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23 January 2014

Integrating Europe




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Graham Bishop

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Articles from 16 January 2014 - 23 January 2014

Graham Bishop

Financial Services: Balance of EU Competences Review by HMT - Response submitted by Graham Bishop on behalf of European Movement (UK)
The central message is that the UK must step forward to regain its influence in one of the world's largest financial markets. In short, we must 'get real'!  View Article
European Integration Monitor - December 2013
The driving forces of politics, finance, economics and budgets are a powerful cocktail that will intensify in the years ahead.   View Article

Political

Parliament Magazine/Schulz: Commission candidate race 'real chance'
The EP President argues that the race between Europe's political groups for the post of European Commission president will make the EU more democratically accountable and help Europe reconnect with its citizens.  View Article
EP elections: Verhofstadt sole ALDE candidate; still no clear EPP front-runner
ALDE has chosen Guy Verhofstadt as their candidate for Commission President. His contender Olli Rehn has agreed to campaign alongside him but hopes for another post in the post-election reshuffle. Concerns were voiced at Davos about the rise of eurosceptic/anti-European parties.  View Article
Commissioner Barnier: "I don't rule out going even further to consolidate Europe's social base"
In an interview with French publication Youphil.com, Barnier talked about his vision of a social Europe if he were to become a candidate for the presidency of the European Commission.  View Article
Speech by Council President Van Rompuy to the Conference of Parliaments
Van Rompuy admitted that cumbersome decision-making processes had made accountability for decisions taken difficult, and said it was therefore important to ensure that national parliaments had the right tools to scrutinise national decisions taken at EU level.  View Article
John Wyles: A crucial time for the EU
Writing for European Voice, Wyles comments that the EU is about to enter one of the most important 12-month periods since the signing of the Maastricht treaty in the early 1990s.  View Article
EIM Political - December 2013
Voter concerns about the EU level economy are diminishing rapidly - down by a third from the peak – so economic developments may take some of the wind out of the sails of the 'euro-antis'.  View Article

Financial

ECB/Draghi: Interview with Neue Zürcher Zeitung
Draghi was interviewed i.a. on banking supervision, the SRM and the forthcoming assessment of banks. He cautioned against undue optimism for the eurozone economy, saying there still were significant risks of setbacks to the recovery.  View Article
ECB/Cœuré: Interview with Bloomberg
The ECB published edited excerpts from Cœuré's comments on i.a. financial market fragmentation, the economic outlook, bank lending and the AQR.  View Article
ECB/Cœuré: The "fourth stage" of EMU - Foundations for a sustained recovery
Cœuré highlighted that further sharing of sovereignty has to go hand in hand with enhanced democratic legitimacy and accountability.  View Article
Schäuble says treaty change 'indispensable'
At a Deutsche Börse AG event, Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble warned the German finance industry that further regulation was planned, and said that Germany's bank split law could serve as a model for Europe.   View Article
Bundesbank/Weidmann: Outlook for 2014
Weidmann looked at how the crisis in the euro area could be overcome on a lasting basis, highlighting the important balance between liability and control to ensure financial stability.  View Article
Bundesbank/Dombret: Cutting the Gordian Knot or splitting hairs - The debate about breaking up the banks
Dombret spoke on the objectives, technicalities and alternatives to breaking up the banks into commercial banks and investment banks. "To me, financial stability cannot be achieved as long as banks are too big, too interconnected or too complex to fail", he said.  View Article
BIS/Borio: Monetary policy and financial stability - What role in prevention and recovery?
Borio addressed the question of success and credibility of central banking. Attaining monetary and financial stability simultaneously has proved elusive - that goal calls for incorporating systematically long-duration and disruptive financial cycles in policy frameworks.  View Article
Brookings/Tucker: Regulatory reform, stability and central banking
Paul Tucker writes that financial regulation and supervision is being strengthened, but there is more to do. Confidence in the financial system will remain fragile until the credibility of regulation and supervision is restored.  View Article
http://www.institutdelors.eu/en/about-us/activity-and-statutes/',WIDTH, 300, SHADOW, true, FADEIN, 300, FADEOUT, 300, STICKY, 1,DURATION,3500)" onmouseout="UnTip()");">Notre Europe - Jacques Delors Inst: Completing the Economic and Monetary Union
The thinktank published a summary of a roundtable it held last year. The discussion began with an overview of the euro area's situation today, and went on to focus on some of the issues of primary importance in strengthening the EMU.  View Article
EIM Financial - December 2013
Big success for the Lithuanian Presidency: Five pieces of financial services legislation 'in the bag' in December - but two 'got away' for the moment: MiFID and SRM.  View Article
Schulz letter increases pressure in institutional dispute over SRM
EP president Schulz has sent a letter to Commission president Barroso criticising the Council's attempts to negotiate the SRM on an intergovernmental basis.  View Article
President Barroso appeals for compromise on bank resolution
Speaking at the European Parliamentary Week, Barroso urged the Council and the Parliament to reach an agreement on the Single Resolution Mechanism for banks before the European elections. (Includes links to further EPW speeches.)  View Article
Conference of Presidents discussion on Single Resolution Mechanism
The Conference of Presidents, the leaders of the political groups, the President and the EP negotiating team on the SRM held an intensive discussion on the state of play of the SRM negotiations.  View Article
Bruegel/Merler: European Bank Resolution - Don't try this at home
Merler looks at how the resolution of a bank would work in practice, highlighting the potential problems with the decision-making process and the common backstop.  View Article

Economic

ECON Committee: Economic governance - Pressing need for legitimacy and social dimension
MEPs and national parliamentarians concluded their conference on economic governance by calling for much better dialogue, ownership and democratic legitimacy.   View Article
ECON/EMPL Committees: Success of European economic governance depends on parliamentary control
"European economic governance decisions must not be made by a latter-day 'Congress of Vienna' – they will succeed only if parliaments across the EU work well together and are closely involved and in control of them", said EP President Schulz.  View Article
VP Almunia: Competition policy for the post-crisis world
Almunia said the robust enforcement of EU competition law in a genuine internal market was necessary for the internal market and to improve productivity and increase growth in Europe.  View Article
TTIP: Commission to consult public on investor-state dispute settlement
Commissioner De Gucht announced the consultation following unprecedented public interest in the talks. It reflects the Commissioner's determination to secure the right balance between protecting European investment interests and upholding governments’ right to regulate in the public interest.  View Article
Šemeta: "Don't hollow out financial transactions tax"
In an interview with the Austrian newspaper Der Standard, Šemeta called on Member States not to dilute proposals for a financial transactions tax in the eurozone, suggesting the bloc could instead implement the plan more gradually.  View Article
Reuters: Derivatives may escape transaction tax in eurozone
Some financial derivatives may be ditched from plans to tax financial transactions in 11 eurozone countries to avoid harming sovereign debt markets. The countries met to discuss a revised proposal to tax stock, bond and derivatives transactions and make banks repay taxpayer money.  View Article
EIM Economic - December 2013
The Six Pack and Two Pack got underway; the Council agreed to launch 16 in-depth reviews and give opinions on five progress reports.  View Article

Budgetary

Council agrees on own resources package
The Permanent Representatives Committee reached a political agreement on the three legislative acts forming the own resources package related to the EU's multiannual financial framework 2014-2020, on the basis of a compromise proposal of the Hellenic Presidency.  View Article
EIM Budgetary - December 2013
Parliament began its examination of the Troika process. (Includes further reporting on Spain, Ireland, Portugal, Greece and Cyprus.)  View Article

Member State events

Kathimerini: BoG head says banks may need more funds
Bank of Greece Governor Giorgos Provopoulos said that certain banks may need some additional capital once the stress tests conducted by BlackRock Solutions are published.  View Article
Joint statement following meeting between Irish Minister for Finance Michael Noonan and ESM MD Klaus Regling
Noonan updated Regling on the developments in Ireland following the successful exit from the EU/IMF Programme in December, and outlined the challenges that lie ahead for Ireland in the post-bailout period.  View Article
FT: Portuguese opposition rejects Coelho pact
Portugal's Socialist opposition has rejected an overture from the prime minister for a cross-party agreement on cutting government spending, in a move that could heighten investor fears over the political risks to the country's adjustment programme.  View Article
Statement by Vice President Rehn on Spain - Financial Sector Programme formally concludes after 18 months
Although the challenges facing Spain remain considerable, the programme has achieved its twin objectives of repairing and reforming the Spanish financial sector and helping to create a sound basis for the economic recovery.   View Article
FT: Italy's centre-left approves sweeping political reforms
Matteo Renzi, leader of Italy's centre-left Democratic party, has laid out his plan for sweeping reforms of the electoral system and constitution aimed at ending political instability and weak governments.  View Article
IMF/Tyson: Reforming tax expenditures in Italy - what, why and how?
This IMF working paper analyses tax expenditures in Italy, considering the extent to which tax expenditures can be considered part of an optimal tax system and possible reforms.  View Article
Hollande/Rutte call for deepening of Single Market
French President François Hollande issued a joint declaration with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, in which the two leaders stressed "the importance of deepening the Single Market in order to stimulate growth and employment for the benefit of consumers and businesses".  View Article
Responses to UK's Balance of Competences Review on EU Budget and Financial Services: ALDE/Bowles, BBA
On 21.12.13, the UK Government published two calls for evidence on the balance of competences between the UK and the EU on the EU budget and financial services and the free movement of capital.  View Article
CER/Springford & Tilford: The Great British trade-off - The impact of leaving the EU on the UK's trade and investment
Eurosceptics think Britain can leave the EU and still have access to its markets. But to do so, Britain will have to sign up to EU rules.  View Article
CER/Tindale: Better off inside
It's impossible to say what will happen between the UK and the rest of Europe. But it is possible to say what should happen.  View Article
IMF: Austria - Publication of FSAP documentation
The IMF published four technical notes under Austria's Financial Sector Assessment Programme: Stress-testing the banking sector; Assessment of Basel core principles; Crisis preparedness and management framework; Insurance sector.  View Article
Radio Prague: Sobotka becomes 11th Czech PM since 93…but how long will he last?
On 17 January, Czech President Milos Zeman appointed Bohuslav Sobotka as Prime Minister. Sobotka, leader of the Social Democratic Party (CSSD), committed to increasing pensions and minimum salaries whilst maintaining the deficit below the 3 per cent threshold. (Includes S&D comment.)  View Article
Latvia's parliament approves first female prime minister
Latvia's parliament (Saeima) approved on Wednesday Laimdota Straujuma to become the first female prime minister of the Baltic state, which joined the eurozone on 1 January, 2014.  View Article
IMF executive board concludes 2013 article IV consultation with the Republic of Slovenia
With the economy still in recession, comprehensive bank and corporate restructuring is essential to achieve financial stability, fiscal and debt sustainability and durable growth. The Slovenian authorities are called upon to step up the current reform effort.  View Article
Politics.HU: Hungarian President sets date of 2014 election for April 6
President Áder indicated in a press release that he had chosen 6 April as the official election date, saying that he had chosen this date so that the country could have a new government as quickly as possible.  View Article





© Graham Bishop


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