European Economy Expected To Contract Even More In 2013

The European economy, beset by high unemployment and austerity measures aimed at reducing debts and deficits, will contract again in 2013, according to the continent’s official economic body. That would make 2013 the second consecutive year, and third in the past five, in which the 17-nation Eurozone’s economy will have shrunk, adding to its already record-high unemployment rate and further complicating the deficit reduction efforts it has pursued without fail since the end of the global recession.

Another contraction would especially hit the countries that have already been hurt the most by the recession and resulting austerity, the European Commission said. The Wall Street Journal reports:

The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, forecasts a 0.3% contraction for 2013 and sees falling spending by businesses, consumers and national governments pushing euro-zone unemployment to a new high. Mass joblessness is expected to increase in the countries hardest hit by the crisis, with the average unemployment rate expected to reach 27% in Greece, 26.9% in Spain and 17.3% in Portugal.

Slow growth, and in some cases the lack of growth at all, has already hampered deficit reduction efforts, causing Spain, Greece, and France to miss deficit targets. French president Francois Hollande announced this week that he would not pursue further austerity to hit this year’s deficit target. The Eurozone officially fell back into recession in November.

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Statement from United States President Barack Obama, European Council President Herman Van Rompuy and European Commission President José Manuel Barroso

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For Immediate Release February 13, 2013 Statement from United States President Barack Obama, European Council President Herman Van Rompuy and European Commission President José Manuel Barroso

Washington, D.C. – We, the Leaders of the United States and the European Union, are pleased to announce that, based on recommendations from the U.S.-EU High Level Working Group on Jobs and Growth co-chaired by United States Trade Representative Kirk and European Trade Commissioner De Gucht, the United States and the European Union will each initiate the internal procedures necessary to launch negotiations on a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership.
 
“The transatlantic economic relationship is already the world’s largest, accounting for half of global economic output and nearly one trillion dollars in goods and services trade, and supporting millions of jobs on both sides of the Atlantic. 
 
“We are committed to making this relationship an even stronger driver of our prosperity.  In that regard, we welcome the High Level Working Group’s recommendations on how we can expand further our transatlantic trade and investment partnership, promoting greater growth and supporting more jobs.
 
“A high-standard Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership would advance trade and investment liberalization and address regulatory and other non-tariff barriers.
 
“Through this negotiation, the United States and the European Union will have the opportunity not only to expand trade and investment across the Atlantic, but also to contribute to the development of global rules that can strengthen the multilateral trading system.”
 

Blog posts on this issue February 13, 2013 6:39 PM ESTImproving the Security of the Nation’s Critical Infrastructure

President Obama issued an Executive Order directing federal departments and agencies to use their existing authorities to provide better cybersecurity for the Nation, efforts that will by necessity involve increased collaboration with the private sector.

February 13, 2013 5:15 PM ESTOpen for Questions: The State of the Union and the Economy

Alan Krueger, Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, answered questions from the public about President Obama's State of the Union Address in an “Open for Questions” session moderated by Yahoo! Finance. Check it out below.

February 13, 2013 4:55 PM ESTFirst Lady Michelle Obama hosts a “Beasts of the Southern Wild” Movie Workshop for Students

The stars of the Oscar-nominated drama joined Mrs. Obama to help teach students about the hard work required to create a beautiful movie.

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11 European Countries Adopted A Financial Transactions Tax, And The U.S. Should Too

11 members of the Eurozone today received the go-ahead to apply a financial transactions tax to trades of stocks and derivatives that occur within their countries. The EU’s tax commissioner called it “a milestone for EU tax policy“:

EU ministers have given the go ahead for 11 eurozone members, including France and Germany, to prepare a new financial transactions tax. [...]

The tax – also known as a Tobin tax after the economist who originally came up with it 40 years ago – is expected to be charged at a rate of 0.1% of the value of any trade in shares or bonds, and 0.01% of any financial derivative contract.

Although the tax is not being adopted by the UK, which already charges its own 0.5% stamp duty on trading in shares, it will nonetheless have to be paid by investors trading on the London Stock Exchange who are based in one of the 11 countries.

The other nine going ahead with the tax are Spain, Portugal, Italy, Belgium, Austria, Slovakia, Slovenia, Greece and Estonia.

As former Labor Secretary Robert Reich tweeted, “Most of Europe will now tax financial transactions, generating billions for hard-pressed budgets. U.S. should do same.” It’s unclear how much revenue Europe will raise, but the European Commission “had previously estimated that such a tax across the 27-nation bloc could yield €57 billion a year,” while “the 11 nations pushing ahead represent about two-thirds of the EU’s economy.”

Here in the U.S., lawmakers have unsuccessfully tried to implement a financial transactions tax in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis. The benefits of such a tax are two-fold. First, it would raise billions of dollars to repair a federal budget that expanded in the wake of a recession caused in large part by Wall Street malfeasance, thus making the financial sector repay for the damage it caused. Second, it would slow down some of the high-frequency trading that has exploded in recent years, bringing more stability and safety to financial markets.

Last year, a group of 52 financial executives, including several former heads of mega-banks JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs, endorsed the idea. Forty countries around the world have already embraced a transactions tax.

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European Court Rules Religion Does Not Justify Anti-Gay Discrimination

Lilian Ladele, who refused to officiate same-sex civil partnership ceremonies.

The European Court of Human Rights has ruled against two British Christians who claimed their religious beliefs entitled them to discriminate against gays and lesbians. In one case, Lilian Ladele was a city registrar who refused to officiate civil partnership ceremonies between same-sex couples as part of her duties. In another, Gary McFarlane was a counselor for a confidential sex therapy and relationship counseling organization who refused to provide support for same-sex couples. In both cases they were removed from their positions, so both brought complaints that their religious beliefs had been violated.

In its ruling against them, the Court argued that their beliefs did not justify the discrimination against same-sex couples:

The Court considered that the most important factor to be taken into account was that the policies of the applicants’ employers – to promote equal opportunities and to require employees to act in a way which did not discriminate against others – had the legitimate aim of securing the rights of others, such as same-sex couples, which were also protected under the [European Convention on Human Rights]. In particular, in previous cases the Court had held that differences in treatment based on sexual orientation required particularly serious justification and that same-sex couples were in a relevantly similar situation to different-sex couples as regards their need for legal recognition and protection of their relationship.

The authorities therefore had wide discretion when it came to striking a balance between the employer’s right to secure the rights of others and the applicants’ right to manifest their religion. The Court decided that the right balance had been struck.

This judgment represents a significant blow to conservatives’ argument that their religious beliefs entitle them to discriminate against the LGBT community. Indeed, they are entitled to hold their anti-LGBT beliefs, but not to infringe on others’ rights.

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