Sir, Regarding ‘IMF votes to shift more power to developing countries‘: Article 138§2 of the TFEU prescribes that “the Council may adopt appropriate measures for ensuring a unified representation (of the EU) in international financial institutions”. The recent reshuffle of seats and voting rights within the IMF was a unique occasion to trigger that clause [...]

Sir, Regarding ‘IMF lambasts inconclusive euro talks‘: What Germany has been saying for several weeks now is simply : 1. That the ever increasing size of emergency bailouts of eurozone countries cannot be pursued under present Treaty rules that actually FORBID such operations. 2. That bailing out as such will not work unless new rules [...]

Sir, Concernant ‘L’UE et l’Irlande se mettent d’accord sur le fonds de sauvetage‘: Certes l’Union a les moyens de sauver de la banqueroute ce mauvais élève de la classe européenne. Car les difficultés irlandaises ne sont pas seulement dues à ses banques, mais bien à la politique économique et fiscale de son gouvernement. Voila un [...]

Sir, Concernant ‘L’Acte sur le marché unique attire les foudres du forum public‘: L’article d’EurActiv.com paru suite au débat public organisé par Confrontations Europe ce jeudi 18 novembre est inacceptable. Alors que tous les participants ont souligné la formidable opportunité qu’ouvre cet Acte pour le marché unique, le titre laisse penser que nous sommes opposés [...]

Sir, Now the EU is awake at last, it should deal with debt workouts for EU and developing countries. With the Greek financial crisis rocking the foundations of European Monetary Union, the EU has finally realised it needs to agree on debt mechanisms. With regard to the Council’s conclusions on a ‘permanent crisis mechanism’, EU [...]

Sir, Regarding ‘Parliament backs 20-week maternity leave‘: Europe’s leaders must use Thursday’s EU summit to fight against the introduction of new laws on maternity leave, voted on by MEPs last week, that will increase maternity leave from the current EU minimum of 14 weeks to 20 weeks, all of which will be on compulsory full [...]

Sir, Regarding ‘Bio-economy poses new competitiveness challenges for Europe‘: Innovation Commissioner Máire Geoghegan-Quinn has highlighted an area where the EU is missing out compared to other countries – particularly the USA. It need not do so, for it actually needs to address it through a different emphasis. Firstly, the EU should seriously consider removing the [...]

Sir, Regarding ‘Barroso drops financial taxes from draft G20 wish-list‘: It is shocking to see the European Commission backtracking from pushing for financial taxes to be on the agenda at the forthcoming G20 summit in Seoul in November. A global bank tax to help poor people survive the economic and climate crisis must be urgently [...]

Sir, After a sharp (about 40%) drop in foreign trade during the 2008-2009 crisis, the ongoing economic recovery in most Central and East European countries (CEECs) has been associated with a strong revival of exports. By mid-2010, the pre-crisis export levels have been reached again in most CEECs. External demand recovered, but what have been [...]

Sir, Our Swiss institution has just completed MoUs and cooperative agreements in Vietnam (at deputy prime minister level) and Kazakhstan (National Innovation Foundation). This is in the sphere of independent leading-edge advice and joint-ventures dealing with new world-leading technologies and their distribution and sale. The reason why these countries have engaged with our institution is [...]