In a paper discussed by EU finance ministers on 11 September, Bruegel think tank made the case for protecting green investment as part of the upcoming Stability and Growth Pact review. Bruegel’s Zsolt Darvas, one of the report's authors, told EURACTIV that most of the investment needed to reduce CO2 emissions would come from private sources.
The EU pressed the US Administration to agree on the reform of the World Trade Organisation’s dispute settlement system amid deep divisions running through the institution.
EU governments will spend around €150 billion of the recovery fund in social objetives, with half of this money allocated to education and health, according to European Commission’s preliminary figures.
The European Commission said on Friday (10 September) that it will explore options to improve the Stability and Growth Pact by the end of next year, as member states are preparing for a bruising battle over the reform of the EU’s fiscal rules.
European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, is expected to tout the success of the institution’s vaccine strategy and the Covid certificate in her State of the EU speech on 15 September, in which Europe’s global status and role will have increased prominence following the US withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Green bonds will not finance gas projects included in national recovery plans, according to the new framework put forward by the European Commission on Tuesday (7 September).
EU finance ministers approved on Monday (6 September) the recovery plans submitted by Ireland and Czech Republic, meaning that the proposals sent by 18 member states since April to access the coronavirus fund have now been validated.
National recovery plans are expected to create at least 800,000 jobs by 2022 in the EU, thanks to additional public and private investment and planned reforms in member states, according to the European Commission.
EU finance ministers approved on Monday (26 July) the recovery plans of Croatia, Cyprus, Lithuania and Slovenia, bringing the total number of approvals to 16 out of the 27 member states.
The EU’s recovery fund and new strategy on sustainable finance will expand the role small firms can play in building back the European economy in a sustainable manner, EU officials said.
Some EU Commissioners expressed concerns on Wednesday (14 July) about the landmark ‘Fit for 55’ climate legislation package and criticised the way the massive initiative to transform the European economy was handled by the Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, various officials told EURACTIV.com.
EU-27 finance ministers in the Ecofin Council approved on Tuesday (13 July) the first batch of twelve national recovery plans, paving the way for the first payments by the end of this month, as the spread of the Delta variant of COVID-19 across Europe increases the risk of new restrictions.
The European Commission announced on Monday (12 July) it will put on hold its own proposal for a digital levy in Europe in order to facilitate a global tax agreement. The digital tax, which would have affected US tech giants, was postponed following repeated calls from Washington on the Europeans to cancel their plans.
The European Commission will put forward a mandate to negotiate a post-Brexit relationship with Gibraltar next week that would bring EU Frontex agents to its territory to avoid a hard border with Spain.
Oriol Junqueras, former Catalan vice-president and pro-independence leader who had been jailed for his role in Catalonia's failed secession attempt, visited Strasbourg and Brussels on Tuesday and Wednesday (6-7 July), after being released from prison with a pardon from the Spanish government.
The President of the European Central Bank, Christine Lagarde, on Wednesday (29 June) called for initiatives to create a capital markets union for sustainable finance.
The European Commission’s contracts with PWC, Deloitte, EY and KPMG, known as the ‘Big Four’, continued to increase last year surpassing €156 million, partly due to their rising billing as part of the reform support programme, according to estimates made by EURACTIV.com.
The European Commission will present in the second half of this year a wide-ranging review of its state aid rules to facilitate public funding to strategic areas, as member states await the first transfers of the EU's recovery funds.
Eurozone finance ministers (Eurogroup) failed to agree on Thursday (17 June) on a calendar to complete the banking union with a common deposit insurance scheme, as Germany continued to oppose any progress unless member states address other issues, including bank exposure to sovereign debt.
The European Fiscal Board supported on Wednesday (16 June) maintaining the suspension of the Stability and Growth Pact throughout next year but called for reinstalling a revised set of fiscal rules from 2023 to minimise risks.
The European Commission raised €20 billion in the markets on Tuesday (15 June) to start financing the EU’s €800 billion recovery fund, beating its expectations for the planned monthly bond sale.
The first summit between the EU and US President Joe Biden concluded on Tuesday (15 June) with a deal on a five-year suspension of tariffs in the longstanding Airbus-Boeing dispute, paving the way for stronger cooperation against the challenges posed by China’s economic model.
The European Commission wants member states to adopt measures to support workers’ hiring and retraining in the aftermath of the pandemic, as the green and digital transitions will shake up a European job market already in pain because of COVID-19.
The EU’s framework to coordinate national economies this year has been shaped by the recovery and resilience plans. The Commission’s executive vice-president for economy, Valdis Dombrovskis, told a group of media including EURACTIV that overall, the EU executive is satisfied with the recovery plans submitted by 23 member states.
