Europe

Unemployment crisis in Italy hits immigrants the worst

"Immigrants are being hit harder than Italians by the country’s unemployment crisis, a new report showed Monday, saying the figures were 'extremely worrying' and could lead to 'major social destabilisation'. The report said the number of unemployed foreigners in the country was currently 385,000 — up from 220,000 at the beginning of the economic crisis in 2008. The report also outlined the importance of immigrants in Italian society and said those who did work were often stuck in low-skill and low-pay jobs. Without migrants, Italian demographic growth would be zero and the population would be ageing at a faster rate, according to the report.." Continue reading →

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Germany fears revolution if Europe scraps welfare model

"German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble warned on Tuesday that failure to win the battle against youth unemployment could tear Europe apart, and dropping the continent's welfare model in favor of tougher U.S. standards would spark a revolution. Germany, along with France, Spain and Italy, backed urgent action to rescue a generation of young Europeans who fear they will not find jobs, with youth unemployment in the EU standing at nearly one in four, more than twice the adult rate. If U.S. welfare standards were introduced in Europe, 'we would have revolution, not tomorrow, but on the very same day,' Schaeuble told a conference in Paris." Continue reading →

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Europe’s ‘new deal’ for jobless dismissed as rhetoric

"The Prado in Madrid has become the unlikely symbol of Europe’s unemployment curse. The museum recently advertised for 11 low-level jobs, mostly guarding paintings by Velasquez, El Greco and Picasso from enthusiastic tourists. The starting salaries were just €13,000 (£11,100) a year yet, to the astonishment of the curators, 18,524 people applied. The print-out list of applicants runs for 357 pages. This is the 'white heat' of a youth jobs crisis that has crept up on EU leaders and now threatens to set off a volcanic political eruption. Francois Hollande, the French president, warned on Tuesday that failure to offer these people hope risks destroying the EU altogether." Continue reading →

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The European Parliament’s Pro-Tax Politicians Should Go After their Own Tax-Protected Salaries

"What’s the most noxious example of hypocrisy from the political class? Our old friend Dan Hannan from the European Parliament has another contestant. His tax-hungry colleagues (like their American counterparts) are bashing Apple, Google, and other multinationals for legally minimizing their tax burdens. Yet as Dan explains, parliamentarians from 24 out of 27 nations get a sweetheart deal and pay a very low flat tax. But I must say none of these examples of hypocrisy can compete with the bureaucrats from the OECD and IMF, both of whom get completely tax-free salaries while pushing for higher taxes on the rest of us." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe European Parliament’s Pro-Tax Politicians Should Go After their Own Tax-Protected Salaries

Congress OKs General Atomics deal to sell Reaper drones to France

"The NATO-led air war in Libya in 2011 and the French military intervention in Mali this year have underscored France’s shortage of surveillance drones, which have transformed warfare in the past decade since being introduced on a large-scale in the US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. In justifying the sale, the agency said it is 'vital to the US national interest to assist France to develop and maintain a strong and ready self-defense capability' and that the drones would bolster the intelligence and surveillance capability of France while also ensuring American and French forces can operate jointly." Continue reading →

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US blocks G20 crackdown on tax avoidance by net firms like Google and Amazon

"Senior officials in Washington have made it known they will not stand for rule changes that narrowly target the activities of some of the nation's fastest growing multinationals. The OECD plan has been billed as the biggest opportunity to overhaul international tax rules since a framework for bilateral tax treaties was first established after the first world war. In the case of Google, in 2011 French tax officials demanded €1.7bn (£1.47bn) in back taxes. Google settled the case, agreeing to paying €60m. The French president, François Hollande, said it was 'a model for effective partnership and is a pointer to the future in the global digital economy.'" Continue reading →

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French president auctions off wines in austerity fire sale

"The expected price of the wines range from 20 euros to 2,500 euros ($25 to $3,235) per bottle and include top-end offerings such as a Chateau Latour dating back to 1936, a 1990 Petrus and a slew of 1985 Romanee wines. The cellar at the Elysee was established in 1947 during the presidency of Vincent Auriol and now holds 12,000 bottles. Burgundy and Bordeaux wines will dominate in the auction but there are also offerings from Alsace, the Loire and the Rhone valley. Demand for wine from France, the world’s leading wine producer by value, is high especially from well-heeled buyers in China and the United States. China is the world’s biggest importer of Bordeaux wines." Continue reading →

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Idea of Euro Exit Finds Currency in Portugal

"A book by a Portuguese economist achieved a small feat on its release last month: It instantly topped Portugal's bestseller list. The book, 'Why We Should Leave the Euro' by João Ferreira do Amaral, has helped ignite a public debate in Portugal about the real cause of the country's economic pain. Communist parties in Portugal and Cyprus have turned against euro membership. Two parties in Italy's Parliament want a euro referendum. And two small anti-euro parties recently formed in depression-hit Greece. Even in prosperous Germany, angst about the cost of euro-zone bailouts has led to the launch of an anti-euro party, Alternative for Germany." Continue reading →

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EU retreats from olive oil ban after wave of ridicule

"Barely a week after it was announced for 'hygiene' and 'consumer protection' purposes, the EU commissioner in charge, Dacian Ciolos, rushed to the same press room to announce he was withdrawing the measure. The proposal would have banned jugs and dipping bowls of olive oil in restaurants from next year and was meant to prevent restaurant-goers from being served any old inferior oil. It had been pushed by big olive-oil producing countries. Critics immediately said it would push small artisan producers of olive oil out of business and was ignoring the fact that fraud mostly takes place before the oil is bottled and not at the restaurant table." Continue reading →

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French crackdown on tax cheats ‘to accelerate’

"He added there would be no amnesty for those with hidden bank accounts in Switzerland, the wealthy Alpine nation long accused of protecting the privacy of its clients over obligations to tax authorities in other nations. The finance minister's remarks came in the wake of a deal signed on Thursday in Paris between the countries that means inheritances will be taxed where the recipient, rather than the deceased, is living. The minister stressed he had no desire to harass the Swiss, over bank secrecy, but said he wished the country might become 'more European' and less isolated in its outlook." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFrench crackdown on tax cheats ‘to accelerate’