Responding to French President François Hollande's speech to the European Parliament this morning, GUE/NGL Chair Gabi Zimmer called for European action against speculation and a reversal of "toxic" austerity policy.
 

Focus on FATCA was the theme of the conference staged in Rome on 1 February by the European Banking Federation (EBF), hosted by the Italian Banking Association. 

Practitioners and experts of the European banking sector gathered with representatives of national tax administrations, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development  and the European Commission to discuss the implications of implementing FATCA (Foreign Accounts Tax Compliance Act). 

The first up and running European Citizens Initiative (ECI) - Water is a Human Right – is more than 4/5ths of the way towards  the target of a million online signatures. And many workers and citizens are collecting paper signatures as well.  This ECI was the first to start the paper and on-line collection of signatures. It is the first initiative that has passed the ¾ threshold and likely to be the first to reach the 1 million mark.

The wind industry is being hit by the economic crisis and austerity across Europe, and a difficult situation should not be made worse by politicians undermining investor confidence, warned top industry figures today in Vienna.

At the opening of Europe's leading wind energy event - EWEA 2013 - politicians and high level industry representatives also spoke of the need to secure the further growth of wind energy in Europe after the current 2020 renewable energy target runs out, and of the disparity between fossil fuel and renewable energy subsidies.