France’s new President, Emmanuel Macron, has called for a “historic reconstruction” of Europe, saying it is “the only reaction” to fight populism. Speaking in Berlin on the first full day of his presidency, he was joined by German Chancellor Angela Merkel. She said the pair had a “joint conviction” that they needed to “deepen the … Read more
Greece must not be granted a “bail in” that would involve creditors taking a loss on their loans, Germany’s deputy Finance Minister said in an interview broadcast on Sunday, reiterating the German government’s opposition to debt relief for Athens. “There must not be a bail-in,” Jens Spahn told German broadcaster Deutschlandfunk, according to a written … Read more
The UK economy will slow down sharply over the next couple of years The UK economy will slow down sharply over the next couple of years says the European Commission. Its latest forecast says the UK economy will grow by just 1.5% this year and by 1.2% in 2018, compared to 2% last year. The … Read more
Structural reforms rather than debt relief will help Greece to achieve sustainable growth and stay in the euro zone because rates and repayment are putting hardly any burden on its budget, Gerany’s finance minister was quoted as saying on Sunday. Euro zone finance ministers will meet in Brussels on Monday to discuss short-term measures to … Read more
The European Commission has warned that eight eurozone countries, including Italy, are at risk of breaking EU rules because of excessive budget deficits. Under EU rules, member states are not supposed to run annual deficits greater than 3% of their total economic output. But the Commission, which has the power to oversee eurozone countries’ draft … Read more
The European Union yesterday edged up its eurozone growth forecast for this year but trimmed it for 2017, warning that the economy faced new challenges due to Brexit and rising inequality. Brussels also nearly halved its economic growth outlook for Britain itself next year due to uncertainty over the country’s vote to leave the bloc. … Read more