Wednesday, 26 August 2026Europe
Independent · Brussels & Berlin
Europe · page 7 of 7
Central bank governor Dimitar Radev insists the currency board's legacy will survive euro adoption, even as reserve requirements drop from 12% to 1% and mortgage lending surges 26%.
The European Commission and ECB have approved Bulgaria as the 21st euro member, but public opposition stands at 50 percent amid fears of price rises and lost sovereignty.
The foreign affairs committees of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania issued a joint statement on June 6 calling for Ukraine to become a full EU member by January 2030 and urging the NATO summit in The Hague to take political decisions on alliance membership.
Eighth reduction in current cycle comes with inflation below target but trade uncertainty threatening growth forecasts across the eurozone
The quarter-point move brings the deposit facility rate down from its 4% peak, but policymakers signal caution on further easing amid trade uncertainty and sticky core inflation.
The European Commission and ECB have confirmed Bulgaria meets convergence criteria, but domestic opposition remains fierce as the country prepares to become the 21st eurozone member.
European Commission and ECB approve 21st eurozone member after inflation falls to 2.7% and debt sits at 24.1% of GDP, but FATF gray listing and corruption concerns remain unresolved.
Flash data shows headline inflation below the 2% target for the first time since 2021, with services prices cooling sharply after an Easter distortion.
WEF founder says he met ECB president in April to plan leadership transition for early 2027, but Frankfurt insists she will serve her full term ending in October.
Three decades after the Nitrates Directive, a third of Europe's freshwater still exceeds pollution limits while the Baltic Sea hosts the world's largest dead zone. Political pressure from farmers is weakening what little enforcement exists.
The National Bank of Poland now holds 509.3 tonnes of gold, marginally more than the ECB's 506.5 tonnes, after a decade of accelerated purchases that began in earnest after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The European Commission's delayed plan bans new Russian gas contracts this year and all imports by 2027, yet Russian LNG flows rose 18% in 2024 and France increased purchases by 81%.
Senior official Henrik Hololei faces internal investigation for alleged conflicts of interest and unauthorized gift acceptance linked to EU-Qatar aviation agreement, five months after European prosecutors launched criminal inquiry.
Flash Eurostat data shows stronger start to 2025 than surveys indicated, but US tariffs and weak sentiment cloud the outlook for the rest of the year.
Mārtiņš Kazāks argues the trade war forces overdue integration but warns recession risk is not trivial as IMF cuts euro area growth to 0.8% for 2025.
Third quarter-point reduction this year reflects deteriorating growth prospects after US imposes 10% blanket tariff on EU goods, with further 10% threatened for July.
Benchmark rate falls to 2.25 percent, its lowest since November 2022, as Trump tariffs force policymakers to prioritise growth over lingering price pressures.
Markets price 94% chance of quarter-point reduction to 2.25% as trade tensions override previous expectations of a pause in the easing cycle
A European Commission-commissioned study evaluating two decades of non-cartel decisions reveals a stark gap between remedy implementation and actual market impact, with structural remedies outperforming behavioural ones.
ECFR policy brief details the EU's economic and regulatory tools to deter US coercion, from the Anti-Coercion Instrument to financial market rules.
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