The Swiss National Council on Tuesday approved a controversial administrative assistance agreement with the US. The agreement will allow the names of 4,450 alleged tax evaders from the United States who have accounts with the Swiss bank UBS to be disclosed to the US tax authority. The liberal daily Corriere del Ticino believes that this [...]
The EU Commission is urging Spain to introduce more austerity measures than the government has already approved. This could threaten the country’s unity, the left-liberal daily Süddeutsche Zeitung writes: “Zapatero is supposed to economise and boost the economy at the same time – that’s practically impossible. Employers say the reforms don’t go far enough while [...]
According to a new survey the Czechs’ scepticism about the advantages of joining the Eurozone is still on the increase. Currently only 54.2 percent of Czechs favour the introduction of the euro, down from 63.8 percent in February. For the conservative daily Lidové noviny this is a “logical reaction at a time when the problems [...]
On Friday Bulgaria’s Prime Minister Boyko Borisov surprisingly announced a halt to the country’s two major energy projects: the Bourgas-Alexandroupolis oil pipeline and the new nuclear power plant in Belene. The Internet portal e-vestnik criticises Borisov’s zigzag course: “Those who approve of the decision shouldn’t celebrate too soon. … Tomorrow Borisov could say in the [...]
The price of gold has reached a record high. On Tuesday the price for a troy ounce (31.1 grammes) was 1251,05 US dollars. The left-liberal Süddeutsche Zeitung warns of the dangers of investing in gold: “The more people do it, the greater the scepticism will be among those who don’t yet have any bars or [...]
As part of its retirement reform the Bulgarian government has announced plans to raise the country’s retirement age by three years. A pie in the sky idea, writes the daily Novinar: “Europe’s working conditions, medical care and labour laws may guarantee that people can continue to be effective and useful even at an advanced age. [...]
In Spain Public sector employees went on strike to protest at the government’s austerity programme. The country’s trade unions initiated the protests. The daily Eesti Päevaleht shows little understanding for their actions: “So what are these reforms that have brought hundreds of thousands of people onto the streets? The Spanish government has decided to cut [...]
Bulgaria’s Minister for Economic Affairs Trajcho Trajkov has predicted higher revenues for the country’s tourism industry in 2010. The daily Sega accuses him of calculated optimism because so far fewer tourists than last year have visited Bulgaria’s Black Sea coast: “The Bulgarian tourist industry is a strange phenomenon. Each summer sees fewer tourists but at [...]
This week the EU Commission proposed that a new European regulating authority should monitor the business of rating agencies. The daily Le Quotidien writes that the agencies bear partial responsibility for the crisis: “It is no accident that fingers are now being pointed at the agencies. In all probability they turned a blind eye to [...]
As part of its austerity measures the Greek government took further steps on Thursday toward reforming its pension system. Greece is forced to accept the dictates of the IMF, writes the left-liberal daily To Vima: “The pension thriller has shown very drastically just how bad Greece’s position is. We have little or no negotiating leverage [...]
