Europeโs debt set to surge again in new era of uncertainty, IMF warns
But the Fund gives its implicit backing to Chancellor Rachel Reevesโ plans to stabilize U.K. public finances.
public debt
The Guardian view on Friedrich Merzโs grand coalition: gambling on a new centre ground | Editorial
The deal signed last week between the centre-right CDU and centre-left SPD paves the way for vital investment in Europeโs biggest economySome years ago, hundreds of German finance ministry staff dressed in black and formed a giant zero to salute their …
In the face of Trumpโs mayhem, Europe is the direction to which the UK must turn โ and Keir Starmer knows it | Tom Baldwin
The PM will not antagonise the unpredictable president, but it is clear to No 10 that Trump is the problem and the solution lies elsewhereTom Baldwin is the author of Keir Starmer: The BiographyKeir Starmer was back at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday t…
Shootings, debt and political paralysis show Brussels is falling apart
Losing โฌ4 million a day and without a government, Belgium’s capital is in desperate need of leadership.
Germany hides โBlack Zeroโ statue as era of spending begins
Incoming chancellor Friedrich Merz has loosened deficit rules in a country deeply averse to public debt
Franceโs Fifth Republic is on the ropes
The eligibility ban on presidential hopeful Marine Le Pen and the market-wrecking tariffs of U.S. President Trump are just the latest challenges roiling Emmanuel Macron’s second term.
ECBโs Rehn on Trump tariffs: Europe must give as good as it gets
Bank of Finland governor says the EU should draw up “proportionate countermeasures” against U.S. tariffs.
How Berlinโs fiscal flip stunned Brussels and spooked its allies
The weeklong blitzkrieg on the EUโs fiscal rules generated more blowback than Germany ever expected.
EU considers giving countries wiggle room to boost defense spending
The move would allow governments with overstretched budgets more flexibility under the bloc’s debt and deficit rules.
Germanyโs central bank pushes for a U-turn on debt rules
Germany needs reform beyond โsmall changes,โ said the Bundesbank’s Joachim Nagel.
The post Germany’s central bank pushes for a U-turn on debt rules appeared first on Euractiv.
Franceโs Bayrou buys himself time with overture to Socialists
There should be “no totems or taboos” as new prime minister fights to reform pensions โ and keep his job.
New PM faces three steep hurdles to deliver a budget and stabilize France
Will Franรงois Bayrou’s government collapse over a budget vote, just as his predecessor’s did?
Eurozone faces no 2010 wildfire, but a slow-burn decline
The firefighters who put out the blaze a decade ago argue that fears of a eurozone implosion are overblown โ but admit that that may not stop a slow and painful European economic demise.
Emmanuel Macron under pressure to appoint new prime minister this week
Outgoing Michel Barnier warns any government will face challenge of debt and a divided societyThe French president, Emmanuel Macron, is under pressure to appoint a new prime minister this week after the ousted conservative Michel Barnier warned that an…
Bracing for a Russian attack: EU defense chief wants โฌ100B for weapons
Andrius Kubilius is the EU’s first defense and space commissioner.
IMFโs end-of-inflation party sobered by debt, war โฆ and a US election
Inflation may be on the retreat, but growth is slowing and debt is rising as the West and China square off ever more directly.
Germany eyes EU extension to rein in spending as recession bites
So far, only Italy, Spain and Finland have been granted similar extensions.
As world debt hits $100T, IMF warns deficit buildup must be brought under control
Debt expected to near 100 percent of global GDP by 2030.
In Italy, budget cuts and targeted taxes to reduce abysmal public debt
Giorgia Meloni’s government, which is looking for โฌ25 billion in savings, must present its draft budget for 2025 by October 20.
French public debt reaches record high: Is France the sick man of Europe?
France’s debt has reached a record โฌ3.228 trillion, amounting to 112 percent of GDP. That is well above the cap set by EU rules. Of course, France isn’t the only member state to have racked up debt during the Covid pandemic and the energy crisis. Seve…
Italyโs seven-year budget plan approved amid criticism
Italy’s public debt stands at โฌ2.946.6 trillion.
Emmanuel Macronโs last stand
The French leader was able to stall a Latin American trade deal in January. With negotiators again closing in on an agreement, he will struggle to repeat that feat.
A ‘dramatic break’ with China would be a ‘big mistake’, former ECB chief Trichet says
France’s public debt is very much in the spotlight. The country’s recently appointed prime minister, Michel Barnier, calls it a “sword of Damocles” hanging over future generations. Indeed, for many countries, paying interest on the national debt depri…
France plans eye-watering โฌ40 billion in budget cuts for 2025
Prime Minister Michel Barnier said it would take until 2029 to get the countryโs deficit in line with EU rules.
EU cross-border bank mergers pose real risks, Nagel warns
Key among the risks is the lack of a common deposit guarantee scheme, which could leave customers exposed.
Breton slams โempressโ von der Leyenโs power grab and Franceโs loss of influence in EU
Former French commissioner tells Le Monde that France has lost power in the new European Commission setup.
Franceโs debt rose to 112 percent of GDP in second quarter, data show
Franceโs public debt increased to near โฌ3.23 trillion, or 112 percent of GDP, between April and June, official statistics showed Friday. The dataย was published as the countryโs new government is looking to tackle the mounting debt pile, with Prime Min…
Portugalโs public debt for 2023 lower than estimated
Portugalโs public debt as a percentage of GDP is estimated to have fallen to 97.9%, a revision from the 99.1% calculated in April, according to data released by the National Statistics Institute (INE) on Monday.
Failing to control debt handicaps future generations: Spainโs former foreign minister
The new French government faces many challenges, including questions about its democratic legitimacy, and a public debt which has worried Franceโs EU partners. We discuss the economic outlook with former Spanish foreign minister Arancha Gonzalez Laya,…
‘The far right is always provoking the situation’: Belgium’s former PM Elio Di Rupo
Socialist veteran Elio Di Rupo has an unusual CV. He was an MEP back in 1989; he then held many high-level jobs in Belgium, including that of prime minister from 2011 to 2014, before returning to the European Parliament in this new five-year mandate. …
Europeโs urgent search for finding 5% of GDP for investments
Former European Central Bank (ECB) president Mario Draghi urged member states to boost investments by 5% of their GDP to address Europe’s challenges but to do this, the Union must put aside political battles over public debt and financial market regula…
German, Austrian finance ministers prepare for EU dispute over public vs private investment
Finance Ministers from five German-speaking countries met at Lake Constance where they doubled-down on the need to mobilise private capital and reduce public debt, ahead of EU discussions on how to spur growth and investment.
Meloni and von der Leyenโs messy split
Italian PM and European Commission president had been close but that’s all changed.
Hungary quietly takes โฌ1B loan from Chinese banks
With public debt at a record high, Budapest is increasingly looking to Beijing for cash.
France needs to cut over โฌ100B so it doesnโt end up like Italy
Economists say country still in “control of its own destiny” but government must act fast.
Franceโs far right may work with far left to torpedo Macronโs detested pension reform
Cooperation between mortal enemies could scupper Macron’s controversial pensions reform, which triggered weeks of unrest last year.
French election gridlock means yet more uncertainty for Europe
Emmanuel Macronโs battles at home means he risks losing sway in Brussels.
Investors too confused by French election to panic โ yet
Markets will certainly make their position known if politicking threatens to stretch public finances.
How French financial chaos could end Meloniโs market honeymoonย
Meloniโs careful stewardship of the Italian economy has been rewarded by Europeโs famously fickle financial markets. But chaos across the Alps could draw unwanted attention to Italyโs huge debt pile.ย
What if Macron is enemies with his next prime minister?
A liberal president constantly fighting a far-right prime minister would be a recipe for political catastrophe.
French far right backpedals on big-ticket proposals as markets tumble
French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire has raised alarm that France could face a financial crisis if the far right were to win in the legislative elections.
Macron rules out resigning โwhatever the resultโ of French election
France’s president has bet big on a showdown with the far right.
High prices, high rates will be new normal in post-COVID world, BNP economists warn
Europe is facing a โgenerational shiftโ in its economic architecture that will cause inflation to be structurally higher than at any period since the early 1980s, two leading BNP Paribas economists told Euractiv, warning that high price pressures and h…
Von der Leyen tried toย makeย friends with Meloni. It backfired
Italyโs leader is too far to the right for the European Commission chiefโs coalition allies.
Meloni trying to hide growing public debt figures ahead of EU elections, economist says
The absence of programmatic data in the latest economic and financial document could indicate the Italian government’s unwillingness to acknowledge rising public debt before the European elections in June, former IMF director and former Senate member C…
Poland on track to face โexplosionโ of public debt, Commission, expert warn
Polandโs public debt is set to rise to almost 80% of the countryโs GDP by 2034, according to the European Commissionโs latest report โ an assessment economist Jakub Sawulki finds pessimistic, although he warns that current trends do point to skyrocketi…
Risk of โlost decadeโ as EU countries face economic cliff edge
Tighter rules and a halt in EU funding will leave capitals looking for cash.
Italy on the right track despite record-breaking public debt, says OECD expert
Italyโs record public debt โ one of the highest debt-to-GDP ratios in the world โ is not a cause for concern as the country is still on the right track, the OECDโs Director for Financial and Enterprise Affairs, Carmine di Niola, told Euractiv in an int…
Building wind power, canceling coal โ itโs all drowning under borrowing costs
Central banksโ efforts to tame inflation have made it harder for both wealthy and poor nations to shift away from fossil fuels.
France sees no deal on EU spending rules without more room for green, security investment
‘That’s a no,’ says French Finance Minister Le Maire as race continues to get agreement at meeting this week.
Von der Leyen floats fiscal rule reform as โgame changerโ for EU defense build-up
There is ‘broad support’ in EU to consider increases in defense spending as a factor in assessing excessive deficits, Commission chief says.
OECD warns Franceโs deficit projections are too optimistic
The French governmentโs deficit reduction projections are not realistic, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) found in a report published on Wednesday (29 November), stating France ought to โstep up the pace of fiscal consol…
German cabinet adopts emergency 2023 budget, eyeing โdebt brakeโ
Germanyโs three-party governing coalition adopted on Monday (27 November) a supplementary budget for 2023 which includes the proposal to declare an emergency situation suspending the โdebt brakeโ set in the constitution.
EU gives France an โFโ grade on spending plans
High deficit puts Paris in breach of EU’s budget rules. Belgium, Finland and Croatia also singled out.
France readies for charm offensive as debt levels back on rating agenciesโ radar
As the French government pushed its 2024 budget bill through Parliament without a vote on Wednesday (18 October), and threats of an excessive deficit procedure (EDP) hover, France is once again under the microscope of credit rating agencies.
Franceโs 2024 budget walks tightrope as excessive deficit procedure looms
France’s 2024 budget treads a fine line, with green transition financing and the battle against inflation taking precedence over reducing public debt – though the high deficit raises fears the Commission may trigger an excessive deficit procedure.
France unveils modest spending cuts for next year
Paris is moving slower than other EU capitals in curbing its budget deficit and public debt
Franceโs 2024 budget debates mirror EU debt rules row
In drafting its 2024 budget bill, due to be presented on Wednesday (27 September), France is walking a tightrope between lowering debt levels and keeping the necessary fiscal room for large-scale green investments โ mirroring ongoing EU-level debates o…
Europeโs green deal will need broad support to succeed
EU has embarked on no less than an industrial revolution. A revolution that โ unlike those of the past โ is set against a tight deadline.
Far-right racism scandals rock Finland, pressure new PM
Petteri Orpo’s right-wing coalition government is already hitting turbulence.
Germany faces โฌ31 billion budget cut, triggering coalition infighting
Politicians blame each other as historic spending cuts hit areas including health, childcare and education.
Donโt be put off by riots, France tells tourists and foreign investors
‘Our British friends should be happy to visit France and have no fear,’ says French economy minister.
France must do more to cut down debt, Court of Auditors chief urges
Franceโs debt reduction plan must be more ambitious than whatโs already been laid out, French Court of Auditors President and former European Commissioner Pierre Moscovici told EURACTIV France in an interview, warning that the countryโs public finances…