Investment Week (August 11)
“Climate change mitigation is high on the global agenda, with escalating pressure on governments to take action to prevent a climate catastrophe.” In July, the European Commission “unveiled ambitious plans to deliver a 55% cut in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 – relative to 1990 levels. The ‘Fit for 55’ package spans all sectors and could have a significant impact on high-emitting industries.” The plan could prove the “biggest investment story in decades.”
Tags: Catastrophe, Climate change, Cut, Emissions, European Commission, Fit for 55, GHG, Global agenda, Governments, Investment, Mitigation
Bloomberg (October 24)
“Don’t let Italy off the hook. The euro area needs budget rules, and the European Commission is right to enforce them…. The euro area has a strong collective interest in each member’s willingness to maintain fiscal discipline.”
Tags: Budget rules, Collective interest, Enforce, euro, European Commission, Fiscal discipline, Italy
The Economist (July 1)
The European Commission levied a record-setting fine on Google. “The size of the fine the tech giant will have to pay for abusing its monopoly in online search, €2.4bn ($2.7bn), sets a record for European antitrust penalties,” but it remains to be seen whether Google will have to cough it up. The tech firm has promised an appeal. By no means is this case clear-cut, but its resolution should further thought on the extent to which “network effects create high barriers to entry in online markets.”
Tags: Antitrust, Barriers to entry, European Commission, Fine, Google, Monopoly, Network effects, Search, Tech
Bloomberg (August 30)
“The European Commission’s decision to impose a tax bill of 13 billion euros ($14.5 billion) on Apple is unjust and unnecessary. And the harm is not confined to a single company: The ruling has cast a cloud of uncertainty over Europe’s corporate-tax rules, potentially affecting all multinational investors.”
Tags: Apple, Corporate tax, European Commission, Investors, Rules, Ruling, Tax bill, Uncertainty, Unjust
Wall Street Journal (May 26)
“The European Commission wants to apply local-content quotas to streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime’s video offering.” They might also impose other restrictions and taxes. This is the wrong principle. “Brussels is showing that its main concern whenever a new technology comes along will be how to hobble it with the same overregulation that afflicts old technologies.”
Tags: Amazon Prime, Brussels, European Commission, Hobble, Local content, Netflix, Overregulation, Restrictions, Streaming, Taxes, Technology
The Economist (April 23)
With a dominant European market share, Google has come under fire from the European Commission. Google deserves to profit from its acumen, but this “has to be balanced against the need to inspire innovations that might complement Android or Google Search—or even displace them. It is now up to Google to demonstrate that its mobile strategy does not harm competition, and thus consumers.”
Tags: Android, Competition, Consumers, Dominant, Europe, European Commission, Google, Innovation, Market share, Mobile strategy, Profit, Search
Wall Street Journal (January 26)
While the Greeks are likely to remain in the eurozone, “the Syriza victory is nonetheless a rebuke to European leaders. Greeks believe, not unreasonably, that the conditions imposed by the troika have been disastrous.” Rather than “promoting pro-growth reforms,” the European Commission, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund imposed measures focused on “draconian fiscal tightening.” The result was predictable: “falling wages and pensions and rising taxes, with no growth in return for the pain.”
Tags: Draconian, ECB, European Commission, European leaders, eurozone, Fiscal tightening, Greek, Growth, IMF, Pensions, Reforms, Syriza, Taxes, Victory, Wages
Euromoney (November issue)
“Restrictions and outright bans on short-selling shares, government bonds and credit derivatives were applied across Europe on November 1…. If it is a victory of the European Commission, it is potentially a disaster for Europe’s financial markets. Instead of a positive force for good, as was seemingly intended, negative consequences abound.”
New York Times (October 12)
“Bank bailouts were supposed to be followed by financial reform to limit the banks’ destructive power. Instead, bailed-out banks are bigger than ever and have resisted reforms to limit their size and complexity.” Fortunately, there are some promising signs of change. The most recent arrived in a report from a committee led by Erkki Liikanen for the European Commission. Should the recommendations be approved “the lack of progress, however, may yet give way to change.”
Tags: Bailouts, Banks, Complexity, Erkki Liikanen, European Commission, Reform, Size
Financial Times (September 4)
“Eighteen months ago, Brussels issued an ultimatum to business leaders—appoint more women to Europe’s boards or legal quotas would be introduced. Now the European Commission wants to carry out its threat by proposing laws that will require at least a 60-40 split between men and women by 2015.” ” While there “are still too few women on Europe’s boards….deciding to set a legal quota is misguided.” Quotas “will not resolve the obstacles that keep women from rising to the top.”
Tags: Board members, Brussels, EU, Europe, European Commission, Legal quotas, Women
