December European Council
On December 16th and 17th EU leaders will meet for their summit (the European Council), which euinside expects to be extremely tense and controversial. Unfortunately this time we were unable to send a team in Brussels but we will keep you informed about everything that is happening at the Council, thanks to the latest live webcast technologies. In this topic you will find everything related to what's happening on Thursday and Friday.
| © www.primeminister.gov.grEEAG: Greece should leave the euro area and devalue the drachma
Germany would support a possible extension of the Greek bailout programme from the EU and the IMF, Chancellor Angela Merkel suggested after a meeting with Greek Prime Minister Georgios Papandreou in Berlin. The argument she pointed out was that the Irish rescue loan had the term of seven years, ...
| © European Commission- Audiovisual ServiceBruegel: Greece is insolvent, urgent debt reduction is needed
At their March Summit, the leaders of the euro area countries are expected to come forward with concrete proposals for tackling the debt crisis - on the changes in the euro area rescue fund (EFSF), on the nature and functions of the permanent fund - the European Stability Mechanism, on the Pact ...
| © The Council of the European UnionThe permanent euro area rescue fund will be twice as large as the current
The European Stability Mechanism (ESM) will be able to lend its full capacity of 500 billion euro to troubled euro area member states. This became clear after the extended meeting of the Eurogroup with the finance ministers of non-euro area countries on February 14th. "The loan capacity of the E ...
| © European Commission- Audiovisual ServiceImpressive market debut of the euro area rescue fund
The euro area rescue fund (the European Financial Stability Facility, EFSF) debuted strongly on the financial markets. Its first ever bond issue reaped stormy investors' interest, as the data published by the Financial Times show. Against the background of the planned issue worth 5 billion euro, ...
| © The Council of the European UnionA stress test year for the euro area
The first meeting of EU finance ministers - for this year and the first under the Hungarian presidency - ended with no fundamental news, but rather with some indicative guidelines for future intentions. Two main issues were discussed during the meeting - conducting a new set of bank stress tests ...
| © European Commission- Audiovisual ServiceBrussels wants a bigger and more flexible rescue fund for the euro area
The European Commission wants the effective financial capacity of the European Financial Stability Facility (the rescue fund for the euro area) to be reinforced and the scope of its activities to be widened. This is clear from the Annual Growth Survey, presented in Brussels on January 12. Accord ...
| © European CouncilLess EU and more euro area after a German model with British ornament and a French facon
I am not convinced that we actually take stock of what is going on in the European Union, especially in the euro area. In fact, ever since the EU started to enlarge, no one actually realised what was going on in it, no matter the fact that it started to institutionalise more closely, to integrat ...
| © European CouncilIf the EU wrote letters to Santa
The moods at the EU leaders meetings are becoming more and more tense, thus increasing the possibility some of them to lose it. This is happening against the backdrop of the receding light in the tunnel for the eurozone countries put under the pressure of financial markets. In such an environmen ...
| © The Council of the European UnionEU: we rescue only as a last resort!
The permanent bailout mechanism for the euro area countries will be activated only when necessary. This becomes clear from the final text, which EU leaders agreed to be added to Article 136 of the Treaty on the functioning of the EU (TFEU) to set up a European Stability Mechanism: "The Member St ...
| © The Council of the European UnionThe EU leaders agree on the European Stability Mechanism
The EU leaders have agreed on a limited amendment of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU (TFEU) in order to create a permanent stabilisation mechanism for the euro area - European Stability Mechanism (ESM). This is written in the draft conclusions of the European Council, circulated by media ...
| © European Parliament- Audiovisual ServiceHistory is knocking on Europe's door. Who is going to answer?
A more European Germany or a more German Europe - this Hamlet-like question fully describes the moods on the eve of the European Council, which is being held today and tomorrow in Brussels. The main issue on the agenda, as it gets clear from Herman van Rompuy's, President of the European Council ...
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