Europe is still waiting for Germany and the SPD
There was great relief in Brussels and other European capitals when, in Germany, talks on forming a grand coalition came out in favour of coalition negotiations. Many were apparently even more satisfied with the European policy priorities of a possible coalition between the CDU, CSU and SPD, which were presented to the public as the “result of exploratory talks”. And the EU Commission was probably not alone in welcoming the announcement of an agreement on increased German contributions to the EU budget; a strategy which, in Germany itself, was met with general disapproval. Why make this advance commitment? Doesn’t it just weaken the German negotiating position and take away the pressure to relieve the future EU budget of expenses which have no European added value? Whether things will actually get that far depends on the 440,000 SPD members who have to approve the coalition agreement. They are the ones who will determine the fate of the future Federal Government and decide how long Europe is going to have to wait for Germany. |
|
As the cepDefault-Index shows, the trends in creditworthiness over the last year have varied between the eurozone countries. Thus the ability to repay debts of two-thirds of eurozone countries (including Germany) is steadily increasing whilst in others it has been falling continuously or is already lost.
...read more |
|
|
| cepDefault-Index Greece and Portugal |
|
The creditworthiness of Greece and Portugal continues to decline. This is the conclusion reached by cep, which has just updated its Default-Index for these two countries. In the case of Greece, the three rescue packages undertaken since 2010 have, in cep’s view, done nothing to change this. Sooner or later, Greece will therefore need a fourth rescue package.
...read more |
|
|
| The EU Commission wants to increase efforts to combat the spread of antimicrobial resistance. With this aim, it has submitted a European Action Plan in line with the concept of “One Health”. In cep’s view, this is a sensible European initiative because resistant pathogens spread across borders thus making it necessary to take both EU-wide and global combating measures.
...read more |
|
|
"The Volkswagen case was a wake-up call. It showed how helpless consumers often are when trying to enforce their rights in Europe."
Věra Jourová, EU Commissioner for Consumer Protection |
|
|
"If monetary union continues to deepen, the ESM will probably be given additional tasks."
Klaus Regling, Managing Director of the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) |
|
|
"Using specific budgetary funds, for the economic stabilisation and support of structural reforms in the eurozone, will reduce the individual responsibility of eurozone countries and may result in the unconditional allocation of ESM funds."
Prof. Lüder Gerken, President of cep |
|
|
"Italy is in danger of becoming a second Greece."
Dr. Matthias, Head of Division of cep |
|
|
Facts
The Single Market, which allows people and businesses to move and trade freely across borders within the EU, celebrates its 25th anniversary this year. The EU Single Market came into being on 1 January 1993, with the free movement of persons, services, goods and capital. Over the last 25 years it has grown from 345 million citizens to about 510 million, and the number of its participating EU Member States has doubled, from 12 to 28. |
|
|
|
