Finance & Trade

Banking Initiative Pushes for CEE Finance Union

March 17, 2017

The Vienna Initiative, a framework developed by European bank authorities to maintain financial stability in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), has announced the establishment of a working group to investigate obstacles, including domestic regulation, to the development of a cross-border capital markets union in the CEE region.
UK Official Pledges to "Fight Back" If EU Refuses Deal

March 17, 2017

In a recent interview, UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond asserted that he expects to negotiate a comprehensive free trade deal with the EU during Brexit talks but warned that his government will take any steps necessary to "fight back," including with trade deals and potentially other measures, if the bloc refuses such a deal.
Shipping Industry Prefers UN to EU Emissions Solution

March 16, 2017

The website Climate Home reports that the maritime industry is criticizing the European Parliament's call to include ships in the EU's regional Emissions Trading System beginning in 2023 to reduce emissions from the shipping sector, advocating instead for a global solution regulating emissions from the UN's International Maritime Organization.
EU Parliament Calls for Entry Barriers for Americans

March 16, 2017

The European Parliament has adopted a non-binding resolution calling on the European Commission to respond to US visa requirements on nationals traveling from Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Poland, and Romania by imposing visa requirements on Americans and threatening to take the Commission to court if it fails to act.
UK Prepares for Possibility of No Brexit Deal

March 15, 2017

Reuters reports that, according to the UK's Brexit Secretary David Davis, British Government ministers must prepare not only to implement the terms of a deal forming a new relationship with the EU following the UK's exit from the bloc, but must also make provisions for the "unlikely scenario" in which the EU and UK do not reach such a deal.
EU Considers Tougher Financial Equivalence Standards

March 15, 2017

According to a Financial Times report citing a European Commission document, the EU is planning to toughen its standards for confirming that European nations outside of the bloc have sufficiently rigorous financial rules, which would make it more difficult for British banks to interact with EU financial markets after Brexit.
European Businesses Split on Carbon Tax

March 02, 2017

An article in Bloomberg reveals a split between some European utility and energy companies on the need for European leaders to pursue a global trend, urged on by the UN and environmental activists, to set a minimum tax on the price of greenhouse gas emissions to encourage the development of alternative energy sources.
Report: Brexit Will Aid EU-India Trade Deal

March 02, 2017

Revealing a potential silver lining to the impact of the UK's exit from the EU on the bloc's trade policy, The Guardian reports that a document circulated in the European Parliament predicts that it will be easier to negotiate an EU trade deal with India after Brexit given India's desire to maintain tariffs on Scotch whiskey and migration barriers in the UK.
Norway Seeks Inclusion in Brexit Deal

March 02, 2017

The Independent reports that Norway's EU minister, Frank Bakke-Jensen, has announced his government's intention to seek inclusion in any trade arrangements agreed between the UK and the EU following Brexit.
Shipping Industry Criticizes EU Emissions Plan

March 01, 2017

In an ongoing conflict over which transnational body should regulate the greenhouse gas emissions of the shipping industry, the International Chamber of Shipping has called on EU member states to reject proposals to include the shipping sector in EU carbon emissions framework and to leave regulation of such emissions to the UN's shipping agency.