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European leaders this week settled agreement on a new treaty that will create a closer financial union, and approved a permanent fund for supporting EU member governments under pressure from debt.
NEW EU TREATY ON FINANCE
The gathering at Brussels was one of a series since the financial crisis of 2008, which have step-by-step consolidated a joint response to financial or monetary crisis. … Read More »
Croatians voted on Sunday to becomes the 28th member country of the European Union.
The voter turn-out was low at 44% but the decision emphatic, with 66% saying yes to ac cession, which is to take place in July next year, once the existing member governments have ratified it.
The start of 2012 saw the commemoration of the first issue of Euro currency ten years before; an event hailed as cementing economic union, although, this year, accompanied by the persistent doubt over debt. … Read More »
The push will be on in the New Year to extend the powers of the European Union, in the hope of it dealing better with challenges like the debt crisis.
More in the short-term, with the threat of a general recession, new efforts will be focused on setting up the permanent guarantee fund, the European Stability Mechanism, by mid-year; and on the possible issue of joint European bonds, guaranteed by governments in a group.
Disputes will go beyond immediate action, to wider ideas of what “Europe” should be, whether a collection of states, or a closer union more on the federal plan. … Read More »
Barracking from the sidelines as the European Union, and the Eurozone group within it, grapple for a crisis solution on the Euro and bad debt, could be heard this week all the way from Australia; and from even further away, in terms of mentality – from certain back-benches in the House of Commons. … Read More »
European heads of government are having a summit in-between summits at the start of this week, after ending one gathering at Brussels on Sunday, and limbering up for another this Wednesday (26.10.11).
The French President, Nicolas Sarkozy, and German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, were instrumental in the extraordinary move of convening a second round of talks. … Read More »
Jose Manuel Barroso (picture) has taken up the doctrine of an integrated and more powerful European Union to handle demands of the 21st Century.
The vision of a “real economic union”, political and social as well, was reiterated in his State of the Union address to the European Parliament at Strasbourg, 28.9.11; unsurprisingly, from the champion of the Lisbon legislation at the heart of the most recent expansion of joint powers, (see EUAustralia Online, “EU puts Lisbon ‘no’ votes behind it”, 30.12.09). … Read More »