According to Spanish press (Periodista Digital, etc.) Beatriz Becerra, vice-chair of the European parliament’s human rights sub-committee and a member of the Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE Group), has published an open letter against the former Spanish President, José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, of the Socialist Party (PSOE) after reading the message Zapatero sent privately to Juan Guaidó and other leaders of the Venezuelan opposition.
Ivan Dikov (European Views) | Leftist Zoran Milanovic, a former Prime Minister, has been elected President of Croatia, beating closely right-wing incumbent Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic. Croatia, which was the last country to join the European Union back in 2013, has just assumed the rotating Presidency of the Council of the EU for the first time in its history.
(European Views) | Referring to the EU as a “bloc” doesn’t make enough sense any way you look at it.
Shaun Riordan │Many of us are already enjoying our summer holidays. Others are packing now, looking forward to relaxing on the beach, or in the mountains. Wherever we are taking our holidays we should make the most of them. A perfect storm is brewing which could hit Europe hard in the autumn, with devasting economic and political consequences.
The European Union lived an intense day on Tuesday. UK agreed on deal with the EU, but now the question if it will pass the test. Also Italy announced no changes in budget, while the IMF showed a cautious view. Further confrontation ahead between Rome and Brussels is expected. As commented by analysts at Julius Baer, “the EC is trapped in a philosophy of austerity whilst the Italian government is committed to fulfilling the election promises of a fiscal boost.”
Gabriel Felbemayr, since 2010 Director of the Centre for Foreign Economy at the Ifo Institute in Múnich, explains that “the EU has a clear advantage over the US in the old economy: cars, machinery and chemicals. But the US enjoys an advantage in the so-called new economy, in digital and financial services, leisure. This is the target for the EU.”
Israel Rafalovich | A remarkable summit between the EU and China in Beijing was marked by a turning point in Chinese views of the European Union. The summit unblocked talks about further opening of Chinese and EU market access and investment and speed up negotiations over geographical indications.
Despite the rhythm of Spain´s export of goods and services over the last five years – which have increased more tan ten percentage points over GDP, rising from only 22.7% in 2012 to 34.1% last year – Spain still finds itself 12 points below the EU average of 46%.
Spain’s agricultural sector generated 46.8 billion euros in 2016, 12% of the total for the European Union (EU), making the country the fourth biggest producer, according to figures published on Wednesday by Eurostat.