Finance & Trade

Bulgaria Seeks to Join Euro

January 16, 2015

Despite the country's poor credit rating, Finance Minister Vladislav Goranov has announced that Bulgaria has begun talks to join the euro currency.
EU Commission: Luxembourg Tax Deal May Be "State Aid"

January 16, 2015

The European Commission has released a preliminary finding that a tax deal between Luxembourg and Amazon, made while current Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker was the country's Prime Minister, was "state aid" and therefore contrary to EU law.
ECJ Attorney Finds EU Monetary Program Lawful

January 14, 2015

Advocate General of the Court of Justice of the EU Pedro Cruz Villalon has found, in a nonbinding opinion, that a program under which the European Central Bank buys eurozone government debt is lawful so long as it abides by safeguards intended to prevent direct state aid to EU member states.
Hollande Calls for Use of FTT to Fight Climate Change

January 14, 2015

French President François Hollande has announced his support of the EU-proposed financial transaction tax ("FTT") and his intention to use all or part of the proceeds to counter global warming.
Study: EU Legislation Pervades U.K. Financial Regulation

January 14, 2015

Countering arguments that the U.K. would still comply with EU financial legislation if outside the EU, a new study finds that if the U.K. were not an EU member state, it would not have introduced 50% of its financial legislation.
EU: Joining Euro Is "Irrevocable"

January 07, 2015

In response to reports that Greece may leave the euro currency due to the country's economic problems, a spokesperson for the EU has warned that eurozone rules prohibit the exit of any country from the currency bloc.
Kazimir: EU Must Enforce Rules on Budgets

December 31, 2014

In a recent interview, Slovak Finance Minister Peter Kazimir has urged the European Commission to discipline countries, such as France and Italy, that fail to comply with the EU's budget rules.
U.K. Faces Increasing Costs for EU

December 31, 2014

In a recent publication, the organization Business for Britain explains why the U.K.'s payments to the EU have increased and why they will continue to rise in the future.
Khan Calls for Greece to Drop Euro

December 31, 2014

In a recent article in The Telegraph, Mehreen Khan uses nine charts to explain why Greece would be better off withdrawing from the euro currency.
EU Funds Polish "Ghost" Airports

December 17, 2014

An article from EurActiv highlights the inefficiency involved in top-down planning by EU officials, as they provided over 100 million euros to fund the building of at least three "ghost" airports in Poland that did not attract enough passengers to keep them in business.