EUbusiness Week 616 top stories: ECB chief vows liquidity ‘for as long as necessary’; Eurozone jobless hits record amid anti-austerity ire; EU spars with Canada, Norway at WTO over seal ban; EU to slap two-year ban on bee-harming pesticides; EU probes state aid to Peugeot; EU urges Dhaka to boost worker safety after new tragedy
This Week’s Top Stories
1. ECB chief vows liquidity ‘for as long as necessary’
2. Eurozone jobless hits record amid anti-austerity ire
3. EU spars with Canada, Norway at WTO over seal ban
4. EU to slap two-year ban on bee-harming pesticides
5. EU probes state aid to Peugeot
6. EU urges Dhaka to boost worker safety after new tragedy
Publisher’s Note
The 2013 Taxation Trends report, out this week, shows a wide range of tax burdens between EU countries, from 26 per cent in Lithuania to Denmark with 47.7 per cent. The report takes stock of Europe’s tax systems, painting a picture of rising tax-to-GDP ratios. Taxes on labour remain the largest source of tax revenue ahead of consumption, from 24.6 per cent in Bulgaria, to 42.8 per cent in Belgium and 42.3 in Italy.
The Commission takes increasing interest in Member States’ tax systems. Look out for its Country Specific Recommendations, due for publication at the end of May, as data from the Taxation trends report feeds into these.
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Regards,
Nick Prag
Publisher, EUbusiness
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1. ECB chief vows liquidity ‘for as long as necessary’
Speaking after the ECB trimmed its key interest rate to a new all-time low of 0.5 per cent, the European Central Bank pledged to continue to keep banks flush with as much liquidity as needed to keep credit flowing in the eurozone.
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Eurozone rescue fund nears capital target
2. Eurozone jobless hits record amid anti-austerity ire
European unemployment hit a fresh record in March with more than 19 million people out of work as Italy’s new premier Enrico Letta added his voice to calls for an end to punishing austerity in favour of policies to spur growth.
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3. EU spars with Canada, Norway at WTO over seal ban
The European Union locked horns Monday with Canada and Norway at the World Trade Organisation over its hotly contested ban on the import and sale of seal products.
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4. EU to slap two-year ban on bee-harming pesticides
The Commission is to impose the world’s first continent-wide ban on three pesticides which environmentalists say are killing the bees that pollinate Europe’s crops.
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5. EU probes state aid to Peugeot
The Commission has opened an inquiry on whether restructuring by PSA Peugeot Citroen, France’s biggest car maker and Europe’s second after Volkswagen, complies with European Union rules on state aid.
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6. EU urges Dhaka to boost worker safety after new tragedy
The EU has called on Bangladesh to bring its factories up to international standards in the wake of the collapse of a garment complex where at least 388 people died.
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EUROPEAN LAW
Tymoshenko: the European Court of Human Rights on Tuesday ruled that Ukraine’s detention of former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko was unlawful, in a decision the opposition leader’s camp saw as a key step towards her release.
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EU opens new probe in Kosovo organ trafficking case
Latest Court of Justice judgements
EU Law Firms
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Inside the EU Institutions
Council Watch
Italy: Council chief Herman Van Rompuy has assured visiting Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta that the EU will remain “flexible” while debt-laden Rome pursues the goal of sound public finances.
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Crisis-battered Iceland seen halting EU talks
President vows wide reforms for financially-hit Cyprus
Council …
Commission Watch
Jobless: Europe needs to come up with a plan within weeks to end the “nightmare” of mounting youth unemployment, Italy’s new premier Enrico Letta and Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso said on Thursday.
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Commission …
Parliament Watch
Cyprus: the Cypriot parliament narrowly approved on Tuesday the controversial EU-IMF bailout deal after the government warned a rejection would be “catastrophic” for the eastern Mediterranean island’s teetering economy.
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External Parliamentary activities week.
EU diary
3 May, Spring 2013 economic forecast
8-9 May, European Parliament plenary session
8 May, Commission proposal for Directive on bank accounts
9 May, Europe Day
13-14 May, Agriculture and Fisheries Council
13-15 May, eHealth Week 2013
14 May, Economic and Financial Affairs Council
The Week Ahead
Long-term diary
RESOURCES
EU Law Firms
Summaries of EU Legislation
EU Decision-Making
Treaties of the European Union
Key EU Legal Terms
Other news on EUbusiness this week
Majority of Germans still have faith in euro: poll 2-May
ECB seeks way to unblock credit to SMEs 2-May
Poland aiming for 1.6% deficit by 2016 30-Apr
Eurozone inflation eases to 1.2% in April: Eurostat 30-Apr
Bees: Nature’s little helpers under threat 29-Apr
