May 8, 2020 | By John Bruton, and previously published in the Irish Independent  The Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) of Germany this week attacked one of the fundaments of the European Union, the primacy of Union law.  It is long settled practice that, in its field of operation, EU law has superiority over national law.  The FCC of Germany has also rejected the primacy of decisions of the European Court of Justice (ECJ), over decisions of national courts, on the meaning...

Together with our members we are creating a Video series of first-hand accounts of the Pandemic’s impact, both personally & professionally. We invite you to join us today for a first-hand look at the impact of the global shutdown following the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak – Today we are featuring two members: Martin Breckheimer, Head of Corporate & Institutional Banking; and Simone Ehmann, Director, Corporate Desk, who are both at LB≡BW New York Branch, and EACCNY members. The questions we asked our members...

8 May, 2020 | • Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) reporting rapid deterioration in economic environment in context of COVID-19 • Deterioration in economic outlook and SMEs’ financial situations having strong negative impact on availability of finance • SME expectations about access to external finance deteriorating sharply, reflecting expected impact of coronavirus pandemic Euro area small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) reported a decline in turnover (in net terms -2%, from 20% in the previous six months) in the latest European Central Bank (ECB) Survey...

May 8, 2020 | The European Commission has set up an EU Humanitarian Air Bridge to transport humanitarian workers and emergency supplies for the coronavirus response to some of most critical areas around the world. Janez Lenarčič, Commissioner for Crisis Management, is travelling today to Bangui on the first flight and will meet H.E. Faustin-Archange Touadéra, President of the Central African Republic, as well as humanitarian organisations. Commissioner Janez Lenarčič said: “Leaving any area of the world unprotected today leaves us all unprotected tomorrow. As part of...

May 6, 2020 | Fiscal policies have provided large emergency lifelines to people and firms during the COVID-19 pandemic. They are also invaluable to increase a country’s readiness to respond to a crisis and to help with the recovery and beyond. When the Great Lockdown finally ends, a strong economic recovery that benefits everyone will depend on improved social safety nets and broad-based fiscal support. This includes public investment in health care, infrastructure, and climate change. Countries with high debt levels will have to...

May 7, 2020 | The pandemic has highlighted the role of the public sector in saving lives and livelihoods. State-owned enterprises are part of that effort. They can be public utilities that provide essential services. Or public banks that provide loans to small businesses. But some are also struggling and adding to the burden on government finances. These range from national oil companies that are dealing with a large fall in oil prices, to national airlines without enough passengers traveling. Most people...

May 4, 2020 | Today, the Commission registered €7.4 billion, equivalent to $8 billion, in pledges from donors worldwide during the Coronavirus Global Response pledging event. This includes a pledge of €1.4 billion by the Commission. This almost reaches the initial target of €7.5 billion and is a solid starting point for the worldwide pledging marathon, which begins today. The aim is to gather significant funding to ensure the collaborative development and universal deployment of diagnostics, treatments and vaccines against coronavirus. President of the European Commission, Ursula von...

May 6, 2020 | The coronavirus pandemic represents a major shock for the global and EU economies, with very severe socio-economic consequences. Despite the swift and comprehensive policy response at both EU and national level, the EU economy will experience a recession of historic proportions this year. The Spring 2020 Economic Forecast projects that the euro area economy will contract by a record 7¾% in 2020 and grow by 6¼% in 2021. The EU economy is forecast to contract by 7½%...