Finance & Trade

EU Makes Broad Pledge to Global "Climate Finance"

November 30, 2016

The European Commission recently released a "fact sheet" indicating that it is on track to dedicate at least €14 billion, as part of its pledge to allocate 20 percent of its budget to climate actions, between 2014 and 2020 to finance development initiatives in poor countries to combat or adapt to the impacts of global warming.
Banks Are Unprepared for EU Loan Rules

November 11, 2016

Reuters reports that the European Banking Authority has warned European banks are not prepared for significant changes to EU accounting rules, set to enter force in 2018, that will require them to keep more capital on hand in case of bad loans, as international banking regulators recommend that the EU push back entry into force of the new rules.
Observers Dispute Inviolability of EU Market Rules

November 07, 2016

Reuters reports that, as the UK prepares to negotiate a new relationship with the EU that retains trade but reduces immigration, legal and business observers are dismissing the response of EU leaders that continued access to the bloc's single market requires the acceptance of unlimited movement of people.
MEP: UK Cannot Negotiate EU Trade Deal Before Brexit

November 03, 2016

Danuta Hübner, head of the European Parliament’s constitutional affairs committee, which will draft the body's position on a post-Brexit relationship with the UK, has asserted that Britain cannot begin negotiating a new trade deal with the EU until the country's exit from the bloc is complete.
Canada, EU Sign Comprehensive Trade Agreement

November 01, 2016

The BBC reports that the EU and Canada have signed their Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement after negotiators made last-minute amendments to the deal to overcome objections from the Parliament of Wallonia in Belgium on environmental, labor, and consumer standards.
EU Touts Billions in Spending on "Climate Finance"

October 28, 2016

The European Commission has announced that EU institutions and member states contributed €17.6 billion to combat and lessen the impacts of global warming in poor countries as part of plans to spend at least 20 percent of its budget on "climate-related action" in the years 2014-2020.
CETA Delay Signals Future EU Trade Struggles

October 26, 2016

Paul Taylor writes that the delays and potential failure of the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement due to the objections of a Belgian regional government show the difficulty of rallying the support of 28 different member states behind a single trade deal and signal the future struggles of EU leaders in negotiating external free trade agreements.
UK Officials Spot Brexit Warning Signs in CETA

October 26, 2016

The Telegraph reports that UK officials are concerned with the implications of the staunch resistance of a Belgian region to the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement for future negotiations over a UK-EU trade deal following Brexit, as some British observers call for a clean break with the bloc to avoid paralyzing trade talks.
Iceland Seeks UK's Return to EFTA

October 26, 2016

In recent remarks, Icelandic Foreign Minister Lilja Alfredsdottir said negotiating a post-Brexit return of the UK to the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), which the UK left to join the trade area that would become the EU, would be a priority of the country's chairmanship of EFTA in the coming months.
NGO Analyzes Importance of EU Financial Services Access

October 25, 2016

A report from think tank Open Europe that reviews the weight the UK should give to each aspect of the EU's financial services "passport" in its negotiations with the bloc over a post-Brexit trade and investment agreement places greater emphasis on the maintenance of ties in the banking sector than on links in the asset management and insurance industries.