Skip to content. | Skip to navigation

Personal tools

Subscriptions

Topics

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -- -

EU Institutions

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -- -

Council

Commission

Parliament

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -- -

Industry sector

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -- -

Agriculture

Airlines

Chemicals

Company News

Competition

Consumer

Crime

Culture

Data protection

Defence

Development

Education

Employment

Energy

Enlargement

Environment

Euro

Economic data

Finance

Fisheries

Food+Drink

Foreign exchange

Health

Humanitarian Aid

Human Rights

Internet

Immigration

Languages

Law

Living+Working

Media

Pharmaceutical

Research

Single Market

SMEs

Social Policy

Space

Sport

Telecoms

Terrorism

Tourism

Trade

Transport

Country

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -- -

Trade Partners

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -- -

Africa

Asia

China

Eastern Europe

Japan

Middle East

USA

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -- -

Countries

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -- -

Albania

Austria

Belarus

Belgium

Bosnia

Bulgaria

Croatia

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Iceland

Ireland

Israel

Italy

Kosovo

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Libya

Macedonia

Malta

Moldova

Montenegro

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Slovenia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

UK

Ukraine

Sections

EUbusiness Partners |

Members |

Press |

Jobs |

Events |

Guides |

Forum |

Publications |

Links

You are here: Home → Breaking news → Britain, France marked down in new EU economic report

Info

Britain, France marked down in new EU economic report

— filed under: Finance, France, Commission, Britain, Headline2, public

Olli Rehn - Photo EC

(BRUSSELS) - The European Commission issued its first report card on EU economic imbalances Tuesday, warning Britain and France of declining export performance but steering clear of criticising Germany.

European Union Economic Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn named 12 of the bloc's 27 states that came up short on a new "scoreboard" that uses a variety of economic indicators to establish "whether or not harmful imbalances exist."

The ranking system was introduced as part of a new emphasis on shared, cross-border eurozone economic governance.

National budgets are to be vetted by Brussels to ensure they fit with common goals, with sanctions triggered if deficit and eventually debt levels stray too far from agreed margins.

Seven of the 12 were from the 17-nation eurozone: Belgium, Cyprus, Finland, France, Italy, Slovenia and Spain.

The others were Bulgaria, Denmark, Hungary, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

"If necessary, the Commission will then issue recommendations to the member states concerned, so they can take appropriate action," Rehn told a press conference at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France.

Britain, France and Belgium were singled out for "further examination" in a bid to "better assess a relative loss of export market share as well as... an accumulated level of indebtedness," Rehn said.

Triple A-rated eurozone Finland, like non-euro Scandinavian neighbours Denmark and Sweden, also suffered on this count.

Spain, meanwhile, would be given special attention too to try and break the cycle of high unemployment following prolonged housing and credit booms.

Some economists have argued that Germany's very success since the eurozone's creation, with sustained surpluses, is making rivals less competitive, and Rehn said he would look into this over the coming months.

He said Commission experts would "assess the role played by structural factors like the functioning of services markets as regards the impact on domestic consumption and investment."

But he maintained that the scoreboard "does not point at excessive imbalances," with an 8.0-percent decline in Germany's export market share and public debt standing at 83 percent of gross domestic product (GDP).

The decline in Germany's export share was "limited compared to other eurozone countries," the commissioner noted.

Alert Mechanism Report on macroeconomic
imbalances in EU Member States - guide

Document Actions

Print this

Share this

EU News |

Agenda |

Guides |

Features |

Law |

Economy |

Stats |

Politics |

Summaries |

Texts

Tenders |

Funding |

Research |

Trademarks |

Patents |

Countries |

Companies |

Law Firms |

NGOs |

focus |

Domains |

Tools |

Translate |

FX |

Convert |

EU Terms

Advertise |

Subscribe |

About Us |

Contact |

Feeds

Subscribe | Partner | Advertise

Related Content

EU introduces new energy labels for domestic appliances

Legal project manager in European banking and financial law, Tipik

Sterling rallies ahead of UK Budget - Euro currency news daily

Project Coordinator - Ending Inequalities, European Network on Debt and Development

Brussels moves to prolong free roaming in Europe

Regulatory Policy Advisor, Capital Markets, European Fund and Asset Management Association

EU agrees sanctions against Russia over Navalny

InvestEU

EU signals more sustainable trade strategy

SURE - the temporary Support to mitigate Unemployment Risks in an Emergency

EU News

EU's protection of air passenger rights during COVID-19 crisis under scrutiny

EU looks for transparency in multinationals' tax affairs

Sterling rallies ahead of UK Budget - Euro currency news daily

EU introduces new energy labels for domestic appliances

MEPs call for new EU strategy on sustainable tourism

Euro Update Daily EU Agenda Weekly
News feed Search European Union

"EU" - Google News

EU-UK Withdrawal Agreement - EU News 03-03-2021

For the EU to Survive, It Can’t Keep Failing - Bloomberg 04-03-2021

The EU’s vaccination rollout badly needs a revamp - Financial Times 03-03-2021

Italian mafia trial could expose underbelly of massive EU fraud - POLITICO.eu 04-03-2021

Breton: No AstraZeneca jabs exported from the Netherlands after EU export controls - POLITICO.eu 03-03-2021

More…

Sign up!

Weekly summary of the past week's EU business news

Subscribe free

Subscription options

Background guides

New Roaming Regulation - guide

February 2021 infringements package: key decisions

HERA Incubator - Anticipating COVID-19 variants

Recovery and Resilience Facility - background guide

More…

eubusiness.com © EUbusiness Ltd 2021

About Us |

Contact Us |

Disclaimer |

Terms & Conditions |

Cookies |

Accessibility |

Privacy Statement |

Sitemap