The German president of the European Parliament has warned Italians not to vote for former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, citing worries that he will reverse Rome’s economic reforms if returned to power.
EU chief Martin Schulz is the latest in a line of German politicians to express fears about a possible Berlusconi comeback as Italy prepares to go the polls on Sunday.
European Union officials are considering further curbs on bankers’ remuneration, banning upfront cash bonuses that exceed annual salaries. The move is backed by a majority of nations including Germany and France, much to the dismay of Britain.
The proposal, part of a drive to implement the so-called Basel III Rules aimed at preventing a repeat of the 2007-09 crisis, would hold banks to a 1:1 bonus to salary ratio, with the possibility of being raised to 2:1 with the backing of a supermajority of shareholders, reported the Financial TImes on Sunday.
The eurozone must act quickly towards setting up a single banking regulator to oversee banks across all 27 European Union states as policy paralysis or backsliding in the current environment could derail confidence and economic recovery, an International Monetary Fund staff paper said on Wednesday.
In a report on Europe’s progress towards setting up a common banking union, the IMF on Wednesday warned of the dangers of leaving the integration project half-finished, either through political compromises or a loss of momentum.
The European Union on Friday edged closer to a historic budget cut after 18-hours of talks in Brussels, with most of the cuts coming from the bloc’s administrative budget.
In total, the 960 billion euros budget deal is 12 billion euros less than the previous budget proposal for 2014 to 2020 mooted in November, and 33 billion euros less than the current budget.
If approved by the bloc’s 27 leaders, the new figures would mean a first-ever EU budget cut in its 56-year history.
French President Francois Hollande on Tuesday told the European Parliament that can there be no “a la carte” attitude towards EU membership and policymaking, warning in a thinly veiled reference to the UK that national interests are overtaking the European interest, jeopardising the cohesion and future of the bloc.
In his first address to the European parliament, Hollande on Tuesday called for “multi-faceted Europe which would neither be a two-speed Europe nor an a la carte Europe.”
This could be a decisive year in determining whether the eurozone can emerge from its three-year-old sovereign debt crisis, credit ratings agency Standard and Poor’s said in a report on Wednesday.
After more than three years of economic, financial, and budgetary stress in the eurozone, especially on its so-called “periphery”, some signs of stabilisation emerged in the latter half of 2012, signalling the potential start of the region sustainably overcoming the market volatility and fragmentation that has affected it over the past few years.
Europe risks losing out on a huge energy opportunity and petrochemical investments because of its reluctance to embrace the shale gas revolution, said the head of Sabic, the world’s largest petrolchemical group by market value.
In an interview with the Financial Times, Mohamed al-Mady, chief of the Riyadh-based group, said that the hesitation of policymakers in Brussels has driven away potential investors who have instead turned their focus to China and the Middle East – regions that are keen to emulate the US’ success in shale gas.
The European Commission has announced measures to curb the estimated 1 trillion euros ($1.3 trillion) in annual tax evasion and avoidance, describing the phenomenon as a “scandalous loss of much-needed revenue” for the indebted eurozone region.
According to an estimate released by the European Union Commission on Thursday, up to 1 billion euros is lost tax dodgers each year while tens of billions of euros remain offshore, often unreported and untaxed.
European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said on Friday that the eurozone economy has not yet emerged from the crisis but expressed confidence that a recovery will “certainly begin in the second half of 2013.”
Speaking at an interview with French radio Europe 1, Draghi also defended the European Central Bank’s strategy to preserve the euro’s stability, referring to the “unconventional means” the Bank had earlier pledged to use.
Greece’s international lenders failed on Wednesday to secure a deal to give Greece the next tranche of its bailout, paving the way for a default. Greece’s next debt repayment is due in mid-December.
Following nearly 12 hours of talks in Brussels, the Eurogroup said it had made progress on a package of measures to reduce Greek public debt, but needed more time for technical work.
