Social Europe

• Rein in the rating agencies, says Jürgen Klute

  

  15.06.2010 | As financial crisis takes its toll on the European Union economies, MEPs are turning their eyes to credit rating agencies. With their ratings closely watched by investors, the agencies' verdict on the soundness of governments' finances can raise the costs of borrowing for a country to unsustainable levels, as the Greek case has shown ...

• Credit Rating Agencies - Commissioner Barnier must cease unacceptable deference to "mafia of speculators"

  15.06.2010 | Denouncing the Commission's refusal to confront the problems created by the credit rating agencies (CRAs) that have fuelled a "mafia of speculators" during this crisis, Greek GUE/NGL MEP Nikos Chountis today called for the work of the agencies to be undertaken by a public and democratically controlled institution ...

• Olli Rehn: No teamplayer for European common interest

  14.06.2010 | Jürgen Klute Olli Rehn has been living a troubled and challenging 100 days in office. Contrary to rather optimistic commission expectations, the financial and economic crisis is creating ever new threats to our societies. In this crucial period, Rehn has missed a lot of chances. First, he did not admit EU co-responsibility for a recession that could only hit Europe so hard because of its long-lasting obsession on export and global competition ...

• MEPs raise concerns on Eurozone governance and Greece with Spain's Elena Salgado

  19.05.2010 | Parliament's Economics Committee discussed the steps taken to support Greece and the wider Eurozone with the ECOFIN Council President, Spanish Deputy Prime Minister Elena Salgado, on Wednesday. Members voiced concerns about relying on a system dominated by national interests, which, they said, had acted too slowly ...

• Financial system in the spotlight as MEPs meet Barnier

  04.05.2010 | Members of Parliament's Economic Affairs Committee hit out on Tuesday at the role of credit rating agencies in evaluating a country's creditworthiness and once again called for action to be taken on credit default swaps, especially speculative trading in these instruments. They also criticised the Council for its slow reaction to the Greek crisis, with some arguing that the agreed deal provided little to be proud of ...

• CEC: European Churches launch new Economic and Employment Network

  

  29.04.2010 | With a Conference in the European Parliament in Brussels the Church and Society Commission of the Conference of European Churches (CSC of CEC) is launching today the new European Christian Employment and Economy Network ''CALL'': Church Action on Labour and Life.With the economic downturn the need to address employment and social issues, also in the context of the European Union, has become more pressing ...

• Round 1 in Europe’s social struggle

  10.03.2010 | When thousands of Greek workers walked off the job last week in the first general strike since the government began announcing austerity measures, most of the world greeted it as an inevitable consequence of public spending cuts and tax hikes. Not so Die Linke (The Left) in Germany, whose MPs and MEPs issued a statement expressing solidarity with Greek workers and condemning the European Union and its member states for forcing Athens to take such drastic action ...

• 'EU 2020' - brand new strategy, same failed ideas

  03.03.2010 | On the 'EU 2020' strategy published today by the European Commission there is only one thing to say: the Commission has failed. Once again the Commission demonstrates that it is not willing to learn from the recent crisis.GUE/NGL MEP Jürgen Klute on the strategy: "Only after ten years of Lisbon strategy-inspired stagnation policies, the economic crisis devastated European economies ...