Financial system

Five Irish citizens were among 150 citizens from across the EU who took part in the summit in Brussels.  They were Evelyn Boylan from Scotstown, County Monaghan; Noreen Kelly, Ballyvolane, Cork City; Niall O’Reilly from Maynooth, County Kildare; and Dubliners Brid Bowles, from Lusk and Michael Morrissey, Cabinteely (foreground) who was asked to share a platform with European Commission President  Jose Manuel Barroso and other  top policy-makers.

 

Five Irish citizens were among 150 citizens from across the EU who took part in the summit in Brussels.  They were Evelyn Boylan from Scotstown, County Monaghan; Noreen Kelly, Ballyvolane, Cork City; Niall O’Reilly from Maynooth, County Kildare; and Dubliners Brid Bowles, from Lusk and Michael Morrissey, Cabinteely (foreground) who was asked to share a platform with European Commission President  Jose Manuel Barroso and other  top policy-makers  

Five Irish citizens from Cork, Monaghan, Kildare and Dublin were among 150 citizens from across the EU who took part in the summit in Brussels.  They were Evelyn Boylan from Scotstown, County Monaghan; Noreen Kelly, Ballyvolane, Cork City; Niall O’Reilly from Maynooth, County Kildare; and Dubliners Brid Bowles, from Lusk and Michael Morrissey, Cabinteely (foreground) who was asked to share a platform with European Commission President  Jose Manuel Barossa and other  top policy-makers.

Now that national consultations have taken place in all 27 Member States, discover the European citizens' recommendations for the economic and social future of the EU, by clicking here.

Stronger EU regulation of financial institutions and sharing information on best practice in healthcare and labour laws across Europe are among the top ten recommendations from the Irish participants in a Europe-wide citizens consultation on how the Union should best address current challenges. (Full recommendations list below and on www.forumoneurope.ie ).

The Irish consultation, organised by the National Forum On Europe, was held in Dublin Castle over the weekend and was webcast on RTÉ.ie/Live. Similar consultations have been taking place in all twenty seven EU countries.

EUdebate2009.eu is a website in six languages, and it's set to spice up the 2009 European electionsLaunched by the European magazine cafebabel.com, EUdebate2009.eu is an independent internet site, the first web 2.0 platform to get the opinion leaders of the people of Europe talking with European political parties.

EU leaders agreed on 22nd of February to back oversight of the world's financial markets and products, including hedge funds, calling for a clampdown on tax havens as they forged a common position on global financial reform ahead of a summit of the G20 group of leading industrial powers in April.

Internal Market Commissioner Charlie McCreevy this week warned that governments are tending to attach too many conditions to aid to banks.Speaking in Dublin he said forcing recapitalised banks to lend money to domestic businesses at the expense of foreign competitors would spark a wave of protectionism.“Requiring banks or companies to use the money, for example, to support the domestic economy at the expense of others" he said, "is a classic ‘beggar-thy-neighbour’ approach. It’s an example of the type of short-term political reaction that will stir up protectionism, as well as creating new barriers in our internal market.” 

In a report released this week, the European Commission has recommended that Ireland pursues its structural economic reforms. In particular, the Commission thinks that Ireland needs to restore fiscal sustainability and boost productivity. The Commission notes that the Irish economy is vulnerable due to the aftermath of the housing boom and because of the financial crisis. Public spending should be carefully prioritised and productivity strengthened, it says.

As the economic crisis continues to get worse, creativity and innovation are key to strengthening Europe's competitiveness and must remain on the EU agenda beyond the current European Year, leading EU politicians stressed at the launch event in Prague this week. Special ambassadors to the European Year, who attended the launch, welcomed the commissioner's call to make additional funding available to improve the bloc's competitiveness, suggesting that it should be spent on issues such as human capital creation, productivity growth and environmental protection.