How many presidents do you need to make Europe’s Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) work? A “Five Presidents’ Report” was issued in Brussels on 22 June 2015, in response to the shortcomings of existing EMU arrangements…
The heads of state and government of the Eurozone met on 22 June in Brussels to attempt to find an agreement on the continuation of Greece’s bailout. A sense of urgency accompanied the summit, resulting from the imminence of a potential Greek default and a run on deposits in Greek banks. At the conclusion of the Summit, President of the European Commission Juncker stated that he was “convinced that we will come to a final agreement this week, because we have to.” In anticipation of the Summit, Greece submitted a final proposal containing new measures for addressing its economic and financial situation, which were discussed by the finance ministers of the Eurogroup prior to the Summit
Eurozone finance ministers met in Luxembourg on Thursday in the hope of reaching a deal that would see Athens receive the last €7.2 billion of the bailout aid. Hopes were quashed once again, however, as the failure to reach common ground extended the talks to Monday. The emergency summit was scheduled after EU leaders learned of the collapse of the Luxembourg talks. Next week’s meeting will take place only days before the debt repayment deadline is due. If Athens fails to reach an agreement with its creditors by then, it will risk defaulting on its debt and, very likely, exiting the Eurozone. This is a last-ditch effort to find a solution to the crisis
With nearly all the votes counted, former Danish Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen can now call the elections for his centre-right coalition. After a tight race, it appears that the opposition bloc won by only one parliamentary seat over the ruling Social Democrats, capturing 90 seats to the centre-left coalition’s 89. With 100% of the mainland vote counted, the governing social-democratic coalition failed to secure enough seats in the 179-seat parliament that would allow it to stay in power. Despite garnering the biggest share of the vote, 26.3%, the Social Democrats saw their leader, Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt, resign and the ruling coalition crumble
On Tuesday, 16 June, EU Home Affairs Ministers met in Luxembourg to discuss a plan to distribute asylum seekers more equally across the 28-member bloc. The scheme is part of the European Agenda on Migration, a bundle of several different and concrete measures proposed by the European Commission to respond to the current migration crisis. Over the last months, the number of migrants venturing across the Mediterranean in the hope of reaching Europe has skyrocketed. With little support from other member states, Italy and Greece have been left to bear the brunt of dealing with this influx of people. Both countries want other EU member states to help out and ease the burden
With the theme “Shaping our common future: working for prosperous, cohesive and sustainable societies for our citizens,” leaders of the European Union and Latin America came together in Brussels on 10 and 11 of June. The talks were focused on strengthening economic ties, fostering political dialogue and ushering in more openness in Latin American societies. The summit, attended by some 60 leaders and senior government officials from both sides, is the second gathering ever of its kind. It shows a growing interdependence between the two continents as decision-makers look for common solutions to issues affecting the European
The President of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz, has postponed the vote scheduled for Wednesday over recommendations which the European Parliament will submit to the Commission. These will then be taken into account in negotiating the trade and investment treaty between the European Union and the United States (TTIP). The decision has caused an angry session in Strasbourg. The United Left groups and the Greens have protested strongly and have blamed postponement of the vote on the fact that the large groups were worried that approval of a favourable position over the current TTIP negotiations would be jeopardized. The political struggle has broken out over the limits on legal protection for
On the 7 and 8 of June, leaders of the world’s seven leading advanced economies met in Schloss Elmau, Germany for their annual summit. These meetings are aimed at tackling the most complex challenges of our times and showing that, in the face of adversity, this powerful group of 7 stand together. With the Alpine landscape providing a stunning backdrop for the talks, this year’s gathering was by no means short of noteworthy advances. The G7 is an important political and economic gathering which attempts to address a wide range of the world’s most pressing issues. The advance of ISIS in the Middle East and the crisis in Ukraine dominated this year’s agenda with the earthquake in Nepal, the global economy
Under investigation for corruption, the Romanian Prime Minister, Victor Ponta, refuses to resign, declaring himself innocent. The National Anti-corruption Directorate (DNA) announced on Friday, 5 June, that it was investigating charges of conflict of interest, money laundering, forgery and tax evasion attributed to Romania’s Prime Minister on Friday and dating back to when he was working as a lawyer before assuming public office. For the investigation to proceed, the Prime Minister’s immunity as Member of Parliament should be lifted, something only the Parliament can do. In a secret ballot, the Romanian Parliament voted to maintain Mr. Ponta’s immunity
It was surely a night to remember for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his AKP party. The ruling party is set to lose its majority in the Turkish Parliament. Ever since he took office in 2014, and even as Prime Minister before, President Erdoğan has been looking to boost his powers, hoping to turn Turkey into a presidential republic. The results of the 7 June vote sink Erdoğan’s ambitions, as he suffers probably the biggest setback in 13 years of high-level politics. His power-hungry move, reinforced Islamization and eagerness to expand his reach appear to have alienated many voters who perceive Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as a threat to a secular and democratic state
