German politicians and media are intensifying pressure on Rome in anticipation of today’s EU Commission verdict on Italy’s national budget. Already last week, EU Budget Commissioner Günther Oettinger announced, in reference to the Italian deficit, that the Italian government must “correct” its draft budget. Media reports refer to a “black week” for Rome. Negative reporting – like rating agencies’ devaluation of Italy’s creditworthiness – can contribute to the destabilization of Italy’s financial and credit markets. The country’s current downward spiral threatens to re-escalate the banking crisis. Whereas Berlin insists that the EU take sharp measures against deficits, Germany’s Finance Minister at the time, Wolfgang Schäuble had prevented the EU Commission from taking measures against excessive surpluses, which the commission sees as potentially just as destabilizing. Germany has been achieving these surpluses year after year.
Economics
Market Watch: Why India is the big winner as EU’s Russia oil ban redraws energy trade map
India buys oil cheaply from Russia & then sells it expensively as a refined product to Europe Read Here Photo: Indian oil refinery Kendash1987 licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International
EU politics
Bill Mitchell – billy blog: Jean-Claude Juncker in denial and somewhat delusional
With regard to EU-Commission President jean Claude Juncker’s speech concerning the future of the EU last week Mitchell writes: “Juncker’s speech displayed the usual mixture of hubris, denial and error-prone behaviour that has defined his […]
Corruption
Thomas Fazi – The EU’s propaganda machine
A summary of Fazi’s latest report, finding that the EU funds NGOs to promote itself. Read the full article HERE.
Be the first to comment