Section: Open Europe (UK)
Labour manifesto pledges reform of EU budget, CAP and immigration rules
Labour manifesto pledges reform of EU budget, CAP and immigration rulesThe Labour Party unveiled their general election manifesto yesterday pledging to argue for a range of EU reforms including “tougher budget discipline,” reforming the Common Agricultural Policy and changing the rules around EU migrants’ access to benefits. The manifesto...
Finnish Finance Ministry steps up contingency plans for a Grexit
Finnish Finance Ministry steps up contingency plans for a GrexitFinnish daily Helsingin Sanomat reports that, according to a secret memo from the Finnish Finance Ministry, Greece may leave the Eurozone and the Finnish government has been preparing for such an event. The memo notes that if Greece decided to stop meeting its obligations, “tacit...
Tsipras and Putin strike positive tone but agree little of substance
Tsipras and Putin strike positive tone but agree little of substanceFollowing a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow yesterday, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras spoke of a new “Spring” in the relations between the two countries and stressed Greece was a “sovereign state” and had the right to pursue a “multifaceted foreign...
Questions grow around Greece’s ability to pay IMF despite submitting improved reform list
Questions grow around Greece’s ability to pay IMF despite submitting improved reform listGreece yesterday submitted its latest reform list to its European partners. The Financial Times published a copy of the 26 page document, which aims at raising up to €6bn in revenue. The cash comes from areas such as: an audit of offshore bank transfers...
Lib Dems to demand franchise be extended to under-18s and EU citizens in return for EU referendum
Lib Dems to demand franchise be extended to under-18s and EU citizens in return for EU referendumThe Financial Times reports that senior Lib Dem ministers and officials have said that they are likely to back down over Conservative demands for an EU referendum as part of a new agreement between the parties. However, they would demand concessions,...
Victory for the UK as ECB abandons push to move euro clearing inside Eurozone
Victory for the UK as ECB abandons push to move euro clearing inside EurozoneThe ECB and the Bank of England yesterday announced “a series of measures aimed at enhancing financial stability in relation to centrally cleared markets within the EU.” The move will include “extending the scope” of the Euro/Pound swap lines between the banks. As part...
Bild reports Greek Finance Minister considering resigning
Bild reports Greek Finance Minister considering resigningBild reports, via Greek news site Kontra,that Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis is getting ready to resign, citing an unnamed Greek government insider as saying, “It is only a matter of time until Varoufakis resigns. It is a done deal.” The Greek government has denied the report....
Eurozone officials dash Greek hopes of securing €1.2bn from bailout fund
Eurozone officials dash Greek hopes of securing €1.2bn from bailout fundOfficials in the Eurogroup Working Group (EWG) agreed in a teleconference yesterday that Greece has no right to tap €1.2bn from the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF), one of the Eurozone’s bailout funds. The Greek government claimed that it had overpaid the...
Greece to present full reform list by Monday in bid to unlock bailout cash
Greece to present full reform list by Monday in bid to unlock bailout cashGreece will present a full package of proposed reforms to its Eurozone partners “by Monday at the latest,” a Greek government spokesman told Mega TV. The move is aimed at speeding up the disbursement of the remaining EU/IMF bailout money. Meanwhile, Greek Prime Minister...
Whether Britain is better off in or out of the EU depends on a series of tough choices
Whether Britain is better off in or out of the EU depends on a series of tough choicesUK GDP could be 2.2% lower in 2030 if Britain leaves the EU and fails to strike a deal with the EU or reverts into protectionism, according to a comprehensive new Open Europe report. However, in a best case scenario, under which the UK manages to enter into...
