Archive for the ‘Battle for Europe’ Category
Posted by seumasach on March 5, 2016
At the heart of negotiations between Cameron and the EU was the issue of the single rulebook on banking regulation and , more particularly, the rules on bank recovery and resolution, the power of the European Banking Authority to
“apply bail-in measures: i.e. convert debt to shares or write it down – in this way, losses are imposed, according to an established order, on bank shareholders and creditors, not on taxpayers”.
These rules are applicable from 1st January, 2016 and are apply throughout the EU. As this article argues, the concession of “some flexibility” in the application of these rules gained by Cameron is unlikely to amount to much. So it looks like continued membership of the EU makes a further bail-out of British banks inconceivable. This would explain, perhaps, why so many within British elites are up in arms against the Cameron deal and now support Brexit. It also provides strong motive to support a “Yes” vote.
The UK in a changing Europe
23rd February, 2016
Within the rules of the club, Prime Minister Cameron achieved as much as could be expected on economic governance from the European council negotiations. But the gain in flexibility he obtained may turn out to be rather less significant in practice.
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Posted in Battle for Europe, UK economy | Tagged: Bail-in not bail-out!, Cameron's EU deal, no more bailouts | Leave a Comment »
Posted by seumasach on March 4, 2016
This EU referendum campaign is turning out to be surprisingly interesting. Nearly a year ago Murdoch came out in support of Cameron and staying in Europe. The Mail reported that ‘Mr Murdoch wants the UK to get a better deal from the EU so it can stay in,’ said. Obviously, he doesn’t reckon Cameron has got that deal, specifically the opt-out on regulation of financial services, I presume.
Guardian
4th March, 2016
Michael Gove and Sir Michael Caine will be among the guests but David Cameron and George Osborne will be conspicuous by their absence at the wedding event of the year for the British media and political elite.
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Posted by seumasach on March 1, 2016
This is essential background for understanding the EU referendum and particularly the rather surprising decision by Cameron to support a “Yes” vote despite having no opt-out on European banking regulations. But a “No” vote would be even worse from a City point of view as this article makes clear. Still, there will be winners and losers and clear and bitter divisions are emerging in the British ruling class which we haven’t seen since the period following the “loss” of the USA in the American Civil War by way of the defeat of the Confederacy. That period of internecine warfare in the British elite was eventually resolved by the expedient of outsourcing the empire via a truly massive flow of capital into the USA. Similarly, today we face a historic transformation of the City of London although, this time, based on massive capital inflows through our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with China and the new relationship with Europe which corresponds to it. The strong support for a “Yes” vote by Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan suggests the possibility that London could also serve as a conduit to Wall Street for Chinese investment via those chosen vehicles.
Gefira
19th February, 2016
If London decides to leave the European Union nobody in Europe will even notice. Great Britain is an entirely separate country, isolated from the European Union and does not participate in the Euro or Schengen Agreement. The European Union as a political platform is disintegrating and becoming more and more irrelevant and will be displaced by the European Monetary Union (EMU).
The center of power in Europe has shifted from the EU to the EMU and London politicians are fully aware of it. A Brexit will accelerate the process of political integration of the EMU members and make the EU politically less significant.
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Posted in Battle for Europe, UK economy | Tagged: brexit, european, european banking union, european monetary union | Leave a Comment »
Posted by seumasach on February 21, 2016
Cailean Bochanan
21st February, 2016
It is unusual for the British establishment to risk a consultation with the people unless major changes are underway- changes which are sufficient to provoke divisions in the establishment itself. It goes without saying that the negotiations with the EU are not essentially about child benefit for Polish families living in the UK. They are about “sovereignty” although in a very limited sense: the “sovereignty” of the City of London. The deal struck triumphantly by Cameron is revelatory. It shows that conflict within the establishment concerns the least bad option for the City: whether to face exclusion from the EU market and displacement by Paris or Frankfurt as Europe’s leading financial centre or to remain inside Europe and to take up arms against a sea of Eurozone banking regulations and by opposing end them. That is the question!
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Battle for Europe, UK economy | Tagged: bankrupt Britain, Britain into Europe-Europe out of NATO, Cameron's EU deal, Chinese soft power, european bank "bail-in", european banking union | 2 Comments »
Posted by seumasach on February 20, 2016
David Cameron’s EU deal: what he wanted and what he got
Guardian
19th February, 2016
In a surprising win for Cameron, only one euro ‘out’ will be able to force a debate among EU leaders about ‘problem’ eurozone laws. Other EU leaders agreed to this because neither the UK, nor any other country, would have a veto. The tactic can be used to delay, but not to stop eurozone laws.
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Posted in Battle for Europe, British economy | Tagged: Cameron's EU deal | Leave a Comment »
Posted by seumasach on February 20, 2016
Cameron has not achieved a deal that will guarantee immunity for the City of London from EU regulation. In general, we can suppose that this is the least bad option for the City which fears its demise even more outside of the EU altogether. That is why Britain won’t be leaving the EU- the scare stories have already begun, falling house prices, run on the pound etc. and they will only gain in intensity over the coming weeks.
Reuters
19th February, 2016
European Union leaders reached a deal late on Friday that offers leeway to Britain in applying banking and markets’ regulations, but maintains that there will be a single set of rules for the financial sector within the EU.
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Posted in Battle for Europe, UK economy | Tagged: Cameron's EU deal | Leave a Comment »
Posted by seumasach on February 18, 2016
“The unease in France that Britain is seeking to secure special protections for the City of London, by giving non-eurozone members a greater ability to stall financial regulation, is highlighted by the appearance of square brackets in an early section in the first document on a proposed new rulebook for eurozone and non-eurozone countries.”
This, of course, lies at the heart of the matter.
Guardian
18th February, 2016
A leaked copy of the final draft of the blueprint for Britain’s new terms of EU membership suggests that David Cameron heads to Brussels with no certainty over one of his key demands – and signs that differences are widening.
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Posted in Battle for Europe | Tagged: EU bank reform, eurozone governance | Leave a Comment »
Posted by seumasach on February 12, 2016
DW
4th February, 2016
The German Magistrates Association (DRB) has dealt a major blow to one of the key elements of the TTIP deal. The judges said special courts allowing firms to sue countries were unnecessary and “had no legal basis.”
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Posted in Battle for Europe | Tagged: Stop TTIP!, Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) | Leave a Comment »
Posted by seumasach on February 8, 2016
“This will anger Washington, which is already on the warpath over what it perceives as partial targeting of the big US digital companies by the EU.
Robert Stack, the US Treasury’s deputy assistant secretary for international tax affairs, said last month he is concerned about the “basic fairness” of investigations of US companies and their tax affairs in Europe. Meanwhile the commission has said it will consider adding Google’s heavily criticised £130m tax deal with the UK to its lengthy list of inquiries.“
Guardian
7th February, 2016
US multinationals such as Google, Facebook and Amazon will be forced to publicly disclose their earnings and tax bills in Europe, under legislation being drafted by the EU executive.
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Posted in Battle for Europe | Tagged: independent Europe | Leave a Comment »
Posted by seumasach on January 31, 2016
Another dark cloud arrived courtesy of a ridiculous interview from Britain’s state-controlled BBC last week where Putin was accused of corruption by a US Treasury official. No actual evidence was presented and the Kremlin labelled it “pure fiction.” Of course, this programme was filmed long before the recent improvement in dialogue between Russia and the West.
Despite these concerns, due to the seniority of the European officials publicly discussing a reversal in policy, feelings of hope seem well founded. Germany’s vice-chancellor Sigmar Gabriel also called for detente in early January. He admitted that some “forces” in Europe and the US wanted sanctions to cripple Russia, which would “risk a conflagration.”
Bryan MacDonald
RT
30th January, 2016
When there’s a natural rapport between leaders, relationships are easy. In such an atmosphere, negotiating is a doddle. Of course, when the opposite is the case, the reverse often happens. Small disagreements can explode into furious arguments.
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Posted in Battle for Europe, Syria, Ukraine War | Tagged: detente with Russia, Russian diplomacy | Leave a Comment »
Posted by seumasach on November 22, 2015
EU’s Deepening Ties With Russia Result of ‘Putin’s Sophisticated Diplomacy’
Sputnik
20th November, 2015
Russia’s active efforts in fighting terrorism in Syria have impressed the EU so much that European countries are now looking for closer ties with the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU).
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Posted in Battle for Europe | Tagged: eu russia convergence, Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) | Leave a Comment »
In These New Times 