Euro and single market

Euro crisis: Why Joseph Stiglitz is wrong

In his latest book the American Nobel prize for ‘a smooth exit’ from the euro. Unfortunately, his stance reflects a deep misunderstanding of the realities of the old continent, says the editor-in-chief of Alternatives Economiques.

12 September 2016 – Alternatives économiques (Paris) 76

Greek bailout: Washington Advised Greece in Bailout Negotiations

The US urged Athens to avoid attacks on Germany and to find allies.

30 September 2015 – VoxEurop I Kathimerini 93

After the agreement on the Greek debt: ‘Greece might no longer be a country by the end of this week’

There are only losers in the agreement clinched on Monday at dawn by Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras and his eurozone partners. First and foremost the Greek people and the German and European leaders, believes the European press.

14 July 2015 – VoxEurop 153

Greek crisis towards a solution: ‘The confidence argument will end up going against those parties who betted on a Grexit’

As European head of State and government were still on a last-ditch summit over Greece in Brussels, European dailies were expressing disappointment about the consequences for the Union of a crisis that had pushed to the limits the nerves of the European citizens and leaders.

13 July 2015 – VoxEurop 4

Greece and the rest: The map of the most indebted countries

Among the members of the European Union, Greece is by far the country with the highest level of public debt. This map, created by Vox. […]

10 July 2015 – VoxEurop 9

A reader suggests: A battle between neoliberalism and democracy is going on in Greece

George Monbiot writing in the Guardian provides a historical context for the current crisis in Greece and in the Eurozone which ought to be seen […]

10 July 2015 – VoxEurop Notebook The Guardian 10

European press review: ‘Everybody has begun to agree that the eurozone is not one, sacred and indivisible’

The day after a summit of eurozone leaders where Alexis Tsipras presented precious few new reforms and asked for a new aid plan, the European press seems to be losing patience with a crisis whose main actors appear incapable of finding a mutually beneficial way out.

8 July 2015 – VoxEurop 86

After the referendum in Greece: ‘Eurozone leaders will face Grexit’

Eurozone leaders are gathering in Brussels on Tuesday evening to resume discussions on the financial situation in Greece. The European press wonders whether they will even be able to talk to each other after Greeks overwhelmingly said “no” to the previous bailout plan.

7 July 2015 – VoxEurop 12

After the referendum in Greece: ‘The odyssey is far from over’

The clear victory of the “no” ("OXI" in greek) vote in Sunday’s referendum unambiguously shows that Greek voters want an end to the austerity measures pushed for by Greece’s international creditors and eurozone partners. While largely welcoming this expression of democracy, the European press stresses that an agreement on a new aid plan is indispensable.

6 July 2015 – VoxEurop 46

Referendum in Greece: Europe at its worst

It could not have gone worse, says political scientist Piero Ignazi: the most pessimistic predictions have all turned out to be true. Worse than that, they are past every limit. There is, in fact, no limit to the worse.

4 July 2015 – eutopia (Rome) 5

Greek Crisis: ‘Greece and euroland: A battle for credibility’

More billions of euros in aid is not the only thing Greece and the Eurozone are scuffling about as credibility is even more important, writes […]

2 July 2015 – VoxEurop Rzeczpospolita 1

Referendum in Greece: Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz calls to vote ‘no’ to bailout plan

This weekend's referendum gives Greek voters a choice between two radically different futures, Joseph Stiglitz writes in Project Syndicate. Approval of the IMF-ECB-EU troika's terms […]

2 July 2015 – VoxEurop Project Syndicate 41

Greek crisis: Greece will need much more

According to Czech economic daily’s editor David Klimeš negotiations between the Eurozone and Greece are seemingly technical as both sides are throwing out numbers but […]

1 July 2015 – VoxEurop Hospodářské Noviny 2

Greek crisis: Greece is now in bad company

The Standaard editor-in-chief Bart Sturtewagen writes that today Greece has joined the same circle as Zimbabwe, Somalia and Sudan. Although it isn’t the first time […]

1 July 2015 – VoxEurop De Standaard 1

Greek crisis: Greece and the EU are flexing their muscles

Marek Beylin, Gazeta Wyborcza’s commentator, is urging Greece and EU to make a last-ditch effort to reach an agreement which should be, however, more favourable […]

1 July 2015 – VoxEurop Gazeta Wyborcza 2

Greek debt crisis: Tsipras played his last chips

By calling for a referendum on 5 July on on the series of austerity measures demanded by Greece's creditors in exchange for a bail-out plan, Greek prime minister spread distrust among Eurozone partners and put his country on the brink of economic disaster.

30 June 2015 – I Kathimerini (Athens) 233

Profile: Jeroen Dijsselbloem, the euro doc

Can he hold together the monetary union and prevent a Greek default? As Jeroen Dijsselbloem is likely to be reappointed as president of the Eurogroup, Vrij Nederland looks into the career and style of the Dutch Finance minister.

17 June 2015 – Vrij Nederland (Amsterdam) 114

You recommend: Advertising the EU

The cover of the latest issue of the German business weekly Wirtschaftswoche pays tribute to the European Union. The magazine asked nine important German advertising […]

23 May 2015 – VoxEurop 5

A reader suggests: Germany endangers eurozone stability

British paper The Daily Telegraph argues that not only is Germany's current account surplus out of control, but for the fifth year in succession the […]

19 May 2015 – VoxEurop Notebook The Daily Telegraph 122

Investigating Germany’s new role in Europe: The Fourth Reich, really?

Where does Germany stand in Europe? And are its downtrodden southern neighbours justified in comparing its current dominance to the dark days of Nazi rule? […]

1 April 2015 – VoxEurop Der Spiegel 162

Economic recovery: Looking within as a growth model for Europe

The EU is the world’s largest and most elaborate internal market. If it is to survive, it has to look within to see its potential as a driving force to trigger growth, writes Italian economist Innocenzo Cipolletta.

13 March 2015 – eutopia (Rome) 33

Debt crisis: Black sheep Berlin

Greek newspaper Avgi, close to the Syriza party of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, has published a cartoon of German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble “dressed in […]

6 March 2015 – VoxEurop Coulisses de Bruxelles 157

Debt crisis: Let’s kick Germany out of the Eurozone

Germany's towering trade surplus is the key force behind Europe's economic malaise, writes Patrick Chovanec in Foreign Policy. And Berlin’s departure from the Eurozone would […]

3 March 2015 – VoxEurop Foreign Policy 238

Elections in Greece — Seen from Europe: ‘Athens has no interest in losing the support of the EU’

Following the victory of Greek radical left party Syriza in an early general election on 25 January, the European press asks what the continent’s first overtly anti-austerity government will mean for the Union.

26 January 2015 – VoxEurop 30

ECB’s quantitative easing: ‘One trillion to boost Europe’

On 22 January the European Central Bank announced it will plough €1.1 trillion into the eurozone economy in an unprecedented bond-buying scheme to pump money into the eurozone and prevent deflation. The European press reacted both with enthusiasm and anger — depending on the country.

23 January 2015 – VoxEurop 82

Early elections in Greece: ‘On Tuesdays the euro, on Fridays the drachma’

Less than three weeks from general elections in Greece, Der Spiegel wonders about the intentions of Alexis Tsipras, the leader of the left-wing Syriza party […]

6 January 2015 – VoxEurop Der Spiegel

2014 in Review: Angela Merkel, person of the year

British newspaper The Times has named German Chancellor Angela Merkel its person of the year for her “central role in preserving European stability at a […]

26 December 2014 – VoxEurop The Times 8

Greek Presidential Election: Leaders raise fears over euro membership

Greek and European Union leaders are sounding alarm bells over the presidential elections to be held in Parliament on 17 December, whose failure to secure […]

12 December 2014 – VoxEurop I Kathimerini, The Economist, EUobserver.com 286

Eurozone: ‘Europe stops; Draghi’s push’

European Central Bank president Mario Draghi announced that “projections for real GDP growth have been revised substantially downwards” for the coming years during a 4 […]

5 December 2014 – VoxEurop Corriere della Sera 30

Juncker’s investment plan: ‘The last chance to overcome the crisis’

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker presented a €315bn investment plan for stimulating the European economy on 26 November.

28 November 2014 – VoxEurop 95

Banks: ‘Italy under pressure as nine banks fail stress tests’

The European Central Bank [ECB] published the results of its assessment of the 130 largest banks in the eurozone on 26 October, setting 11 of […]

27 October 2014 – VoxEurop Financial Times 4

Eurozone: The seven fears of the markets

“For two years it seemed to be getting better, but pessimism has returned to the financial markets”, writes Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant after the Amsterdam […]

17 October 2014 – VoxEurop De Volkskrant 13

Eurozone: ‘Fear of another recession in the EU makes stock market sink’

“The ghost of a new recession in the EU clearly materialised in the financial markets yesterday [15 October], as European stocks suffered their most severe […]

16 October 2014 – VoxEurop El Mundo 28

European Central Bank: Can Mario Draghi save the eurozone alone?

For Le Monde, Mario Draghi is “the useful man of Europe”. The French daily explains in its editorial, “the man guiding the European Central Bank […]

3 September 2014 – VoxEurop Le Monde, Le Temps 25

Stagnating growth: ‘Eurozone recovery shudders to a halt’

Lacklustre performances from the eurozone’s three biggest economies resulted in stagnating growth in the second quarter of 2014, writes the Financial Times. France registered zero growth, […]

15 August 2014 – VoxEurop Financial Times 31

ECB and interest Rates: ‘The Rate Shock’

As expected, the European Central Bank announced on 5 June it would lower its main refinancing rate to 0.15 per cent, down from the 0.25 […]

6 June 2014 – VoxEurop Die Welt, Financial Times 4

Monetary Policy: ‘Eurozone deflation fears add to pressure on Draghi’

In the run-up to a much anticipated announcement by the ECB on Thursday 5 June, the Financial Times reports that falling inflation, which dwindled to […]

4 June 2014 – VoxEurop Financial Times 19

European Central Bank: “Mario Caesar Draghi”

For the German economic daily, the European Central Bank president is "a man buying time". He has "neutralized the euro crisis for the moment, and […]

23 May 2014 – VoxEurop Handelsblatt 1

Banking Union: A major leap forward

The agreement concluded by European Finance Ministers on December 18 provides for a single resolution mechanism for banks and will pave the way for a single resolution fund. As such it amounts to an important step towards a real monetary union, but not a definitive one.

19 December 2013 – Le Monde (Paris) 15

Bailout: ‘ECB assumes Portugal will have a new programme’

ECB President Mario Draghi warned Portugal on December 16 that the country will likely be subject to a “transitional period” austerity programme to ease its […]

17 December 2013 – Presseurop Público 32

Ireland: Different day, same old austerity story

Ireland awoke on December 16 finally free of three years of crippling troika economic planning. However, despite financial sovereignty returning to Dublin, the country will find that just as events drove much of the crisis, so too will they drive policy in the post-troika era.

16 December 2013 – Irish Independent (Dublin) 11

Ireland: ‘Noonan signals early move to cut income tax as State exits bailout’

Irish Finance Minister Michael Noonan revealed the government is considering cutting income tax for some groups in 2015 or 2016 in an effort to grow […]

13 December 2013 – Presseurop The Irish Times 1

Banking: ‘ECB to get tough on sovereign bond risks’

The European Central Bank (ECB) is to push Eurozone banks to hold capital reserves against their sovereign bond holdings, as it seeks to prevent weak […]

12 December 2013 – Presseurop Financial Times 24

Banking Union: Eurozone edges towards key goal

“Remarkable progress on banking union,” announces La Vanguardia. On December 10, an initial agreement was concluded by Eurozone finance ministers for the creation of a […]

11 December 2013 – Presseurop La Vanguardia 6

Latvia: The euro steams in against nostalgic backdrop

On January 1, the Latvians will shift to the single currency. Latvians have been able to buy their new coins since December 10, amid an atmosphere of excitement tinged with concern.

11 December 2013 – Eesti Päevaleht (Tallinn) 104