The decision today by EU Finance Ministers to approve the implementation process for the financial transaction tax was warmly welcomed by the Party of European Socialists.
The Party of Europeans Socialists (PES) has expressed its concern about the intention of the German Finance Ministry to postpone the implementation of the Financial Transaction Tax (FTT) to 2016 due to “international negotiations and technical reasons”. Speaking to the German media, a senior official of the Finance Ministry declared that a FTT for eleven eurozone Member States may not be introduced until 2016 – or two years later than expected.
The Party of European Socialists (PES) has strongly welcomed the calls by French President François Hollande and Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann for a European Youth Guarantee. The two leaders, meeting in Paris yesterday, have said that the funding of the Guarantee scheme could be through a Financial Transaction Tax (FTT). This call follows on from the significant step yesterday (9 October) towards an FTT, as 11 Eurozone Member States agreed to push for the tax through ‘enhanced cooperation’.
The implementation of the Financial Transaction Tax (FTT) in a significant number of European Union countries is finally becoming a reality. As of today, eleven countries have agreed to implement the FTT through the EU procedure of enhanced cooperation.
In this year’s “World Economic Outlook”, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has admitted a growth forecast mistake that clearly outlines the destructive effects of austerity in the European economy. The IMF has confirmed that the fiscal multipliers, used to estimate the impact of austerity policies, have been disastrously wrong.
The Party of European Socialists (PES) welcomes the promising outcome of the European Summit and its commitment to implement concrete measures to tackle the crisis. An overwhelming victory for the progressive agenda defined over the last years by the Socialist and Social Democratic family, the summit acknowledged the pressing need for public and private investment in Europe.
On 3-4 November 2011, the G20 Summit took place in Cannes chaired by France. The Summit focused on the Eurocrisis which is a result of the weakness of the right conservative governments’ failures to propose a sustainable solution. The G20 failed to answer the debt crisis affecting Europe. Despite the fact that there was a lot to be discussed at the Summit, undue focus was paid to the proposal of a Greek referendum. The clear austerity-only strategy being implemented by the EU Conservatives has not considered the ramifications for the people of Europe and has excluded George Papandreou’s democratic processes in trying to solve the crisis. The PES calls on G20 countries not to adopt the conservative “austerity-only” strategy but to invest in infrastructures, education and social protection systems to create quality jobs, and reform key international financial and trade institutions.
The Party of European Socialists (PES) Leaders from the Eurozone have, this morning, discussed and agreed a ‘new economic formula’ for recovery. Meeting by telephone, they outlined a four point plan to guarantee investment, increase regulation of the financial markets, promote real taxation on the sector and curb the influence of the credit rating agencies.
The recognition of the Financial Transaction Tax (FTT) by the European Commission is long overdue. As Commission President Barroso announced a proposal for a EU FTT in his State of the Union speech this morning in Strasbourg, to be formally tabled at a press conference at 13:30 today, the Party of European Socialists (PES) welcomes the adoption of one of its key campaigning issue but warns that the FTT alone will not be sufficient for Europe to overcome the crisis.
