Euro Area Archives

The European Central Bank will raise interest rates for the ninth time in a row on Thursday (27 July) and keep the door open to further moves as persistent inflation and growing evidence of an economic downturn pull policymakers in opposing directions.

German Finance Minister Christian Lindner will stay true to his goal of reimposing Germany’s debt brake for the first time since 2019 in the budget that is to be approved by the Federal Cabinet (Bundeskabinett) on Wednesday. While the government has …

Interest rate rises set by the European Central Bank (ECB) to curb inflation will take their toll in terms of lower economic growth, Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti said on Monday (19 June).

On Tuesday (20 June), the European Commission is expected to present proposals to review the bloc’s seven-year budget, new sources of income for the EU budget, and the long-awaited European Sovereignty Fund.

The European Central Bank raised euro zone borrowing costs to their highest level in 22 years on Thursday (15 June) and said stubbornly high inflation all but guaranteed another move next month and likely beyond that too.

Welcome to EURACTIV’s weekly Economy Brief.

Germany's finance minister Christian Lindner (FDP) has teamed up with 10 colleagues from Central, Eastern and Northern EU countries to call for strict fiscal rules ahead of a debate among EU finance ministers. 

As standard measures to fight inflation prove unpopular among left-leaning politicians, they are betting their hopes on competition policy to help to bring down prices, but experts warn not to overburden competition policy with political priorities.

The European Commission wants to implement a digital euro that is accessible to all retail users for free, in an effort to strengthen financial inclusion and competition in digital payments, according to a leaked draft proposal seen by EURACTIV.

The EU's new fiscal rules should ensure fiscal responsibility without dogmas and allow for enough flexibility to enable investments, argue Stéphane Séjourné, Stéphanie Yon-Courtin, Eva Poptcheva, and Catharina Rinzema of the Renew group.

ECB President Christine Lagarde acknowledged the role of increased corporate profits in worsening inflation, calling for better data on corporate profits and closer scrutiny from competition authorities.

Germany fell into a recession around the turn of the year, official figures published Thursday (25 May) showed, as inflation and higher interest rates curbed demand in Europe's largest economy.

Meeting on Tuesday (16 May) in Brussels, EU member state finance ministers discussed the Commission's proposal for an updated Bank Crisis Management and Deposit Insurance (CMDI) framework, revealing splits between member states.

The introduction of the digital euro is an opportunity to make our European money system fit for an ever more digitalised world. However, in order to ensure citizens’ trust in the project, the digital euro needs to be a true public good, argues Henrike Hahn.

In a parliamentary debate on the European Commission’s proposal for new fiscal rules, EU lawmakers offered views diverging widely along both ideological and national lines, putting the Parliament’s ability to make its voice heard in the upcoming negotiations in doubt.

European Parliament’s Renew Europe group adopted its common position on the review of the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP) on Monday (8 May), in an effort to strike a middle ground between German and French positions.

The European Parliament's Renew group is set to agree a common position on EU debt rules. But negotiations are proving tricky, with French and German delegations at odds on how flexible the rules should be.

The European Commission on Tuesday (18 April) proposed an update to the EU's bank crisis management and deposit insurance (CMDI) framework.

Welcome to EURACTIV’s weekly Economy Brief. You can subscribe to the newsletter here. Much like the rest of the world, the EU is not centring its economic policies around environmental concerns. As such, the problems are piling up …

Economic powerhouse Germany wants EU members to be given binding targets to slash their debts under new spending rules being prepared by Brussels, according to a document seen by AFP on Thursday (6 April).

While the recent failures of banks in the US and in Switzerland might give a new impetus towards a reform of the European bank crisis management and deposit insurance (CMDI) rules, opposition is likely to be strong, especially from Germany.

EU heads of state and government meeting in Brussels on Friday (24 March) will discuss recent financial market turmoil, and while calls for deepening the Capital Markets Union and finalising the Banking Union are expected, decisions on specific measures are not.

The EU banking sector “remained strong” amid market turmoil in the US, President of the European Central Bank (ECB) Christine Lagarde confirmed on Monday (20 March), adding that she wants to see the "complete application" of Basel III bank capital requirements.

The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and the market turmoil of the past week must push EU policymakers to rethink their approach to banking regulation and keep regulatory standards high, MEP Jonás Fernández told EURACTIV.