Follow Us

Follow us on Twitter  Follow us on LinkedIn
 
Home>
Print Page Save to My Library <Next Article  Previous Article>
07 November 2013

Integrating Europe - 7th November 2013
Jump directly to

Graham Bishop
Political
Financial

Economic
Budgetary
Member State events
About this email

Articles from 31 October 2013 - 07 November 2013

Graham Bishop

Financial World: Step up and be counted (Graham Bishop article)
The asset quality review to be conducted by the ECB will have direct impact on the operations of European banks, explains Graham Bishop.  View Article
European Integration Monitor - October 2013
The driving forces of politics, finance, economics and budgets are a powerful cocktail that will intensify in the years ahead. In these notes, Graham endeavours to highlight the incremental content rather than give a balanced summary.   View Article

Political

President Barroso: "This crisis is first and foremost a political stress test"
In his 'First Frankfurt speech on Europe', Barroso stressed that "the goal will be a political union" and that Germany would have an "imminently crucial role" to play in this. He urged Germany to do more to address economic imbalances in the eurozone.  View Article
Schulz: Why I am running for President of the European Commission
In an interview with Le Monde, EP President Schulz explained his reasons and vision for running as candidate to succeed José Manuel Barroso as President of the European Commission.  View Article
Enrico Letta: A genuine EMU will require some degree of risk-sharing
European solidarity cannot be construed as a moral obligation of some to help others, writes the Italian PM for Policy Network. Our common project should be revamped on the basis of enlightened self-interest - a form of reciprocity, from which everyone benefits.  View Article
Guardian: EU must unite against sceptics and populists, says Italian PM
The EU's political mainstream must go into battle against a rise in populism that next year threatens to usher in the "most eurosceptic, most anti-European parliament in history" and scupper hopes of long-term economic recovery, Enrico Letta has warned.  View Article
Heather Grabbe: How not to fix the European Union's democratic deficit
A partisan president would weaken institutions – a captain can't be a referee, writes Grabbe for the FT.  View Article
EIM Political October 2013
With France immobilised by internal problems and the UK debating whether to leave the EU entirely, Italy may seize the opportunity of its upcoming Council Presidency to take a bolder role. However, next May's EP elections could bring a disorganised but influential anti-EU block into the Parliament.  View Article

Financial

ECB/Constâncio: Banking Union and the European crisis
Speaking in Madrid, Constâncio said that one of the main drivers of the crisis was private imbalances financed by banks in both core and peripheral countries. "For this reason, one of the most important lessons we can take from the crisis is the importance of building a genuine Banking Union."  View Article
Euro area Member States transfer fourth tranche of ESM paid-in capital
The 17 Member States of the euro area have transferred €15.7 billion in the fourth tranche of paid-in capital to the ESM. The total amount of ESM paid-in capital has thus increased from €48.6 billion to €64.3 billion.  View Article
Finding new ways out of the crisis - EESC proposes drastic financial services reforms
As an example, former FSA chair Lord Adair Turner proposes distinguishing between 'socially useful' and 'socially useless' financial activities.  View Article
Otmar Issing: "More Europe" mantra leads to misguided adoption of ever further centralisation
The former ECB chief economist said he was relying on rigorous bank stress tests, and hoped that the OMT bond purchases would never become a reality. In his opinion, the ECB should not have been entrusted with banking supervision.  View Article
ESFRC: Misdiagnosis of crisis has led to botched liquidity regulation
The ESFRC recommends mandatory disclosure of a simple liquidity indicator (SLI) as an alternative to the Basel-required minimum liquidity coverage ratio (LCR).  View Article
ECB/Asmussen: Banking Union – essential for the ins, desirable for the outs!
Speaking in Stockholm, Asmussen looked at what a Banking Union meant for countries inside and outside the euro area, and whether a Banking Union was sufficient to kick-start bank lending and consolidate the recovery.  View Article
Bloomberg: EU lawmakers seek public loan backstop for euro area bank plan
Key EU lawmakers say a planned euro area system for handling failing lenders should have access to public money until a common resolution fund is filled by levies on the banking industry.  View Article
Handelsblatt: Schäuble's new plan for banking resolution
Schäuble proposed forming an agency composed of representatives of national resolution authorities to make decisions on ailing banks, which would then be approved by EU finance ministers. For future settlement costs, he proposed a transnational network of national resolution funds.  View Article
Reuters: Berlin wants bank resolution mechanism open to all of EU
Europe's resolution mechanism for failing banks should be open to European Union countries outside the eurozone, Germany's Finance Ministry told Reuters.  View Article
IMF Working Paper: Sovereign Risk and Belief-Driven Fluctuations in the Euro Area
Sovereign risk premia in several euro area countries have risen markedly since 2008, driving up credit spreads in the private sector as well. The IMF proposes a New Keynesian model of a two-region monetary union that accounts for this "sovereign risk channel".  View Article
EIM Financial October 2013
Perhaps the most helpful turn of events in the month were (i) the ideas from Germany about opening the ESM in some way to non-euro members, and (ii) the statement by VP Rehn that one-off capital injections by states would normally not be counted against a state for the purposes of the EDP.   View Article

Economic

European Commission Autumn 2013 economic forecast: Gradual recovery, external risks
The EU economy has started growing again. Following a slow expansion of economic activity during the remainder of 2013, growth is set to become more robust in 2014 and 2015.  View Article
VP Rehn: European Growth Map for 2014
Presenting the European Growth Map for 2014 with the Autumn Forecast, Rehn said that clear signs of an economic turnaround could be seen, but growth would only pick up gradually.   View Article
Sharon Bowles: Taxation policy - The EU matters!
The ECON Committee has voted by a large majority in favour of extending rules on the automatic exchange of information in taxation policy, making full exchange of information the standard across the EU.  View Article
British Influence/de Sousa: Cut EU red tape – but mind the Single Market
De Sousa, an economist at the Bruegel think-tank, writes that the UK government's 'Cut EU red tape' report is a step in the right direction.  View Article
Jean Pisani-Ferry: Europe's elusive growth consensus
Growth ought to be at the top of the policy agenda, writes Pisani-Ferry for Project Syndicate. While the EU and national governments pay lip service to it, they have not devised an effective economic revitalisation strategy.  View Article
Bruegel/Karmakar: Prospects for regulatory convergence under TTIP
An ambitious, comprehensive and high-standard trade and investment agreement between the EU and the US is feasible, but a key concern is whether they will succeed in creating a meaningful agreement within the tight timeline.  View Article
Wolfgang Münchau: Worry about the euro, not the European Union
The union is not compatible with a single currency in the long run, writes Münchau in his FT column.  View Article
EIM Economic October 2013
The Commission proposed a batch of ideas to deepen social integration, but the competitiveness agenda will re-appear on November 15 when the fourth iteration of the European Semester process gets underway – with first outing of the new powers from the 'two pack' to monitor national budgets.  View Article

Budgetary

Lithuanian Presidency: Conciliation Committee takes first steps in negotiations on 2014 EU budget
The EU budget for the financial year 2014 will be the first annual budget under the new MFF. The Council's position proposes that commitment appropriations make up some €142 billion, and payment appropriations amount to €135 billion.  View Article
EU financial management needs to be improved, warns ECA president
EU funding must be better handled, was the clear message of ECA president Vítor Caldeira when he visited the EP's budgetary control committee.  View Article
EIM Budgetary October 2013
The 'two pack' comments on budgets will be public so that should step up the pressure on states to put forward budgets that should keep deficits genuinely in check. Will a further round of greater European control herald the need for a quite fundamental revision of the EU Treaties?  View Article

Member State events

ECON Committee: MEPs incensed over Troika crisis management
MEPs laid into top ECB and Commission staff over the working methods of the ECB/Commission/IMF "Troika", demanding details of how Troika decisions were taken and what lessons had been learnt.   View Article
ECON Committee/Bowles: "Troika's overall response to the crisis has lacked transparency and at times credibility"
The EP talked to ECON chair Bowles about how successful the policies of the so-called Troika had been in fighting the crisis in the eurozone's most affected countries.  View Article
NewEurope: Podimata urges Troika, Greece to come together
EP VP Anni Podimata told New Europe that "both sides should demonstrate good faith and constructive attitude and look for the convergence points and not collision points".  View Article
WSJ: Greek officials, budget inspectors discuss aid conditions
International budget inspectors have begun meetings with Greek officials, in a second round of talks aimed at bridging a contentious divide over what more Athens needs to do to secure its next tranche of aid.  View Article
Policy Network/Lialiouti: The '58 Movement' to save the Greek centre-left
Greece's centre-left parties are contemplating regrouping to form a new "third pole" that might challenge the existing polarisation between the Right and the radical Left.  View Article
European Commission meets the Portuguese Government
The College of Commissioners received a delegation of the Portuguese government, led by Prime Minister Passos Coelho, to discuss i.a. the Portuguese adjustment programme and the deepening of the EMU.  View Article
Policy Network/Rodríguez Teruel: Spain - the decline of two-party politics
While the Spanish economy is showing modest signals of recovery, political life is lost within an unprecedented downturn. The two mainstream political parties account for only 60 per cent of the vote in the polls, as economic and political dissatisfaction continues to grow.  View Article
Saccomanni defends Italy's banking system; urges caution with excessive reliance on resolution and bail-in
In an interview with the FT, Italy's finance minister ruled out the risk that any Italian banks would be resolved or that creditors would be imposed losses via a so-called "bail-in".  View Article
Italian politics - "Bickering and back-stabbing"
Dismal economic figures make reform urgent, but political leaders are mired in strife. PM Letta says constitutional reform in Italy is essential to change an electoral system that will only serve to increase populism if it continues.   View Article
German coalition negotiations - slow progress
Two weeks into the coalition negotiations there has been some progress, albeit slow. But big questions on taxation, European policy and the financing of many projects remain open.  View Article
LSE/Beck: Angela Merkel will do whatever it takes to save the euro
Gunnar Beck outlines eight reasons why Angela Merkel will relax her stance on austerity and debt mutualisation, regardless of whether German citizens support these policies or not.  View Article
German parties agree outlines of Europe policy
Talks on a 'grand coalition' in Germany have yielded a tentative agreement on a range of policies to do with the EU. The putative coalition agreement backs a financial transaction tax and a common resolution fund for ailing banks.  View Article
Philip Stephens: Hollande holds key to Merkel's euro plan
Germany believes the long-term future of the single currency rests with France, comments Stephens in his FT article.  View Article
French centre parties unite as alternative to far-right
In France, the two parties of the centre, MoDem and UDI, are merging. The idea is to present an alternative to the Front National, especially in the European elections. (Includes comment by ALDE/Verhofstadt.)  View Article
Reuters: France can bank on EU budget leniency before polls
Economic fragility and fear of a far-right political backlash are preventing a clash between France and the European Commission, when the latter makes first use of its augmented budget supervision powers next month.  View Article
In with reform or out with no influence - UK's CBI chief makes case for EU membership
The Confederation of British Industry has published the business vision for a reformed EU, after an in-depth study of the UK's global future. The CBI argues that the UK must maximise openness to global trade - and the best way of achieving this is as part of a reformed EU.  View Article
Bloomberg: Croatia may turn to IMF as debt grows 'risky', Linic says
The EU's newest member may seek assistance from the IMF, as next year's borrowing needs become "enormous and very risky", Finance Minister Slavko Linic said.  View Article





© Graham Bishop

< Next Previous >
Key
 Hover over the blue highlighted text to view the acronym meaning
Hover over these icons for more information


Add new comment





 


www.grahambishop.com
// Business Applications by Denaploy 		Web Master Information
Terms & Conditions
Privacy Policy