Europe’s new old divisions
The EU Commission wants to spend an additional € 750 billion to combat the Corona crisis in Europe. This is equivalent to a mammoth economic recovery package - if it gets that far. It should be obvious to anyone that the plan also has a downside since the EU will be taking on a massive amount of debt. The Frugal Four - Austria, Denmark, Sweden and the Netherlands - at least, want to prevent it, which shows that the old divisions still exist when it comes to the question of redistribution and debt. The important thing, therefore, is that the allocation of resources from the various funds - whether as loans or grants - has conditions attached because structural reform is necessary, particularly in the southern eurozone countries.
Harald Händel
Head of Communications |
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In January 2020, the EU Commission published a consultation paper on "fair minimum wages". The aim is a legal binding measure for minimum wages at EU level. The cepInput examines the legal question on the leeway available to the Commission in this context.
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| Environmental Taxation in France |
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Despite the Corona crisis, the EU Commission is sticking to its Green Deal, for which environmental taxes in Europe will also play a role, and perhaps even more so than before. In this background, cepFrance has prepared an overview and analysis of the system of French environmental taxes.
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| Foreign Investment Screening in Corona Times |
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The COVID 19 crisis and its serious consequences for the economy have led to a debate on the need to protect EU companies from being taken over by foreign investors. Consequently, the EU Commission has published guidance on how to deal with investments from third countries. The cep has evaluated them.
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The "European Climate Law" aims to establish the objective of EU "climate neutrality" by 2050 as well as the assessment of a further tightening of the emission
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"The fact is that Member States wanting resources from this fund will have to submit plans setting out the reforms and investments which they intend to use to stimulate growth and make their economies more resilient to crises.”
Commissioner for the Economy Valdis Dombrovskis on the Recovery Fund |
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"As well as a straightforward economic recovery package, we must now have the courage to tackle reforms that will modernise our country."
Economic Minister Peter Altmaier |
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"The ruling by the Federal Constitutional Court on the ECB’s government bond purchasing scheme shows a deep distrust about whether the ECB and CJEU are fulfilling their legal mandate.”
cep Board of Directors Prof. Dr. Lüder Gerken |
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| “The Federal Constitutional Court’s ruling on the ECB once again highlights the diverging ideas between France and Germany of what constitutes a central bank.” Dr. Julien Thorel, Director cepFrance |
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To prevent the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, countries around the world have taken a variety of restrictive measures. March 2020 figures already show their significant impact on international trade in goods.
In March 2020, total seasonally adjusted extra-EU trade (imports + exports) fell from €252 billion to €228 billion compared with January 2020. However, the impact varied for different product groups.
(Source: Eurostat) |
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