Category Archives: EU Policy

The New EU Pension Law British Firms Fear

In the midst of the financial and economic crisis, the European Commission is working to reform the current directive on occupational pensions. The Commission wants to apply the “same risks, same rules, same capital” principles for both insurers and pension schemes. This has put British firms on alert as the interaction of the proposed reforms and the distinctive nature of the British private pension market, where British employees heavily rely on defined-benefit occupational pension schemes, could lead to more complexity in pension regulation and could significantly increase costs for British companies.
Posted on February 10, 2012 By Virtual Vantage Points
Also posted in Finance, Government | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

From Davos: The Problems, Difficulties and Woes of Europe

The problems, difficulties, and woes of Europe continued to dominate discussions and presentations in Davos. British Prime Minister David Cameron spoke to the gathering and noted Europe's drag on the world economy as China grows at 8 percent, India at more than 7 percent and Africa at general rate of about 5 1/2 percent. He cautioned the audience that "fear of failure should not hold us back--we require boldness, not caution." He urged other European nations to tackle difficult issues like Britain has embraced, such as acting aggressively to reform public-sector pensions. He said only by taking on the tough budget issues can Europe gain vital economic credibility and get ahead of the market. He claimed that too many EU countries are less competitive today than they were one year ago, and they have imposed far too many "burdens on business" and relied heavily on financial transaction taxes.
Posted on January 28, 2012 By Tim Roemer
Categories  EU Policy | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

The World’s “Big Economic Headache”

One of the keynote speakers, Dr. Angela Merkel, spoke to the attendees at Davos with a message sprinkled with stark realism regarding the difficult challenges facing Europeans yet encouraging them to reach for "new methods" to build for a more prosperous future. She asked Europe to learn lessons from the current crisis and help define what their role will be in shaping the future of the world. While Europe currently comprises about 7 percent of the world's population and 20 percent of the GDP, it is probably perceived as the " big economic headache" for the world economy right now, she lamented to the crowd.
Posted on January 25, 2012 By Tim Roemer
Also posted in European Politics, Finance, Foreign Policy | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Can Italy Derail the U.S. Recovery?

As the United States sees its unemployment rate drop from 9.5 percent to 8.5 percent having created approximately 1.6 million part- and full-time jobs in 2011, a slow but steady growth path seems to open up for 2012 with a forecast of 2.5-3 percent growth for the country as well as for the global economy. Its exorbitant indebtedness would have been deadly if investors were not considering the United States as the strongest credit in the world, and clearly continue to purchase U.S. Treasuries at record low interest rates. With China and India still expected to grow by 8 and 6 percent respectively, the threat should not come from emerging markets.
Posted on January 10, 2012 By Virtual Vantage Points
Also posted in European Politics, Finance, Foreign Policy | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

The Spanish Elections

General elections were held in Spain on 20 November to determine the composition of the country’s Congress of Deputies (lower house) and Senate (upper house) for the next four years. The lower chamber will have to choose the country’s prime minister and government for the same period. These elections have been profoundly marked by the economic crisis. Indeed, as pressure from international markets mounted and unemployment increased, Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero was forced to bring forward the elections by six months. The economy completely monopolised the debate during the electoral campaign.
Posted on November 23, 2011 By Paolo Nicoletti
Also posted in European Politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Political Developments in Greece: From Papandreou to Papademos

Loukas Papademos, former vice president of the European Central Bank and a former senior economic advisor to outgoing Prime Minister George Papandreou, was appointed as the new interim prime minister for Greece on 11 November. Papandreou decided to step aside for a unity government after an intense political backlash following his proposal to hold a referendum on the second international aid package for Greece. The Aborted Referendum The referendum proposal from Papandreou was driven primarily by domestic politics, after months of international efforts to secure a deal which left the average Greek citizen feeling disenfranchised and unfairly criticised by their European neighbours. Greek citizens felt strongly that their sovereignty had been taken away and that they were being dictated to. This was coupled with Papandreou’s own personal political philosophy of acting in the interests of his electorate.
Posted on November 18, 2011 By Paolo Nicoletti
Also posted in Crisis, European Politics, Finance | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment