Latest News

European Central Bank cuts interest rates amid slowing growth and cooling inflation

European Central Bank cuts interest rates amid slowing growth and cooling inflation European Central Bank cuts interest rates amid slowing growth and cooling inflation
  On Thursday, the European Central Bank (ECB) announced a quarter-point interest rate cut, marking the second reduction this year following...
Read More...

EU auditors reveal billions in climate funds potentially misallocated in green transition efforts

EU auditors reveal billions in climate funds potentially misallocated in green transition efforts EU auditors reveal billions in climate funds potentially misallocated in green transition efforts
  A significant portion of the funds earmarked for EU climate objectives and the green transition may have been misused, according to a...
Read More...

The long-awaited Draghi report on EU competitiveness: what to expect

The long-awaited Draghi report on EU competitiveness: what to expect The long-awaited Draghi report on EU competitiveness: what to expect
Former Italian Prime Minister and central banker Mario Draghi is set to unveil his long-awaited report on EU competitiveness, which is expected...
Read More...

Over 15% of foreign nationals in Belgium register for October municipal elections

Over 15% of foreign nationals in Belgium register for October municipal elections Over 15% of foreign nationals in Belgium register for October municipal elections
Just over 15% of foreign nationals residing in Belgium have registered to vote in the upcoming municipal elections on 13 October, according...
Read More...

European Commission presses Meta for clarification on discontinuation of disinformation tracking tool

European Commission presses Meta for clarification on discontinuation of disinformation tracking tool European Commission presses Meta for clarification on discontinuation of disinformation tracking tool
The European Commission has requested an explanation from Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, regarding the recent removal...
Read More...

Must Read

Most Popular Stories

VIDEO AND audio news:

Features, views, analysis

business

Latest News

European Central Bank cuts interest rates amid slowing growth and cooling inflation

European Central Bank cuts interest rates amid slowing growth and cooling inflation European Central Bank cuts interest rates amid slowing growth and cooling inflation
  On Thursday, the European Central Bank (ECB) announced a quarter-point interest rate cut, marking the second reduction this year following...
Read More...

EU auditors reveal billions in climate funds potentially misallocated in green transition efforts

EU auditors reveal billions in climate funds potentially misallocated in green transition efforts EU auditors reveal billions in climate funds potentially misallocated in green transition efforts
  A significant portion of the funds earmarked for EU climate objectives and the green transition may have been misused, according to a...
Read More...

The long-awaited Draghi report on EU competitiveness: what to expect

The long-awaited Draghi report on EU competitiveness: what to expect The long-awaited Draghi report on EU competitiveness: what to expect
Former Italian Prime Minister and central banker Mario Draghi is set to unveil his long-awaited report on EU competitiveness, which is expected...
Read More...

Over 15% of foreign nationals in Belgium register for October municipal elections

Over 15% of foreign nationals in Belgium register for October municipal elections Over 15% of foreign nationals in Belgium register for October municipal elections
Just over 15% of foreign nationals residing in Belgium have registered to vote in the upcoming municipal elections on 13 October, according...
Read More...

European Commission presses Meta for clarification on discontinuation of disinformation tracking tool

European Commission presses Meta for clarification on discontinuation of disinformation tracking tool European Commission presses Meta for clarification on discontinuation of disinformation tracking tool
The European Commission has requested an explanation from Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, regarding the recent removal...
Read More...

Must Read

Most Popular Stories

Greece's Parliament was sworn in Wednesday (July 17) after July 7 elections that saw a broad conservative victory end over four years of leftist rule.

The six-party Parliament will officially begin its functions after electing a Speaker on Thursday.

New Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis' conservative government has made boosting sluggish growth a priority, powered by tax cuts and accompanied by privatisation deals.

The 51-year-old Harvard graduate and former McKinsey consultant has also pledged to create jobs and get rid of obstacles to business.

Mr Mitsotakis will outline his government's policies at the weekend before a vote of confidence late on Sunday.

His New Democracy party has 158 lawmakers in the 300-seat chamber.

The Greek debt agency said it had raised €2.5 billion (S$3.82 billion) in the sale, while the prime minister said the yield of 1.9 per cent was a "record low".

A previous seven-year sale in February 2018 had a yield of 3.5 per cent amid world market volatility.

Starting in 2020, Mr Mitsotakis has promised to cut a hated property tax called ENFIA - brought in by a previous New Democracy-led government during the economic crisis - by 30 per cent over two years.

REFORMS PACKAGE

He has also offered to reduce income tax thresholds and to gradually cut tax on business profits by 8 per cent.

But just hours after his July 7 victory, euro zone finance ministers warned the new government to stick to the country's strict public spending commitments.

"We must keep our commitments, this is the only way I know to gain credibility," said Eurogroup chief Mario Centeno.

On Tuesday, the euro zone's bailout fund director and a key EU official overseeing Greece's debt repayments, Mr Klaus Regling, suggested that tax cuts be coupled "with a broader tax base".

In a meeting with Regling later on Tuesday, Mr Mitsotakis "confirmed that Greece would respect fiscal targets", the prime minister's office said.

During the election campaign, Mr Mitsotakis said he would persuade Greece's creditors to accept the easing of targets with "a comprehensive reforms package".

The current framework negotiated with creditors by the previous leftist Syriza government holds Greece to a primary budget surplus of 3.5 per cent to 2022 - but the conservatives say that target stifles growth.

There are two fewer parties in Parliament than in the previous chamber, but two of them are new - Greek Solution, a nationalist party formed by TV salesman Kyriakos Velopoulos, and MeRA25, an anti-austerity party founded by maverick economist and Mr Tsipras's former finance minister Yanis Varoufakis.

"We are here to say a massive 'no' to whatever strengthens (Greece's debt burden)," Mr Varoufakis, whose party elected nine lawmakers, said before being sworn in on Wednesday.

In contrast, neo-Nazi party Golden Dawn was shut out of Parliament for the first time since 2012.

Golden Dawn, until recently Greece's third-ranking party, is in disarray amid an ongoing trial for the 2013 murder of an anti-fascist rapper, allegedly carried out with the knowledge of senior Golden Dawn members.afp

 

deneme