Finance & Trade

EU and Ministers Call for "Energy Union"

February 11, 2015

At a recent meeting in Riga, Latvia, energy ministers from EU member states pushed for an EU-wide energy union, as European Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic called on countries to move away from "28 national policies" on energy.
EU Clamps Down on Parent-Subsidiary Tax Avoidance

February 11, 2015

The Council of the EU has adopted a directive amending previous EU legislation seeking to avoid double taxation of a European parent company and its subsidiary to exempt "artificial" situations in which authorities determine the parent-subsidiary arrangement was merely maintained for the tax advantage.
EU Parliament Declines Inquiry on Luxembourg Tax Breaks

February 11, 2015

Reuters reports that the European Parliament has declined to formally investigate Luxembourg's alleged corporate tax breaks when current EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker was the country's Prime Minister, in favor of setting up a general committee to review "tax fairness" across the bloc.
EU Seeks Integration of Capital Markets

February 04, 2015

Reuters reports that a paper to be published by the European Commission in February 2015 will propose an integrated EU "capital markets union" that will be overseen by the bloc's financial bodies.
EU Members Agree to Date for Launch of Finance Tax

February 04, 2015

A group of EU member states set to impose a tax on financial transactions, which financial companies have warned could produce unintended, negative economic effects, have marked January 2016 as the beginning of the levy.
U.K. Minister Warns of EU's Negative Impact on Farming

February 04, 2015

In a recent interview, British Environment Minister Liz Truss has indicated that the EU's Common Agricultural Policy is harming businesses in the U.K.'s agricultural industry.
Hannan: Euro Breeds Extremism

February 04, 2015

U.K. Member of the European Parliament Dan Hannan writes that the election of the anti-euro Syriza party in Greece demonstrates that, far from being the "antidote to political extremism" its creators claimed it would be, the euro has become a catalyst for extremist groups across Europe.
Election in Greece Sets up Conflict with EU

January 28, 2015

The Telegraph reports that the victory of the anti-austerity party Syriza in recent elections in Greece could put the government on a collision course with officials in the European institutions, who have stated that they have no plans to forgive any of the country's debt related to its "bailout" in 2010.
German Groups Dig in for Potential Greek Euro Exit

January 28, 2015

The Telegraph has published a set of statements from German institutes and the German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble refusing to consider forgiving Greece's debt from its 2010 bailout and indicating readiness for Greece's potential exit from the euro following its recent election of anti-austerity party Syriza.
Kamall Warns of EU Tax Harmonization

January 28, 2015

Arguing that tax competition among European countries increases business investment across the continent, British Member of the European Parliament Syed Kamall has called for resistance to proposals by EU officials to require the harmonization of tax policy across the economic bloc.