On Tuesday evening, European Parliament, Council of Member States and EU Commission reached a political agreement on a new framework for the supervision of investment firms in the EU („Ferber Report“). Largely unnoticed by the public, the Capital Markets Union and its joint regulation have taken a major step forward. In the future, the more […]
Merkel/Draghi meeting: German federal government must commit itself to European fiscal policy
Today Angela Merkel will meet ECB President Mario Draghi in Berlin. For years Draghi has promoted a common fiscal and economic policy in the Eurogroup and among the heads of state and government of the eurozone. The spokesperson for Bündnis 90/Die Grünen in the European Parliament, Sven Giegold, said: “Merkel should finally commit herself […]
ECJ ruling on tax avoidance in Belgium: Bitter setback in the fight against tax avoidance
The European Court of Justice today ruled that the EU Commission’s decision to reimburse tax benefits of 700 million euros granted by the Belgian state to 35 companies is not in line with EU law. The spokesperson for Bündnis 90/Die Grünen in the European Parliament, Sven Giegold, said: “The ruling is a bitter setback […]
EU Commission adopts new blacklist: Real progress in the fight against money laundering
The EU Commission today presented a new blacklist of 23 high-risk countries for money laundering and terrorist financing. To date, the EU list has only included twelve countries that are already on the list of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an international anti-money laundering organisation founded in 1989. This is the first time that […]
EU-Singapore Agreement: Financial risk for Europe
Tomorrow the EU Parliament will vote on the EU-Singapore trade agreement. Among other things, the agreement creates a loophole for investors in government bonds in the event of debt rescheduling in an EU country. The Dutch non-governmental organisation SOMO recently pointed this out in a study. The spokesperson for Bündnis 90/Die Grünen in the […]
New study by Transparency International: Eurogroup is the EU’s black hole
Commenting on today’s Transparency International study on the Eurogroup’s lack of transparency, accountability and democratic scrutiny, Sven Giegold, the European Parliament’s rapporteur for transparency, accountability and integrity in the EU institutions, said: “The study by Transparency International puts its finger into the wound of European democracy: the Eurogroup is the EU’s black hole. It […]