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.
Climate Crisis
Richard Murphy: My vision for a Green New Deal
Prolific economic thinker Richard Murphy, preparing for a series of lectures in Glasgow and Edinburgh, at a Commonspace Forum, outlines his latest vision for a Green New Deal, as a global imperative, and incidentally a […]
Geopolitics
The Cradle: Boycotts ‘shake the foundations’ of Israeli academia
Academics describe scientific research as ‘a central engine of economic growth’ for Israel, cautioning that weakening universities could jeopardize long-term economic recovery Read Article HERE Photo licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International […]
Geopolitics
The Buffer Zone: Interview with Nicholas Noe
Jack Gross and Dylan Saba interview Nicholas Noe, an expert on Lebanon and Hezbollah, about the escalating conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, which appears destined towards all-out war. In ‘Phenomenal World’. Read the article HERE.
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