ECB trade unions protest, Barclays collects all the prizes both at home and abroad, Sarkozy packed toothbrush and pajamas – just in case, Finns and Dutch are disobedient, Klaus witty about the Europe as always. And you know who rules the EU? Communists. Ongoing crisis has profound social implications. So significant that they were noticed even by the trade unions in ECB. In a survey carried out among employees it turned out that the years of hard…
In June of 2012 the newly elected Slovak government finally unveiled first official blueprint of highly rummored consolidating measures. The main objective is continuation of cutting the fiscal deficit below 3% of GDP until 2013. Although we find some of the measures positive, an overwhelming majority of the presented proposals will have a negative impact on Slovakia and its citizens as this consolidation mostly relies on imposing more taxes. Despite many government’s reassurances, most of…
Who wants to be Minister of Finance of Greece should report to the director. Everyone in ECB was following football, players used as a collateral were playing. Will ESM turn into European zombie banks hedge fund? Will ESM run out of resources even before it is set up? Troika still hasn’t gone to Greece to assess the situation there. Local leaders are affected by health problems – both Prime Minister and Minister of Finance were…
Institute for Market Economics (IME) is pleased to herald the publication of the 2012 International Property Rights Index (IRPI), the world’s most comprehensive measure of…
The current soap opera is far from being wrapped up by the bailout for Spain. We’re only at the 44th episode, and the main character of the whole series – Italy – has so far only been flitting furtively through the background. If you were to change the names of the countries to names of characters with a more southern ring, current developments in the eurozone would seem like a quality soap opera, full of…
We’ve been walled up. Greece has government but money is still missing. Which German team will win the European Championship? FED playing games, another package is postponed. How many Olympic medals will the EU-funded United Nations of Europe get? Let’s start from the end, namely from what happened last week. Eurozone is on fire and Europe instead of putting it down, sets up a bailout firewall. Slovak MPs just placed us on the wrong side…
There is a great wave of discussion on pension reform being implemented by the government in Poland. The essential reform, forced by sad demographic factors.
Current fiscal crisis in the EU is, among others, a result of expansionary fiscal policy conducted in previous periods and especially during economic booms.
In March 2010, when the Greek debt crisis was heating up, then-ECB president Jean Claude Trichet declared to the EU parliament that the “monetary Union in Europe is far more than a monetary arrangement. It is a union of shared destiny”. Less than two months later the ECB reversed its refusal to monetize debt and openly started buying government bonds in violation of its own charta. Germany also gave up its reservations about bailing out…
Golden goal in Spanish net. Spain (unfortunately) is not Uganda! What level of interest rate Italian debt has to reach so Europe would decide to help them? Penalties and expropriations for layoffs –labour market reform done in a French way. In which countries economic laws don’t apply? And who will pay for that? Even 11 Marhsall plans didn’t help. Courage in a Slovak way. First Things First. Congratulations to the Queen Elizabeth II on her…
