonds well into double digits.
An island with just 1 million residents, Cyprus has a disproportionately large financial sector that is heavily exposed to Greece, a neighbour more than 10 times the size with which it shares a language, culture and close political links.
It received 2.5 billion euros in a loan from Russia last year and has been scrambling for funding from Moscow or Beijing to avoid the terms Brussels imposes in return for EU bailouts.
Jean-Claude Juncker, head of the Eurogroup of euro zone leaders, said Cyprus would have to negotiate aid conditions with the EU and European Central Bank."This will include measures that will address the main challenges of the Cyprus economy, primarily those of the financial sector, and I expect that Cyprus will engage with strong determination in the required policy actions," he said.
(...)
Reuters
Bejegyezte: Krissons dátum: 11:27 0 megjegyzés
Címkék: Cyprus, ECB, EFSF, Financial crises, Germany, Greece, Russia
Friday, June 22, 2012
Pozitív döntés a pénzügyminiszterek tanácsában
Bejegyezte: Krissons dátum: 11:13 0 megjegyzés
Címkék: Budget, Ecofin, EMU, Hungary, Regional Policy
Monday, June 18, 2012
A konzervatívok nyerték a görög választásokat
Bejegyezte: Krissons dátum: 15:35 0 megjegyzés
Címkék: Greece
Monday, June 11, 2012
Eurozone agrees bail-out for Spain's banks
Bejegyezte: Krissons dátum: 10:49 0 megjegyzés
Címkék: ECB, Ecofin, EFSF, European Commission, Eurozone, Financial crises, Greece, IMF, Ireland, Portugal, Spain
Saturday, June 9, 2012
Merkel urges 'political' union
Bejegyezte: Krissons dátum: 11:00 0 megjegyzés
Címkék: Fiscal compact, Germany, United Kingdom
Thursday, June 7, 2012
Spain appeals for EU bail-out of struggling banks
Bejegyezte: Krissons dátum: 15:26 0 megjegyzés
Címkék: banking union, EFSF, European Commission, Financial crises, France, Germany, Greece, IMF, Ireland, Portugal, Spain
Sunday, June 3, 2012
Ireland votes Yes on fiscal treaty
http://euobserver.com/843/116460
Bejegyezte: Krissons dátum: 11:13 0 megjegyzés
Címkék: Fiscal compact, Germany, Ireland
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Spanish and Italian borrowing costs soar
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Hollande pushes EU to talk about joint euro bonds
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Greek Crisis at G8
(...)
CNBC
Bejegyezte: Krissons dátum: 16:01 0 megjegyzés
Címkék: Financial crises, France, G8, Germany, Greece, Netherlands, Spain, United Kingdom
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Görög kormányválság
Bejegyezte: Krissons dátum: 16:35 0 megjegyzés
Címkék: EMU, Financial crises, France, Germany, Greece
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
EU Carries Out Airstrikes on Somali Pirates
Link
Bejegyezte: Krissons dátum: 16:29 0 megjegyzés
Címkék: ESDP, External Relations, Somalia
Friday, May 11, 2012
EU predicts 0.3 pct eurozone contraction in 2012
Bejegyezte: Krissons dátum: 11:02 0 megjegyzés
Címkék: Budget, European Commission, Financial crises
Monday, May 7, 2012
Greek elections
Bejegyezte: Krissons dátum: 20:50 0 megjegyzés
Címkék: Financial crises, Greece
Francois Hollande lett Franciaország új elnöke
Hollande-nak államfőként a rekordméreteket öltő, több mint tíz százalékos munkanélküliség, a deficit és az államadósság lefaragása lesz a legfőbb feladata, valamint kezelnie kell a franciáknak a Brüsszel által megkívánt strukturális reformokkal és megszorításokkal szembeni, egyre növekedő elégedetlenségét is.
Francois Hollande egy korábbi beszédében mondta a következőket: „A forduló másnapján, ha mandátumot kapok, memorandumot fogok intézni az (uniós) államfőkhöz a paktum újratárgyalásáról.” Ennek négy fő pontja: eurókötvények létrehozása infrastrukturális ipari projektek finanszírozásához, az Európai Beruházási Bank finanszírozási lehetőségeinek felszabadítása, pénzügyi tranzakciós adó bevezetése, valamint az európai strukturális alapok fel nem használt maradványainak mozgósítása különböző projektekhez – mondta.
Bejegyezte: Krissons dátum: 20:38 0 megjegyzés
Címkék: Fiscal compact, France
Friday, April 27, 2012
Austerity topples Romanian government
"Today justice was done," said Victor Ponta, head of the left-leaning opposition Social Liberal Union (USL). President Traian Basescu, a political opponent, nominated Ponta to try to form a new government as prime minister.
The European Union's second-poorest member slashed public sector salaries and raised sales taxes to put its economy on a more solid footing, but the measures have hit the poorest as Romania emerges only slowly from a two-year recession. Ponta said he controls 228 seats in the 460 member parliament. He should be able to gain backing from smaller parties that will give him a clear majority. If parliament fails to back a new prime minister, an early vote would be held. The next general election is scheduled for November.
The International Monetary Fund, which with the EU has extended two loan packages to Romania, postponed a review there pending details on the shape of a new government. The deal is key to Bucharest's battle to maintain investor confidence. The IMF said it expected Romania to observe its economic policy commitments. The USL has more than 50 percent support in opinion polls. It has committed to work with the IMF, but if it takes power there will be uncertainty over whether it will roll back some austerity measures like wage cuts or hikes in sales tax. Reuters
Bejegyezte: Krissons dátum: 10:29 0 megjegyzés
Címkék: Financial crises, IMF, Romania
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Austerity talks collapse in the Netherlands
Bejegyezte: Krissons dátum: 10:21 0 megjegyzés
Címkék: Financial crises, Netherlands
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
EU suspends most Myanmar sanctions
The European Union agreed on Monday to suspend most of its sanctions against Myanmar for a year despite a dispute over a parliamentary oath between the army-backed ruling party and pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
In the first clear sign of
friction since Suu Kyi's party swept historic by-elections, the ruling
party on Monday rejected her demand to replace the words "safeguard the
constitution" with "respect the constitution" in the oath. Suu
Kyi and party colleagues refused to take their seats at the opening of
parliament, denting the image of political transformation Myanmar hopes
to portray.
(...)
One
EU diplomat said the sanctions suspension did not mean Myanmar was a
fully democratic country, and that it was up to the people there to work
out problems like the oath.
(...)
The suspension, which does not apply to a
separate arms embargo, is likely to go into effect this week. It will
allow European companies to invest in Myanmar, which has significant
natural resources and borders economic giants China and India. The
EU had frozen the assets of nearly a thousand companies and
institutions, and banned almost 500 people from entering the EU. It also
prohibited military-related technical help and banned investment in the
mining, timber and precious metals sectors.
The EU is rewarding a shift that has seen many political prisoners freed and a range of repressive measures lifted.
More...
Bejegyezte: Krissons dátum: 10:10 0 megjegyzés
Címkék: ESDP, External Relations, External Trade