Finance & Trade

Landmark EU Budget Deal Could Create Long-term Disputes

July 22, 2020

Although hailed by European Union negotiators as a landmark deal that enhances EU fiscal integration, the €1.8 trillion European Union budget deal contains a national budget reform review mechanism by the European Commission that could raise sovreignty concerns at the national level.
Colson: Franco-German €500 Billion Proposal a Step Towards a Federal Europe.

June 14, 2020

Writing in Business Insider, Thomas Colson explains how the proposed Franco-German 500 billion euro EU COVID-19 economic rescue plan could reshape the future of Europe, centralizing power in Brussels.
NordStream 2 Pipeline Dispute Intensifies

June 10, 2020

The ongoing dispute between the United States and Russia relating to the completion of the NordStream 2 natural gas pipeline has intensified, with German leaders having to navigate between the geopolitical concerns of the U.S., Poland, Ukraine, and Baltic countries and its own medium-term energy security.
CNN: ECB and Germany "Throw a Wall of Money" at the Coronavirus Recession

June 09, 2020

After Germany’s government approved a national €130 billion ($146 billion) stimulus package to kickstart its post-COVID-19 economy, the European Central Bank ("ECB") expressed its intention to expand its EU-wide bond-buying program, with a commitment to buy €1.35 trillion ($1.5 trillion) of bonds.
EU Commission Proposes Economic Recovery Fund

May 29, 2020

EU Commission President Ursula bon der Leyen is proposing a €750 billion coronavirus economic recovery fund, consisting of borrowed money to be repaid over 30 years, which some critics view as a marked step toward the fiscal and political integration of Europe.
Politico: German Court Lays Down EU Law on ECB Bond Purchases

May 06, 2020

In a 72-page opinion, Germany's Constitutional Court has decided that the European Central Bank's ("ECB") bond-buying practice exceeds the ECB's mandate, a decision which challenges the independence of the ECB and the authority of the Court of Justice of the European Union.
EU Commission Considers "Marshall Plan" for Europe

April 06, 2020

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is calling for a Marshall Plan for Europe, recommending that billions should be invested for a long-term crisis recovery budget, while promoting solidarity between EU countries.
Heikkila: Lack of Business Data-Sharing Cooperation Threatens Europe's AI Strategy

March 25, 2020

Writing in Politico, Melissa Heikkila explains why a lack of data-sharing cooperation on the part of large companies is the Achilles’ heel of Europe’s artificial intelligence ("AI") strategy.
EU Commission Summarizes Digital Strategy

March 06, 2020

In a recently published Q & A, the European Commission generally explains the EU's digital strategy, including a White Paper on Artificial Intelligence and a European Data Strategy, which raise issues of the degree to which EU regulation of a digital space in which private international companies participate may result in excessive regulation, taxation, and governance.
Politico: Huawei is Offering European Nations Offers They Can't Refuse

March 02, 2020

According to Politico, Chinese telecom equipment giant Huawei is pitching lucrative incentives to European governments in the hope of fending of bans against its products and services.